Bachelor in Pharmacy

The dispensary is the traditional sector for pharmacists. In the past, all pharmacists' roles were centralized here. Preparing medicines in accordance with a doctor's prescription, they made "magistral preparations" - tablets, pills, syrups - from substances of biological or mineral origin, most of which were themselves prepared and analyzed in the dispensary. They dispensed their own preparations to patients, for which they bore, de facto, full responsibility.

Scientific and social developments, in particular the emergence of the pharmaceutical speciality, have changed the predominance of these roles. Adapting to this new situation means that, faced with an ever more complex and diversified therapeutic arsenal, the overriding role of pharmacists today is to have perfect knowledge of the drugs they dispense and their effects. More than ever, they are the last line of defence between the drug and the patient, whom they must be able to guide and advise on its use.

About 70% of graduates go on to become officine pharmacists. Twice as frequently consulted as doctors, and enjoying enormous trust capital among the population, dispensing pharmacists are front-line public health players. Their role as advisors in the dispensing of medicines, pharmaceutical follow-up and patient support is essential. To fulfill this task, it's important to have a sound knowledge of medicines and the various pathologies, and to be a good listener and communicator.

Pharmacists can also play an important role in a wide variety of other areas that are difficult to list. For example, pharmacists are active in toxicology, hygiene and environmental protection, food analysis, cosmetology, dietetics, phytotherapy, etc., as well as in research and higher education.

In the pharmaceutical industry, industrial pharmacists have their place in research and development (drug development, galenics, analysis...), contribute to clinical studies, are involved in regulatory affairs concerning, among other things, drug registration, are responsible for drug production, control (QC) and quality assurance (QA). Finally, certain key positions must be filled by industrial pharmacists.

In the hospital environment, hospital pharmacists manage and lead the pharmaceutical department. They are responsible for the manufacture, control, analysis, sterilization, and dispensing of medicines, as well as managing the hospital pharmacy. Specialists in drugs and medical equipment (prostheses, surgical equipment...), they are in constant contact with nursing staff (doctors, nurses...).

In hospitals, clinical pharmacists are part of the healthcare team. Also in contact with patients, their aim is to optimize drug use (rational choice, adverse effects, cost...).

Pharmacist-biologists manage the clinical biology (or medical analysis) laboratory, either private or attached to hospitals. They are responsible not only for the quality of analyses, but also for their interpretation. In collaboration with physicians, they contribute to the diagnosis of disease through the information they provide. Clinical biology comprises three main fields: medicinal chemistry (analysis of chemical and biochemical components, toxicology, etc.), hematology (analysis of blood cells and proteins, immunology, etc.) and microbiology (analysis of bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc.).

Radiopharmacists, meanwhile, are responsible for the production and control of radioisotopes for diagnostic (medical imaging) and therapeutic (radiotherapy) use.

A number of administrations and organizations call on the skills of pharmacists. These include public authorities (e.g. Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products, which organizes the Pharmacy Inspectorate), the army (Health Service), public bodies (INAMI, mutual insurance companies), professional organizations (Belgian Pharmaceutical Association, Drug Control Service...) or humanitarian organizations (Pharmacists without Borders).