The growing elderly population (the largest user of prescription drugs), the severity of chronic illnesses, and the treatment breakthroughs in science and technology, make the pharmaceutical industry an optimal career choice for college students.

One major issue looming on the horizon is health care reform. With an estimated 35 million Americans lacking health insurance, the debate over health care reform has captured a lot of interest, especially as it relates to price controls, efficiency, and access to medication.

"We find that there's a general lack of knowledge concerning our industry," explains William L. Lucas, associate vice-president of association relations for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a trade group based in Washington, DC.

To address these concerns, Lucas' group is forming alliances with other key organizations to help educate medical professionals and the public on the value and necessity of pharmaceuticals. Because of the recent Republican shake-up in Congress, Lucas feels that "health care reform is going to take on a totally new twist, with insurance companies becoming more involved."

THE NEW PHARMACIST

One type of reform that will immediately impact students is the push toward streamlining the degree process at colleges of pharmacy. Schools that once offered a BS, MS or a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm D) degree are now only awarding the Pharm D degree. This new reform, expected to become the standard by the year 2000, reflects the growing importance of pharmacists in today's society.

"The role of the pharmacist is changing from that of merely the manager in the drug distribution system to helping manage the drug therapy process," says C. Edwin Webb, director of government affairs and health policy for the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, "especially since more and more pharmacists are working in collaboration with doctors, nurses, and other health practitioners."

"Pharmacy education is patterning itself after medical schools," concurs Dr. Marcellus Grace, dean of the College of Pharmacy at Xavier University of Louisiana. "Students are now completing fellowships and residencies in various specialties ranging from nuclear to surgical pharmacy."

Employment for pharmacists include operating their own independent pharmacy or working for a chain drug store, hospital or governmental agency. Starting out as staff pharmacists, one could move on to district, regional or corporate-level management. Responsibilities include everything from dispensing medication to answering questions about a drug's side-effects. Average starting salaries, according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), ranged from $45,300 for those with their own pharmacy to $55,000 at a chain drug store.

Pharmacists entering public, private or university-based hospitals work directly with a team of medical professionals from various departments to assist in a patient's recovery. Salaries for hospital-based pharmacists, again according to BLS, averaged $50,300 while those at a health maintenance organization (HMO) earned $52,300 annually. Management opportunities are also available.

It was the financial freedom and flexibility of options that attracted Milton Ortiz to the field. Ortiz, who has a BA in history from City College and a BS from the Brooklyn College School of Pharmacy, is a long-time pharmacist at both Columbia-Presbyterian and Harlem Hospitals in New York. He has also freelanced at nursing homes and independent pharmacies.

Ortiz provides Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) therapy to chronically-ill or critically-injured individuals unable to feed themselves. His patients include gun-shot victims, premature babies and those afflicted with the AIDS virus. After carefully analyzing a doctor's diagnosis and a patient's blood physiology, Ortiz creates concentrated mixtures consisting of amino acids, dextrose, electrolytes, and any other nutrients that would help sustain a person's life. This formula is surgically fed through a patient's subclavial vein. The treatment could last from a week to several months. Though TPN therapy cannot save every patient, Ortiz marvels at its miraculous ability, which includes saving a baby that was once no bigger than the palm of his hand.

"It's rewarding to know that some mixture I created was able to help this little patient, who was on the brink of death, now be able to grow like a normal person," he says.

OPPORTUNITIES IN PHARMACEUTICAL CORPORATIONS

In addition to jobs for pharmacists in retail establishments and hospitals, there are opportunities in pharmaceutical corporations for pharmacists, as well as for graduates holding degrees in the various specialties of biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, and mathematics. Graduates can find opportunities in one of four main categories: sales & marketing, research & development, production & quality control, and management & administration.

Sales & marketing is one of the simplest ways to enter the industry and one of the few areas open to graduates with a minimal science background and some sales experience. Entry-level salaries averaging between $30-$35K (excluding commissions, bonuses, etc.).

"If you have a year under your belt of direct-sales experience with an established track record of success, you're good to go," says Earl Burks, president of Minority Executive Search Inc., a Black-owned recruitment firm based in Cleveland, Ohio. Some of Burks' clients are pharmaceutical firms, including SmithKline Beecham and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

After completing a comprehensive training program, sales representatives call upon the medical community to make presentations regarding their products' benefits. In conjunction with the marketing department, they may also research trends, assist in pricing medications, or help develop advertising and customer-service programs. The growing number of pharmaceutical products being advertised directly to consumers shows the affect sales & marketing has on the bottom line.

The greatest impact can be made in research & development. Divided into three categories: basic, pharmaceutical formulation, and clinical research, r&d is where new medications are developed or existing products improved upon. Researchers start out as laboratory scientists or clinical assistants, and embark on a twelve-year journey of drug research, development and testing in pursuit of the Food and Drug Administration's approval. Scientists must be committed for the long haul, knowing that their final results may yield no identifiable application.

Employees entering production & quality control start out as manufacturing chemists, creating medications that will be produced in the most cost-effective manner. Quality control helps to ensure the safety and effectiveness of drug samples and their labeling while production involves the manufacturing and packaging of products that must adhere to the FDA's strict standards.

Graduates interested in coordinating and supervising the activities of the various departments or overall operations of an organization should consider management and administration. Generally, employees work their way up or pursue advanced degrees in disciplines ranging from business administration to law.

PREPARING FOR THE JOB

As with any field, preparation is the key to success in pharmaceutical careers. Besides good grades and professional networking, internships are an advantage for those in the pharmaceutical job market and a requirement for those pursuing a pharmacy license.

One of the country's largest and most competitive programs in the Industry Internship Program offered by the American Pharmaceutical Association and the Academy of Students of Pharmacy. This annual 12-week summer program (application deadline: November 30) places students in the general, clinical or research areas at some of the world's most prestigious corporations.

Students assigned to the general intensive track receive broad overview of a corporation, ranging from sales & marketing to regulatory affairs. Clinical intensive trainees work in the medical affairs department, providing product information and labeling, as well as analyzing adverse drug reactions, while those assigned to the research intensive conduct actual research on a given project.

"Students accepted to the program usually have high GPA's, good references, and relevant work or volunteer experience," according to Arlene Huff, academic coordinator for the program.

"Additionally, applicants should try and be involved with the student chapters of professional organizations." Huff also advises potential applicants to "fill out the application form properly and to not contact member companies directly, since that is grounds for disqualification."

Communication skills are also highly valued. According to The American Association on Poison Control, "500,000 individuals are hospitalized annually because of inappropriate or careless ingestion of their medication." Even more startling, according to an FDA survey, is that most patients "fail to ask about the side- effects or interactions with other items being ingested." The threat of malpractice notwithstanding, pharmacists need to make it their business to remain knowledgeable about recent developments and to inform their clientele accordingly.

Along with academic preparation, students need to be emotionally ready to fight the twin evils of racism and sexism. When books such as the controversial The Bell Curve make the outlandish claim that African-Americans are genetically inferior, the already tough battle to prove competence becomes tougher, especially for those entering the sciences. There may be instances where individuals will be "the only Black" in a classroom, laboratory, retail or corporate setting. Remember, we come from a scientific culture, and as Dr. Grace points out: "Corporations can ill-afford to ignore qualified candidates of color when there's such a severe shortage of science professionals. Period."

Regardless of what road graduates take, there are more opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry than ever before. Pharmacists are being tapped to serve on various college, hospital and corporate boards. They act as consultants to nursing homes and correctional institutions, begin their own ventures and move into teaching. According to Webb: "There's a graying of the faculty. More educators will be needed to replace the significant numbers of educators that will be retiring, especially in the next couple of decades."

Computers are also having an impact. In Florida, a "virtual drugstore" experiment is being tested in which home shoppers can order medications via their television sets. The information superhighway is also attempting to work on linking pharmacists with doctors, hospitals, and patients on-line to ease administrative burdens and ensure efficiency. Other significant trends include the burgeoning biotechnology field with its many products being used in pharmaceutical preparations, the rise of the generic drug market because of expiring drug patents, home-infusion care, and the growing movement toward alternative healing remedies and preventive care. By networking, staying abreast of the trends, and maintaining a positive yet committed focus, African-Americans in pharmaceuticals will be able to advance in one of the world's most needed professions.

• American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists
  1650 King Street
  Alexandria, VA 22314
  (703) 548-3000

• American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
  1426 Prince Street
  Alexandria, VA 22314
  (703) 739-2330

• American Society of Consultant Pharmacists
  1321 Duke Street
  Alexandria, VA 22314-3563
  (703) 739-1300

• American Society of Hospital Pharmacists
  7272 Wisconsin Avenue
  Bethesda, MD 20814
  (301) 657-3000

• National Association of Chain Drug Stores
  413 North Lee Street
  Alexandria, VA 22313
  (703) 549-3001

• The National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE)
  c/o Howard University
  525 College Avenue, N.W.
  P.O. Box 5
  Washington, DC 20059
  (202) 667-1699

• National Association of Retail Druggists
  205 Dangerfield Road
  Alexandria, VA 22314
  (703) 683-8200

• National Pharmaceutical Association
  P.O. Box 835332
  Richardson, TX 75083-5332
  (214) 235-4211

• Student National Pharmaceutical Association
  c/o Florida A&M University
  College of Pharmacy
  Tallahassee, FL 32307
  (904) 599-3593

There's no such thing as a typical day for me. As a community pharmacist, I often put in twelve-hour days filling approximately 250 prescriptions, double-checking dosage amounts, verifying patient information, analyzing drug interactions and handling insurance claims; all the while fielding questions from doctors and customers. I have two technicians who assist me with my work.

Being community-based, it's important to know the people and the area you're dealing with. Florida has a large elderly population, so I need to know about the illnesses that affect them, such as diabetes or heart disease. Insect bites are pretty common down here, so I need to be able to make recommendations on over-the- counter medications. Being a pharmacist means playing part-time detective because you don't always have a patient's medical history. You must know how to ask the right questions.

There have been instances where people have been shocked to see that the pharmacist is a Black woman and quite often my answers will be challenged. However, I like knowing that I'm helping people to get better, so I don't let the petty racism get to me. What I do is very rewarding. Eventually, I want to earn my Pharm D degree with a specialty in infectious diseases, as well as move up the management ladder.

My advice to students: Be devoted because there will be times when you will get discouraged. They should also keep up with the latest developments affecting the field. I read ten trade journals daily just to stay sharp. Take advantage of internships because you can't learn everything in school.