It has been brought to my attention that my initial post about all pharmacists being doctors was inaccurate. I apologize for that. However, it is still true that current requirements to pass the licensing exam you must have your PharmD/PhD.
The original program requirements was a 5 year BS Pharmacy until 2003. If you graduated with a BS Pharmacy prior to this date, you could still be a licensed pharmacist and BS Pharmacy was the norm until 1997. Many practicing pharmacists do not have a PharmD but a BS instead.
Now, in 2015, a 6 year PharmD or PhD program is required to pass the licensing exam to become a certified pharmacist.
You are also required to take what is called the PCAT regardless of previous education level. It's a general education exam required prior to being accepted into pharmacy school.
For example, I have 4 years of higher education under my academic belt and have taken general education exams in the past to enter college in the first place and to become a teacher and I am still required to pass this exam.
All of my previous exams were Kindergarten math tests compared to the PCAT exam (I'll make a post specific to the PCAT at a later date).
I had written this post once before a couple of weeks ago but the site ate it (*shakes fist*) so here is the redo. Again, I apologize for any misinformation that I presented before. You can find reference links about the pharmacist requirements below. Some I utilized for this post and others are general information if you are curious.
Reference links:
http://edtheory.blogspot.com/2011/12/pharmacists-education-bspharm-to-pharmd.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Pharmacy
http://japha.org/article.aspx?articleid=433120
http://www.ucop.edu/uc-health/_files/pharmacy-an-era-of-growth-and-change.pdf
http://www.aacp.org/resources/student/pharmacyforyou/admissions/pages/default.aspx
The original program requirements was a 5 year BS Pharmacy until 2003. If you graduated with a BS Pharmacy prior to this date, you could still be a licensed pharmacist and BS Pharmacy was the norm until 1997. Many practicing pharmacists do not have a PharmD but a BS instead.
Now, in 2015, a 6 year PharmD or PhD program is required to pass the licensing exam to become a certified pharmacist.
You are also required to take what is called the PCAT regardless of previous education level. It's a general education exam required prior to being accepted into pharmacy school.
For example, I have 4 years of higher education under my academic belt and have taken general education exams in the past to enter college in the first place and to become a teacher and I am still required to pass this exam.
All of my previous exams were Kindergarten math tests compared to the PCAT exam (I'll make a post specific to the PCAT at a later date).
I had written this post once before a couple of weeks ago but the site ate it (*shakes fist*) so here is the redo. Again, I apologize for any misinformation that I presented before. You can find reference links about the pharmacist requirements below. Some I utilized for this post and others are general information if you are curious.
Reference links:
http://edtheory.blogspot.com/2011/12/pharmacists-education-bspharm-to-pharmd.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Pharmacy
http://japha.org/article.aspx?articleid=433120
http://www.ucop.edu/uc-health/_files/pharmacy-an-era-of-growth-and-change.pdf
http://www.aacp.org/resources/student/pharmacyforyou/admissions/pages/default.aspx