Pharmacists
Job description
These individuals evaluate drug therapy and ensure the appropriate use of medications in order to detect and prevent medication-related problems. They prepare, store, and dispense medication to maintain health, restore health, or provide appropriate symptom relief. They are self-employed or self-employed in:
- Retail and hospital pharmacies
- Pharmaceutical companies
- Government agencies and services
- Government business
- Regulatory matters
Environment
- Controlled ambient temperature
- Hazardous chemical
Main tasks
Community and Institutional Pharmacists
- Fill prescriptions and ensure that drug therapy meets the health needs of patients.
- Extend or adjust doctor’s prescriptions.
- Analyze patient records to ensure that the medications chosen are suitable and adequate for their condition (right dose, right product, drug interactions, etc.).
- Educating patients and other health care professionals about dosage, contraindications, adverse reactions, etc.
- Provide a pharmaceutical opinion.
- Ensure the packaging, distribution, and storage of drugs and pharmaceutical products.
- Initiate, monitor, and adjust patients’ drug therapy.
- Counsel patients on the use of non-prescription drugs and prescribe them when clinically or otherwise appropriate.
- Monitor and coordinate the activities of other pharmacists and staff.
- Administer a medication by different routes of administration to demonstrate appropriate use for vaccination or in an emergency.
- Prescribe medications for certain health conditions:
- Minor health conditions (allergic conjunctivitis, eczema, allergic rhinitis, etc.)
- Preventive treatments (smoking cessation, emergency oral contraception, antibiotic prevention in people exposed to a tick bite [Lyme disease], etc.)
- Treatment of influenza or shingles.
Industrial Pharmacists
- Participate in research for the development of new drugs.
- Formulate, test, and verify the stability, absorption, and elimination of new drugs.
- Coordinate clinical investigations of new drugs.
- Control the quality of drugs during production to ensure compliance with applicable standards.
- Develop informative material concerning the uses, therapeutic effects, and risks of certain drugs.
- Evaluate drug labelling, packaging, and advertising.
- Promote pharmaceuticals to health professionals.
- Participate in pharmacovigilance functions (document and evaluate adverse reaction cases, assess product risks, etc.).
Hourly wage
The hourly wage is calculated by averaging wages from 2022 to 2024.- Minimum
- $45.00
- Median
- $61.00
- Maximum
- $70.00
Job prospects for 2024-2028
Les 2 champs de sélection ci-dessous vous permettent de comparer 2 régions. Les données des régions seront automatiquement mises à jour à la sélection. Par défaut, la province de Québec est sélectionnée pour la première région.
Job prospects for 2024-2028
Job prospects
All of Québec
Very good
All of Québec
Non available
Total jobs for 2023
All of Québec
10,000
All of Québec
na
Gender distribution
All of Québec
Not available.
- 68% Female
- 32% Male
Not available.
- 68% Female
- 32% Male
Job types
All of Québec
Not available.
- Full time
- Part time
Not available.
- Full time
- Part time
Yearly wage on 2020
All of Québec
$118,000
All of Québec
Other characteristics
All of Québec
- Non traditional for men
- None
All of Québec
- Non traditional for men
- None
Sectors of activity
All of Québec
Not available.
-
NAICS 44, 4577% of jobs
-
NAICS 621, 622, 62318% of jobs
-
NAICS 411% of jobs
-
NAICS 324, 3251% of jobs
-
NAICS 5416, 54171% of jobs
-
Others2% of jobs
All of Québec
Not available.
-
NAICS 44, 4577% of jobs
-
NAICS 621, 622, 62318% of jobs
-
NAICS 411% of jobs
-
NAICS 324, 3251% of jobs
-
NAICS 5416, 54171% of jobs
-
Others2% of jobs
Training and requirements
Formation
Most training programs are offered in French only.
University
Pharmacology or pharmaceutical science
Bachelor’s degree
Placement rate: 63.9%
26.5% of graduates pursue further studies
Master’s degree
Placement rate: 81.9%
13.3% of graduates pursue further studies
This discipline is taught in the following institutions:
Also required
- Membership in the Ordre des pharmaciens du Québec (OPQ [Quebec Order of Pharmacists]).
Sometimes required
- Knowledge of the existing IT system may be required or an asset.
- A Master’s degree in advanced drug therapy may be required to practice in a health care facility.
Main skills and characteristics
Skills
- Data collection
- Information processing
- Judgment and decision-making
- Reading comprehension
- Active listening
- Teaching
- Result evaluation
- Written expression
- Oral expression
- Service oriented
- Critical thought
- Science
- Active learning
- Time management
- Human resource management
- Social perception
- Solving complex problems
- Coordination
- Mathematics
- System analysis
- Negotiation
- Persuasion
- Learning strategies
Abilities
- Written comprehension
- Oral comprehension
- Verbal skills
- Awareness of issues
- Near vision
- Speech clarity
- Written expression
- Deductive reasoning
- Inductive reasoning
- Classification
- Information organization
- Speech recognition
- Selective attention
- Mathematical reasoning
- Basic numeracy
- Perception speed
- Digital dexterity
- Idea generation
- Time sharing
- Colour perception and distinction
- Distance vision
Knowledge and attributes
- Capacity to work under pressure
- Autonomy
- Sense of responsibility
- Capacity to influence and mobilize
- Capacity to work in a team
- Capacity to delegate
- Commitment
- Capacity to be discrete
- Respect standards and regulations
- Knowledge of medicine or dentistry
Interests
- Direct, organize, and manage
- Draft, communicate, and inform
- Watch, defend, and secure
- Carry out research
- Assist and advise
- Teach or educate
- Assist or care for people
Personality profiles (RIASEC)
- Investigative
- People with this profile prefer relying on theoretical knowledge before acting. They like observation, analysis and problem solving.
- Enterprising
- People with this profile prefer having responsibilities, influencing others and responding to challenges.
- Social
- People with this profile prefer to be in contact with others, in particular to entertain, help or teach them.
Official name of the NOC 31120
Pharmacists
Job titles
- Druggist
- Clinical pharmacist
- Community pharmacist
- Industrial pharmacist
- Health care institution pharmacist
- Pharmacist consultant
- Intern pharmacist
- Pharmacy officer - canadian armed forces
- Drug information pharmacist
- Hospital druggist
- Retail pharmacist
Skill type
Health
Last update: January 29, 2026
Page evaluation