How to Become a Compounding Pharmacist

A compounding pharmacist is a special kind of pharmacist who is able to customize the manufactured drugs and medications for some specific patients who are allergic to some non-active substances in any of the medications. A customized medication makes the patients refrain from any allergic reaction caused by any non-active substance in medicine. All compounding pharmacists are licensed pharmacists but not all pharmacists are called compounding pharmacists. They need to go through some additional certifications or training to become a compounding pharmacist. It takes an excessive detail oriented personality with an appropriate knowledge to compound some customized prescriptions. That’s why there are only a few compounding pharmacies in the US as compared to other traditional pharmacies that just sell the manufactured medications and fill the prescriptions having OTC medications like manufactured capsules, tablets and syrups. On the other hand, compounding pharmacies can provide you the same suggested prescription in your desired form like tablet, capsule or syrup according to your preferred choice.

Each compounding pharmacy has at least one compounding pharmacist who is earning more than the general pharmacist. Compounding pharmacy definition tells us about why the compounding pharmacist’s salary is higher than the normal pharmacist. A compounding pharmacist is a step above the traditional pharmacist who just graduated from a pharmacy school. A compounding pharmacist has gained additional education and training for the certification and that’s why there is a significant difference between the salary of a compounding pharmacist and the salary of a traditional pharmacist.

There are some prerequisites to become a compounding pharmacy technician like having a compounding certification for pharmacists. A complete route to become a compounding pharmacy technician involves getting a high school diploma, getting a pharmacist license, and passing the pharmacy technician certification exam (PTCE).

Once you have gone through all these steps, your journey to become a board certified sterile compounding pharmacist starts. You need to fill an assistant pharmacy technician position in any sterile compound pharmacy and learn all about compounding like drug interactions, medical terminology and active/non active substances.

After high school, it takes almost 6-8 years to become a compounding pharmacist. There are some compounding certifications for pharmacists that need to be acquired after passing some specific exams. Having an accredited pharmacy degree and North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) are required for any American to become a compounding pharmacist in North America.

A sterile compounding pharmacist is a special compounding pharmacist who strictly obligates all the suggested sterile conditions by the health authorities while compounding the medication. Thus, a sterile compounding pharmacist makes sure to prepare customized medications without any contamination from an external environment.

All of the sterile compounding pharmacy requirements are listed in the USP-797 – a standard (by United States Pharmacopeia Convention) that outlines all the suggested behavior and requirements for a sterile compounding.

Donning sterile gloves, maintaining air quality, maintaining line of demarcation, maintaining controlled temperature, monitoring microbial and external particulates are among the popular sterile compounding pharmacy requirements.

The average salary of a compound pharmacist in the USA is $128,000 per year. It all depends on the experience, the state and a particular compounding pharmacy that how much a compound pharmacist earns in the USA. The expert certified compound pharmacists may make up to $160,000 per year as well. An expert compound pharmacist knows everything about compounding from the drug compounding vs manufacturing to all about active substances and the sterile compounding standards set by USPC.

Compounded medication is all about customizing the medication for some specific people who may be allergic to some non active substances that are present in manufactured medications. That’s why it may seem a lucrative option but you should also know that the compounding and FDA rules don’t not go in a same ways as FDA does not regulate or monitor the compounding medications as they are not produced under the same criteria for everyone; however, there are many health authorities that have suggested some precautionary sterile standards for a better compounding procedure. Always choose an expert compound pharmacist for your needs.

Knowless Wellness is all about providing the best pharmaceutical services in Virginia and the surrounding areas. We are even more famous for our compounding services rather than traditional pharmacy services. All our compounding pharmacists and compounding technicians are certified and experienced enough to take care of all the sterile standards for a perfect compounding. If you ever need any kind of compounding services near Virginia, you should contact Knowless Wellness without any hesitation. You would get your perfect compounded products on the same day.