Pharmacologist Job Description, Key Duties and Responsibilities

By | July 15, 2023
Pharmacologist job description
Pharmacologists ensure the quality and safety of pharmaceutical products.

This post provides detailed information on the pharmacologist job description and career, including their duties, tasks, and responsibilities.

It shows how to become a pharmacologist and advance your career.

It also presents the major requirements that candidates may be expected to fulfill to be hired for the pharmacologist role in most companies.

What Does a Pharmacologist do?

The pharmacologist job description entails ensuring quality and safety of pharmaceuticals.

It also involves advising pharmaceutical companies as they develop new drugs, as well as existing drugs.

The pharmacologist provides quality control of the medication that has been prepared, by taking sample and testing them.

This is to ensure that they comply with established standards and specifications.

They assess the properties of new medicines that are being developed by pharmaceutical companies and develop new tests to ensure the safety of existing drugs.

The pharmacologist role involves answering queries from pharmacists and other health care professionals and explaining the appropriate uses of medicines.

This includes potential side effects, interactions with other medications, and other medical problems in which they might be used.

The pharmacologist prepares reports concerning their work, which are distributed to appropriate parties such as hospital administrators, pharmaceutical company representatives, and professional associations.

They also advise pharmaceutical companies on how to improve their products.

Furthermore, pharmacologists are responsible for the quality control of the drugs that are being imported and exported.

They ensure that sufficient raw materials, such as prescription medicines, pharmaceutical chemicals, and raw materials used in the production of medicines are available at all times.

Pharmacologists work with clinicians who are treating patients suffering from illnesses and diseases to ensure that medicines improve the quality of life while reducing costs.

More on Pharmacologist Job Description

Their duties also involve observing the dosage, side effects, and interactions of drugs and other substances as they are prescribed by doctors.

Pharmacologists conduct clinical trials on drugs to test the effectiveness of new medications before they are released into the market.

They work on improving health care services by sharing experience with health care professionals, clinical researchers, and patient groups.

This is to provide better treatment for patients suffering from diseases and illnesses.

An important duty of the pharmacologist is assessing the need for new drug and recommending for their development and introduction in the market place.

They evaluate studies from clinical trials on drugs that have been developed with the help of other pharmacologists.

Pharmacologists are also responsible for ensuring that sufficient raw materials, such as prescription medicines, pharmaceutical chemicals, and raw materials used in the production of medicines are available at all times.

Pharmacologist Job Description Sample/Example/Template

The pharmacologist job description involves the following duties, tasks, and responsibilities:

  • Provide safe, effective, and cost-effective medications
  • Recommend medications to the Medical Director
  • Plan, conduct, and analyze clinical trial of new medications
  • Monitor patient’s reaction to prescribed medication
  • Advise patients on medication usage to avoid drug interactions
  • Maintain medical records of patients taking drugs under your care
  • Prepare reports detailing drug testing and result analysis made regularly to Medical Director
  • Oversee preparation of intravenous (IV) solutions used in clinical trials
  • Recommend appropriate tests and treatments for complications or side effects from medications
  • Perform training and orientation programs for new employees on hospital policies and procedures
  • Act as a resource person to physicians, patients and their families in drug-related matters
  • Observe good sanitation and safety practices while performing duties
  • Provide patient/family care within your scope of practice in accordance with hospital policies, procedures, and protocols
  • Adhere to federal, state, and local regulations related to administration of prescription drugs

Pharmacologist Job Description for Resume

If you are in the process of writing a resume or CV and have worked before or are presently working in the role of a pharmacologist, then you can make an effective Professional Experience section for the resume by applying the sample pharmacologist job description above.

You will be able to emphasize the duties and responsibilities that you performed working as a pharmacologist in your Professional Experience from the above pharmacologist job description example.

This piece of information in your resume/CV shows that you have been successful performing the job of a pharmacologist.

This can greatly influence the employer/recruiter to call you up for an interview, especially if the new job that you are seeking requires someone with some pharmacologist work experience.

Pharmacologist Job Requirements: Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities for Career Success

Here are major requirements to meet to be hired for the pharmacologist position:

  • Must possession JAMB Chemistry qualification (with Credit Pass)
  • Possess minimum of 7 years working experience in the field, preferably 3 years of experience in an operational environment (not just an accounting office)
  • Have at least one-year working experience with a pharmaceutical company within the area of pharmaceutical manufacturing and marketing, such as quality control/testing, operations management, and technology transfer activities
  • Must possess knowledge on Pharmaceutical Economics and other related fields
  • Have English Language proficiency (Fluency in English) equivalent to 5 ‘O’ level credits at Ordinary Level
  • Must possess computer literacy skills
  • Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, and good sense of humor
  • Must possess a good sense of duty and an aptitude for working in a team environment
  • Physically fit (muscle tone)
  • Must be sober, being able to function efficiently despite stress or undue pressure to resort to alcohol, drugs or any other substance as a relaxation or relieving agent
  • Should have good typing speed and accuracy as well as hand writing skills (min 75 words per minute, min 75 words per minute)
  • Must possess a good command of spoken English to explain any medical terminology or scientific terms
  • Should have good driving license
  • Must possess a valid medical certificate (medical fitness).

Pharmacologist Salary

The average salary of a Pharmacologist is $119,267 per year. The highest cities include: Foster City, CA, $155,157; Cambridge, MA, $139,561; Gaithersburg, MD, $126,655; Norwalk, CT, $123,939; and Norwalk, CA, $116,049 per year.

In the United States, there are over 69 Pharmacologists. Women make up 56.0% of pharmacologists, while men make up 44.0%.

White is the most common ethnicity among pharmacologists, accounting for 56.3% of all pharmacologists.

In comparison, Asian ethnicity accounts for 26.8% of the population, while Hispanic or Latino ethnicity accounts for 8.6%.

5.6% are black or African American.

Conclusion

This article is helpful to individuals interested in the pharmacologist career, to learn all they need to know about the duties and responsibilities they commonly carry out.

They will therefore be able to decide rightly if becoming a pharmacologist is what they want to do.

This post is also beneficial to employers/recruiters for creating detailed job description for the pharmacologist role in their companies.

See: Pharmacologist career opportunities.