Pharmacy Pathways: Can You Become A Pharmacist Online?


Pharmacy School Online

Are you planning to build a career in the pharmacy field? If yes, you must be checking out different methods and career options involved in pharmacy. Choosing pharmacy as a career requires so much hard work, dedication, and time. It is not like getting a degree and you become a job-ready candidate. It is a field in which you gain experience over time. It is a continuous growing career. As pharmacy is categorized in so many career options, you will have a wide variety of options available.

Students often ask, “Can I become a pharmacist without going to the pharmacy school?” The answer to this question is NO. One cannot become a professional and certified pharmacist without going to pharmacy school. In short, you need to have a formal education in order to become a professional and certified pharmacist. Apart from this, students also ask, “Can you become a pharmacist online?” This blog post will answer your question. In this post, we have shared everything about what options you available if you want to become a pharmacist online.

The answer to the question, “Whether or not I can be a pharmacist online?”

IS YES. You can become a pharmacist online. Depending upon the university or pharmacy school you are enrolling in, the eligibility criteria will differ. This post will help you to make the ideal decision regarding becoming a pharmacist online.

When it comes to doing the pharmacy course online, you need to be very selective. If you cannot manage to do the pharmacy course full-time, then you need to enroll to choose the right pharmacy school online. As there are so many online pharmacy schools out there, it can be a bit difficult to select the right one.

How to Become A Pharmacist (Pharmacy Pathways)

Pharmacy is among one of the popular, high-demand, and highest paying jobs nowadays. After the completion of the pharmacy program, you have many career options available. To become a professional pharmacist, you need to go through formal education and do hard work. You cannot become a professional and licensed pharmacist without going through formal education.

As a pharmacist, you will be responsible for the distribution of the prescribed medication to the patients and explaining the patients about the uses and impacts of the medication you have prescribed. You will also need to educate your patients regarding the illness and what they can do to prevent a particular disease.

If we talk about the pharmacy program pathways, they are divided into two – on-campus and online. If you want to become a pharmacist, you need to complete its formal education. It’s up to you whether you enroll for an on-campus pharmacy program or online pharmacy program. Both of these pathways have their own advantages and limitations. Here we have discussed both of these pharmacy pathways.

On-campus Pharmacy Education

Before you decide whether you want to enroll for the on-campus pharmacy program or online pharmacy program, the important thing you need to consider is which PharmD degree would be best for you. Depending upon your interest, you may go with a Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy. This degree covers calculus, anatomy, biology, chemistry, physics, humanities, and sociology. You get so many advantages when you go with on-campus pharmacy education.

There are so many benefits of enrolling for the on-campus pharmacy course. When you enroll in the on-campus pharmacy program, you can get so many opportunities, and you can also build a good network. It helps you to build a good career in the pharmacy field. Doing on-campus studies also added as a positive factor in the resume. This is what makes the online pharmacy program different from the on-campus program.

Online Pharmacy Education

If we talk about online pharmacy education, there so many programs out there. Among so many online pharmacy programs, you need to choose the right one. Before enrolling for a particular program, you must consider various factors such as the pharmacy school’s accreditation status, cost of the program, reputation, faculty, etc.

Some of the top online Pharmacy programs are Creighton University, LECOM (Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine), Concordia University – Wisconsin, Cedarville University, University of Colorado Denver, and Shenandoah University. To choose the pharmacy program from the right university, you need to consider the different aspects we have mentioned earlier. Enrolling in the online program is a good idea when you cannot manage to spend your time doing full-time. The main downside of enrolling in the off-campus program is that you will miss various opportunities and networking benefits through it.

Creighton University Online Pharmacy School

Creighton University is the first top online pharmacy school on our list. Creighton University’s distance education program for the doctor of pharmacy is the most popular and first-ever PharmD program that came into existence for online students. If you want to complete your Doctor of Pharmacy degree online, then Creighton University’s online Doctor of Pharmacy program is for you.

Becoming a pharmacist is actually a good idea when you can’t manage spending your time doing pharmacy full-time. The program by Creighton University is designed for students to help them gain experience within clinical internships. The Creighton University is accredited to the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.

It provides different types of aid: federal, state, and institutional grants. And this online program by Creighton university has an acceptance rate of around 77%. If you want to enroll in this online pharmacy school, there are some eligibility criteria you need to fulfill.

To get the admission to the online pharmacy school program by Creighton University, you need to submit a completed online application, official transcripts from all undergraduate institutions visited, two letters of recommendation, and official Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) scores. You will be eligible for the admission only if you submit all the documents we have mentioned here.

Creighton University is the top online pharmacy school, and it is the third in the United States among private pharmacy schools. It is based on the reports by U.S. News & World Report. The online pharmacy program by Creighton allows you to work toward your future.

The reason why many students prefer learning online instead of on-campus is that online learning is flexible, convenient, and flexible. In so many ways, studying online is just like studying on-campus. The best thing about learning online is you can manage your time effectively through it.

Through the online pharmacy program by Creighton University, students will learn so many things. If you enroll in this online program, your skills in patient assessment, medication therapy management, and dispensing medication would be improved. Apart from these, you would have also developed other skills as well.

With Creighton University’s online pharmacy program, you will have to complete the new student orientation before you start your online program. In the new student orientation, you will be introduced to Creighton’s online learning platform – BlueLine. And, you will also get the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the different student resources as well. The online program will allow you to learn from the top-notch instructors so that you can learn everything properly.

Online Pharmacy School Florida

Are you looking for an online pharmacy school in Florida? If yes, this is for you. When it comes to online pharmacy education, you will find so many online pharmacy schools out there. But, it is essential to choose the school that is ideal for you.

Before enrolling in any pharmacy school’s online program, you need to understand the requirements and criteria. For example, some pharmacy schools will ask you to visit the campus after a specific time period. Here are the top two online pharmacy schools in Flordia:

College of Pharmacy – University of Florida

The University of Florida is the first college in our list of online pharmacy schools in Florida. If we talk about online pharmacy programs by the University of Florida, there are six different programs within the pharmaceutical industry. The online programs are designed for the working professionals, and the programs include unique and high-demand areas within the pharmacy.

Because pharmacy is a vast field, you have so many career options. The online graduate programs by the University of Florida include Forensic Science, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Clinical Toxicology, Medication Therapy Management, Pharmaceutical Outcomes & Policy, and Precision Medicine.

LECOM (Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine)

Another pharmacy school in Florida is LECOM. LECOM (Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine) is the pharmacy school which is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, which is also called as ACPE.

The LECOM School of Pharmacy Distance Education pathway is a four-year online Pharmacy program. This is an online pharmacy program in which the faculty constantly work on improving the learning experience and styles with the use of different active and interactive teaching methods. When you obtain the PharmD degree from the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine’s distance program, you will be accepted for obtaining a license to practice the pharmacy in all states of the United States.

After becoming a LECOM pharmacy graduate, you will be eligible to take the NAPLEX (North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination). Depending upon in which state you want to practice the pharmacy, you may require to take the MPJE (Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam). The aim of the MPJE is to test the knowledge of federal and state laws.

So, these are the top pharmacy schools online in Florida. If you want to complete your pharmacy online, you choose from any of these pharmacy schools.

Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy Online

The Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy is a four-year degree program. The coursework is mainly focused on mathematics and basic sciences like chemistry, biology, and physics. If you are in the healthcare industry and want to boost your career, completing the bachelor’s of Science in pharmacy can be a great idea.

Whether you are a student or a professional doing employment in the healthcare field, doing the bachelor’s in pharmacy ensures the boost in your career. If you are a professional, you can work directly with patients or behind a counter dispensing medication after the completion of a bachelor’s in pharmacy. The bachelor of science in pharmacy is all about the mix of science and mathematics courses with laboratory and clinical experiences.

Before you join the bachelor of science in pharmacy program by any pharmacy school, you need to review the program requirements, format, etc. of the school. Generally, it will take around 3 to 4 years to complete the graduation with a bachelor’s in pharmacy degree online. This is the same time you will need if you are planning to graduate from a traditional bachelor’s in the pharmacy program.

Everything you will learn online will similar to on-campus students’ education. The main difference will be you will be able to learn with your digital devices anytime, while on-campus students will learn with real-time experience. Because you are an online student, it doesn’t mean you will not have to go through clinical rotations and labs. To become a professional and skilled pharmacist, it is very important to go through clinical rotations and lab experiments.

The best thing about pursuing a bachelor of science in pharmacy online is that it makes it easy for you to get the time to do a job. You can do internships, work as a pharmacy technician, or do any other type of health-related paid job. The important thing is you should consider different factors before joining any online pharmacy program. It includes consideration of factors such as the pharmacy school’s accreditation status, cost of the program, reputation, faculty, etc. You must consider these factors carefully because they are going to affect your experience.

About LECOM Distance Pharmacy in Detail

In the above section of “Online Pharmacy School Florida,” we have discussed the two pharmacy schools – the University of Florida (College of Pharmacy) and LECOM (Lake Erie College Osteopathic Medicine). These two are very popular distance education pharmacy schools. Here we will discuss regarding LECOM distance pharmacy program. This will give you an idea about whether you should pursue the pharmacy program by LECOM or not.

LECOM Pharmacy School has three different pathways when it comes to getting a pharmacy degree. It includes – first one, Three-year accelerated pathway, Erie PA, second, Four-year Florida pathway, Bradenton FL, and third one, Four-year distance education program. Among these three pathways, here we have discussed LECOM’s distance pharmacy pathway program.

Through LECOM’s online distance education 4- year pharmacy program, you will get to know about pharmaceutical sciences. During the first year, you will learn the basic sciences like anatomy, physiology, and chemistry. During the second and third years, you will be trained in clinical sciences. And finally, in the last year, you will be trained regarding Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPE). In the APPE, it includes six rotations. The rotations are six weeks each in the community and clinical settings.

As we know, there are so many opportunities with the Doctor of Pharmacy program. After completing the program, you can work in community pharmacies, government agencies, home health care, hospital, institutional settings, managed care, medical, or hospice. Some topics that will be covered during the four-year pharmacy program are listed below:

  • Pharmacy, drugs, and healthcare
  • Biochemistry
  • Pharmaceutics w/lab
  • Physiology and Anatomy
  • Microbiology and Immunology
  • Pharmacist provided care
  • Pharmacy law
  • Drug information
  • Effective communications
  • IPPE experience
  • Research, methods, and Pharmacoepidemiology
  • Drug literature evaluation
  • Pharmacotherapeutics Recitation
  • Pharmacy practice essentials

Apart from the above-listed points, there are many other topics that will be covered during your distance pharmacy program. If we talk about the cost of this four-year online program, it varies from one year to another.

Here we have listed the cost of all four years pharmacy distance education program:

For the first year, it will cost you $54,646

The second-year will cost you $53,256

The third-year will cost you $48,876, and

The fourth-year will cost you $51,957

If we sum up the cost of all four years, it is coming down to $208,735

The cost we have mentioned includes all the different types of costs, such as tuition fees, curriculum fees, graduation fees, technology fees, book fees, health insurance, room, rent, transportation, etc.

If you can’t manage to enroll for the on-campus education, you must be planning to go with a distance pharmacy program like LECOM’s. Before you enroll for any distance online pharmacy program, you need to know that going with the on-campus and online program will make a difference in so many ways.

Distance education universities like LECOM (Lake Erie College Osteopathic Medicine) will tell you that doing the pharmacy distance program won’t make much difference, but it does. When you do the on-campus pharmacy program, you build so many networks, get so many opportunities, and this is what makes you a better pharmacist. On the other hand, if you enroll for a distance pharmacy program, you just get the knowledge of the course and can’t chase opportunities. So, if you are planning to enroll for the distance program by LECOM, make sure you know about this.

Other Online PharmD Programs in Pharmacy

With the increase in the number of pharmacy schools & universities online & offline, it became a bit difficult to make the decision regarding which pharmacy program is right for you. As we have seen, Creighton University and LECOM are two of the best pharmacy programs on the web. Apart from these two, there are some other best online pharmacy programs in the United States.

Concordia University – Wisconsin

The pharmacy program by Concordia University will cover important matters such as medication safety and pharmacovigilance. The doctor of pharmacy degree by Concordia University offers a dual program along with the Master of Public Health. The program will cover topics – Pharmacy Calculations, Pharmacy Microbiology, Applied Patient Care, Pharmacy Law, and Medical Literature Evaluation.

Cedarville University

Another popular university for the online pharmacy program is Cedarville University. This university offers the Doctor of Pharmacy program along with the Masters of Business Administration program. The program by Cedarville University is specially designed for PharmD students. The program would benefit students by providing leadership and business skills. The program is offered along with a Masters of Business Administration so that you can take an entrepreneurship and leadership role as a pharmacist.

University of Colorado Denver

The University of Colorado Denver has designed its pharmacy program for those who are already licensed pharmacists and looking for advanced clinical pharmacy education. If you are one of those who have completed the pharmacy and became a licensed pharmacist, this program may help you to gain advanced knowledge. It is divided into three parts – Professional, Didactic, and Experiential Training. To make sure that applicants get the most out of the program, the online applicants will go through phone counseling with advisors.

Shenandoah University

Just like Cedarville University’s program, Shenandoah’s University also offers the Doctor of Pharmacy program with the Masters of Business Administration. Shenandoah University has decided to offer a pharmacy program with the Masters of Business Administration after considering the importance of employment of individuals in the healthcare sector. As it is the combination along with the MBA degree, the program will also cover topics such as Marketing Management, Human Resource Management, Finance & Accounting, etc.

Final Thoughts

So here, we have discussed everything about the online pharmacy pathway. Whether you should enroll in the on-campus pharmacy program or the online pharmacy program is depended upon many factors. Enrolling for the on-campus program will help you through networking and by providing many opportunities. However, enrolling for the online program will help you to save your time and focus on other activities.

Before enrolling in any online pharmacy course, you need to keep in mind factors like the reputation of the university, program cost, and other criteria. When it comes to selecting the online pharmacy program, there are so many options available. Among so many online pharmacy universities out there on the web, Creighton University and LECOM are the best ones in the United States.

 

Danielle Winner

Hello my name is Danielle Winner. Welcome to my site on Pharmacy School and tips and tricks to hopefully help you get in. It's not easy but hopefully you can learn to not make mistakes that students (myself included) make. Good luck on your journey. I graduated from Albany School of Pharmacy in May 2010 and have had a few different jobs across the east coast of the U.S.

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