pharmacist.

Some of a pharmacist's tasks are:

• Dispensing medicines: As a pharmacist, you receive prescriptions from doctors and provide patients with the correct medicines. You also dispense other medicines and advise patients on their prescriptions. For example, you provide the necessary information to help a patient understand what their medicines do and instructions on how to take them correctly.
• Working with doctors: When working in a hospital or care setting, you advise on medicines to treat various conditions and discuss possible incompatibilities. You also supervise the administration of medicines to improve patient well-being. A pharmacist assesses prescriptions from healthcare professionals and ensures there are no contraindications with other medicines the patient is using or allergies.
• Managing medicine inventory: When working in a chemist's or a pharmacy counter in a large shop, you maintain an inventory of medicines. You register the medicines you dispense throughout the day and ensure that the shelves are stocked with essential medicines. You place orders with suppliers in a timely manner or request urgent deliveries.
• Advising patients on over-the-counter medicines: You help customers with minor ailments find the medicines they need. Some pharmacists assist with vaccinations against or testing for COVID.
• Handling administration: As a pharmacist, you keep records after dispensing medicines and check the refill frequency to ensure patients do not misuse medicines. The systems for keeping this information are now automated. You can also explain to the patient about reimbursements from the mutual health insurance (or the NHS in the UK).

Pharmacists work in hospitals and shops. You therefore spend most of your working day indoors. In hospitals, you work with other healthcare professionals and are on your feet all day. If you work at a chemist's in a town or village, you stand behind the counter to serve customers, but you also have quieter moments.

An independent pharmacy is called an officina, led by a pharmacist-in-charge (apotheker-titularis). If this person is not the owner of the officina, then they are a provisional pharmacist (apotheker-provisoir). A pharmacist-in-charge or provisional pharmacist usually works with a deputy pharmacist (adjunct-apotheker), and a pharmacy assistant (apothekersassistent) is also usually present in the officina. Depending on the size or location of the pharmacy, as a pharmacist, you also work with laboratory technicians, accountants, and/or administrative staff, such as logistics employees.

Your working hours as a pharmacist depend heavily on where you are employed. If you work in a shop, your working day coincides with the opening hours of the business. Because pharmacies also operate an out-of-hours service and have a rota, it is possible that you will occasionally be on call in the evenings, at night, or during the weekend.

In many hospitals and care centres, a pharmacist must always be present, so there is a high chance that you will have to work in shifts or occasionally have a night or weekend duty.

If you would like an academic career as a pharmacist, you usually determine your own hours or adhere to the schedule set by the lead researcher for the team.

Do you find it important to have working hours that align with typical office hours? Then look for a job at a local pharmacy. Do you prefer more dynamic working hours? Then a care environment might be more your thing.

As a pharmacist, you have interesting career progression opportunities within an officina:

• Pharmacist-in-charge (apotheker-titularis): Leads an independent pharmacy, or officina.
• Provisional pharmacist (apotheker-provisoir): If the pharmacist-in-charge in an officina is not the owner of the business, the provisional pharmacist fulfils this role.
• Deputy pharmacist (adjunct-apotheker): Supports the provisional pharmacist.
• Specialist: If you work in a hospital or academic environment, you can become an expert in your field through specialisation in certain diseases or specific medicines.
• Toxicologist: Undertake training to become a toxicologist to broaden your knowledge.

Career progression opportunities certainly exist for those who hope to broaden their knowledge or specialise further.

Working through Randstad offers you a range of benefits.

• being paid weekly
• flexibility
• always having a contact person you can rely on and ask for help
• many training opportunities
• a range of jobs in your local area

In Belgium, there are two university degrees that prepare you for an exciting job as a pharmacist or scientist in a pharmaceutical field. You choose either a Master's in Pharmaceutical Care or a Master's in Drug Development. These courses are very extensive; you should count on at least six years of study, interspersed with practical laboratory lessons.

Once you have obtained this degree, you automatically receive a visa from the Flemish government that allows you to work as a pharmacist in Belgium.

Would you like to work in a scientific context or broaden your orientation? Then it is worthwhile pursuing an additional Master-after-Master course in, for example:

• clinical biology
• hospital pharmacy
• industrial pharmacy

Important skills for pharmacists are:

• Accuracy: As a pharmacist, it is important to give patients the correct medicines after reviewing their prescriptions. You also check their medical history to avoid potentially dangerous substances. Attention to detail and a high degree of accuracy help you to provide patients with the right medicines and correct usage. Sometimes you also have to carry out a prescription yourself, and the correct dosage is important here.
• Problem-solving skills: You help patients solve various problems, such as deciphering difficult-to-read labels. Because you analyse how different medicines affect the human body, you help doctors find the appropriate solution. Since doctors and patients rely on your advice and knowledge of medicines, it is important that you can reason with problem-solving skills.
• Communication skills: You need clear communication skills to properly explain medical matters to patients. The knowledge you possess is extensive and often scientific. Not every patient has a scientific background. Providing clear and concise information is important to prevent patients from misusing prescriptions. You must therefore understand how to address each type of patient so that the message is clearly understood.

A pharmacist's salary depends on the type of environment you work in and the years of experience you have. You can generally expect a salary that fluctuates between 3,000 and 4,000 euros per month.

For a job as a pharmacist, you need a university Master's degree in a pharmaceutical field. Once you have obtained this degree, you automatically receive a visa that allows you to work as a pharmacist. You can then specialise further through a Master-after-Master course to perform work that is more scientific or more applied. If you choose not to pursue a university education, you can also complete a Bachelor's degree in a pharmaceutical field to work as a pharmacy assistant.

The term pharmacist is legally protected, and you cannot simply use it. You must demonstrate a certain professional knowledge and have completed the correct education. With the right diploma, you receive a visa from the Flemish government. This visa allows you to work as a pharmacist. If you do not have this visa, it is impossible to work as a pharmacist.

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