Pharmacist vs staff pharmacist

The differences between pharmacists and staff pharmacists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a pharmacist has an average salary of $118,968, which is higher than the $118,844 average annual salary of a staff pharmacist.

The top three skills for a pharmacist include patients, customer service and employee development. The most important skills for a staff pharmacist are patients, patient care, and customer service.

Pharmacist vs staff pharmacist overview

	Pharmacist	Staff Pharmacist
Yearly salary	$118,968	$118,844
Hourly rate	$57.20	$57.14
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	50,943	115,299
Job satisfaction	3.67	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

What does a pharmacist do?

Pharmacists are medical experts who distribute prescribed medications and immunizations to individuals. They are responsible for ensuring the quality of medicines supplied to patients, which should be within the law and prescribing only what is suitable to the condition of the user and provide proper knowledge on how to take them and possible reactions or side effects that may occur. Pharmacists could work in all environments where medications are used, or medication therapy is appraised as part of patients' care plan but most commonly in hospitals, community-based setting, and health systems.

What does a staff pharmacist do?

The job of staff pharmacists entails dispensing prescription drugs to patients and offering their expertise on how to safely use prescribed medicines. Their job responsibilities include overseeing the medications prescribed to patients, providing healthy lifestyle advice such as diet, stress management and exercise, providing immunizations, and conducting health and wellness screenings. They also supervise the work of pharmacists in training and pharmacy technicians, teach other health practitioners on the appropriate medication therapies for individual patients, and do certain administrative tasks.

Pharmacist vs staff pharmacist salary

Pharmacists and staff pharmacists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Pharmacist	Staff Pharmacist
Average salary	$118,968	$118,844
Salary range	Between $93,000 And $151,000	Between $93,000 And $151,000
Highest paying City	Sacramento, CA	Richmond, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Safeway	Safeway
Best paying industry	Retail	Retail

Differences between pharmacist and staff pharmacist education

There are a few differences between a pharmacist and a staff pharmacist in terms of educational background:

	Pharmacist	Staff Pharmacist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Pharmacy	Pharmacy
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Pharmacist vs staff pharmacist demographics

Here are the differences between pharmacists' and staff pharmacists' demographics:

	Pharmacist	Staff Pharmacist
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 43.2% Female, 56.8%	Male, 46.5% Female, 53.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.0% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 5.6% Asian, 20.9% White, 62.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 7.1% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 5.6% Asian, 20.7% White, 62.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between pharmacist and staff pharmacist duties and responsibilities

Pharmacist example responsibilities.

Perform diabetes interviews along with physician collaboration agreement to manage therapy and optimal goals.
Dose and manage all Vancomycin and Aminoglycoside antibiotics throughout the entire hospital including overseeing, evaluating, and ordering antibiotic labs.
Perform critical care and oncology medication therapy management reviews for all patients assign to both satellite pharmacies.
Assist with transition to new computer system pending start of permanent PIC.
Deliver approximately 20K prescriptions per day to patients through budgeting Dr. Andy Nguyen, Pharm.
Provide small-group formal educational presentations for cardiac rehabilitation patients.

Staff pharmacist example responsibilities.

Dose and manage all Vancomycin and Aminoglycoside antibiotics throughout the entire hospital including overseeing, evaluating, and ordering antibiotic labs.
Maintain excellent relationship with patients base on consultations, efficacy, and compassion.
Implement value-added customer service programs including individualize counseling, smoking cessation classes, and flu and pneumonia immunization clinics.
Coordinate prescription fulfillment and verification, including reviewing patient profiles for interactions, allergies, and compatibility prior to dispensation.
Train and coach new hires, interns and in turn ensure patient compassion.
Used PYXIS machine to fill control prescription and to retrieve information on particular orders.

Pharmacist vs staff pharmacist skills

Common pharmacist skills

Patients, 22%
Customer Service, 11%
Employee Development, 8%
Allergies, 6%
Patient Care, 6%
Drug Therapy, 5%

Common staff pharmacist skills

Patients, 21%
Patient Care, 18%
Customer Service, 17%
Patient Safety, 11%
Compassion, 9%
Immunization, 6%

Pharmacist vs. similar jobs

Pharmacist related careers

Pharmacist related jobs

Pharmacist jobs by location

Zippia Careers
Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Pharmacist
Pharmacist vs Staff Pharmacist

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse healthcare practitioner and technical jobs