Prepares and dispenses pharmaceuticals, drugs and medicines in a hospital pharmacy. Registration or licensing is required.

Skill Level

1

Specialisations

• Pharmaceutical Officer (Army)

Unless you are exempt in very limited circumstances, you are required to have a positive Skills Assessment to apply for the visas listed below.

Skills Assessment authority for Hospital Pharmacist is Australian Pharmacy Council. To have a positive skills assessment, you must meet the following criteria:

Four pathways to skills assessment by APharmC:

• Pathway A- Competency Stream
  • For applicants who have graduated from a recognised pharmacy degree program in either Canada, Ireland, the UK or the USA; and are  currently registered as a pharmacist in one of those countries.
  • Must hold an approved qualification which is recognised by the pharmacy regulator in the country of qualification.
  • The qualification must also be the equivalent of either:
    • 4 years’ full-time academic study, if completed after 1 January 2006, OR
    • 3 years’ full-time academic study, if completed before 1 January 2006
• Pathway B- International Student Stream
  • For applicants who have graduated from a recognised pharmacy degree program in Australia or New Zealand as an international student and are now registered or eligible to be registered as a pharmacist
  • You must provide proof of your qualifications, registration status and work history
• Pathway C- Knowledge Stream
  • For applicants who graduated from a pharmacy degree program in any country other than Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK or the USA and are registered or eligible to be registered as a pharmacist in that country
  • Must hold an approved qualification which is recognised by the pharmacy regulator in the country of qualification.
  • The qualification must also be the equivalent of either:
    • 4 years’ full-time academic study, if completed after 1 January 2006, OR
    • 3 years’ full-time academic study, if completed before 1 January 2006
• Pathway D- NZ Registered Pharmacist Stream
  • For applicants who graduated from a pharmacy degree program in New Zealand and are currently registered as a pharmacist in New Zealand
  • You must provide proof of your qualifications, registration status and work history

ensure safe and quality use of medicines, and optimise health outcomes by contributing to selecting, prescribing, monitoring and evaluating medicine therapy, and researching, testing and developing pharmaceuticals and medical products.

Tasks

• receiving prescriptions, checking patients’ medicine histories, and ensuring optimal dosage and methods of administration and drug compatibility before dispensing
• preparing or supervising the preparation and labelling of liquid medicines, ointments, powders, tablets and other medications to fill prescriptions
• advising prescribers on drug incompatibility and contra-indications
• reviewing and monitoring the medicine therapy of individual patients, and assessing the effectiveness of the total medicine therapy
• maintaining prescription files and recording issue of narcotics, poisons and habit-forming drugs
• storing and preserving vaccines, serums and other drugs subject to deterioration
• supplying non-prescription medicines, and diagnostic and therapeutic aids
• supervising and coordinating the work of Pharmacy Technicians, pharmacy interns and Pharmacy Sales Assistants
• conducting research to develop and improve pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and related chemical products
• conferring with Chemists, Engineering Professionals and other professionals about manufacturing techniques and ingredients
• testing and analysing drugs to determine their identity, purity and strength in relation to specified standards
• developing standards for drugs used in pharmaceuticals

Skill Level

Occupations in this unit group have a level of skill commensurate with a bachelor degree or higher qualification and a one year traineeship (ANZSCO Skill Level 1).

Registration or licensing is required.

Occupations in this Group

• 251511 Hospital Pharmacist
• 251512 Industrial Pharmacist
• 251513 Retail Pharmacist