How Do I Become a Consulting Pharmacist?

A consulting pharmacist is paid to share his expertise in pharmaceutical science, often offering advice on the use of medicines. To become a consulting pharmacist, you will typically need to get licensed as a pharmacist. This often means earning a doctoral degree in pharmacy, participating in an internship, and passing a licensing exam. Depending on the school in which you enroll, you may need to earn a bachelor's degree or at least complete a couple of years of college education before enrolling in this type of doctoral program. You may also have to score well on an admissions test.

You will typically need extensive education to become a consulting pharmacist. In most places, you need a doctoral degree in pharmacy to become a pharmacist, but you may have to start with earning a bachelor's degree to gain admission to a doctoral program. Some schools do, however, accept students who have completed a couple of years of college instead of requiring them to earn degrees first. You may also need to take a pharmacy school admissions test in an effort to gain admission.

Many pharmacy schools accept individuals from a wide range of majors. No matter what your major, however, you most likely will have to take related classes to have the best chance of gaining admission. You may need, for example, to take chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, biology, microbiology, and psychology or sociology to gain admission to a pharmacy program. You may also have to take composition courses and economics. Additionally, many pharmacy programs prefer to admit students who have taken an advanced math class, such as calculus.

Doctoral degree programs in pharmacy typically last for about four years. As part of this type of program, you will typically study pharmaceutical science as well as the effects drugs have on the body. You may also study the manner in which medicines work, ways to improve their effectiveness, and adverse effects of medicines. Additionally, molecular pharmacology, biological chemistry, pharmaceutics, pharmacy science in health care, medicinal chemistry, and pathophysiology are topics often included in a doctoral program.

Once you have successfully completed a doctoral program in pharmacy science, you will still have steps to take to become a consulting pharmacist. In most places, you will need to become a licensed pharmacist to begin this career. The requirements for licensing depend on where you hope to practice, but many jurisdictions will require you to complete an internship and pass examinations to obtain a license.

Though you can legally work as a pharmacist after you gain the required licensing in your jurisdiction, you will likely need experience to succeed once you become a consulting pharmacist. The amount of experience you need may vary among employers and clients. Many, however, will give preference to candidates who have several years of experience.