How To Get an Online PharmD Degree in Delaware

Pharmacists are health workers that help to dispense drugs prescribed by physicians. They tell people when and how to take medications by discussing the side effects and drug interactions with them. When a drug is not working or is causing an adverse reaction, the pharmacists work hand-in-hand with the physicians to tweak the prescription and help the patient. Pharmacists do not only work in prescribing drugs; they work in the biotechnology industries and labs. Their research on drugs helps save countless lives.

A PharmD degree will help you practice pharmacy fully. This PharmD degree is also known as a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. With this degree, you will be able to work in any drug industry of your choice, whether in the hospitals, pharmacy, college, or biotechnology. It is a rewarding degree with good job prospects across the United States.

To become a pharmacist in Delaware, you’ll need more than academic requirements; you must also possess specific social skills. You require a strong attention to detail, good communication, analytical thinking, and a love for science. When you are a pharmacist, your interpersonal skills matter as much as your educational requirements.

Salary Expectation for PharmD Holders in Delaware

The average salary for a pharmacist in Delaware ranges from $141,249 to $159,676. It could vary depending on many factors such as the industry you are working at, additional certifications, number of years spent working, educational degree, and location in the state working. With your years of experience, your salary has the potential to increase by $20,000 in 10 years.

The U.S. Bureau of Statistics reported that the federal average is $125,690. The yearly average in Delaware is slightly better than the U.S. average. Furthermore, the standard of living in Delaware is higher than the U.S. average. Thus the salary is in line with the cost of living.

Requirements for Getting an Online PharmD in Delaware

The requirements are the same whether you get yourself into an online degree program or a campus-taught option. You have to finish high school first with chemistry, biology, and mathematics coursework. You will need to complete a pre-pharmacy program to be introduced into the course. This pre-pharmacy program must be two years or at least 62 hours of semester coursework. Some institutions combine it with the PharmD program.

After completing the pre-pharmacy program, you must apply for the PCATs. This stands for Pharmacy College Admissions Test. The exam will test if you are ready to get into an online pharmacy school in Delaware.

When this is complete, you will have to get the transcripts from every institution you have attended, your results from your PCATs, and apply to your online college of choice. This application is usually made through the Pharmacy College Application Service. Other requirements for this include at least two letters of recommendation and an interview with the faculty.

PharmD Degree

This degree takes four years to complete at the very minimum. However, some schools offer a Bsc/PharmD option. In this, you take both the pre-pharmacy and PharmD courses together. Nevertheless, the four-year PharmD option is the more popular choice. You will have to fulfill nothing less than 150 credits. In the first year, you will focus on the fundamentals, chemical & molecular pharmacology, and other introductory courses.

As time goes on, you will start doing your clinical rotations and experiential education. In the online PharmD degree, you will be posted to pharmacy institutions in your community for your clinical postings. Note that to graduate from your online school, you will require nothing less than 2,000 hours of clinical postings.

After you have fulfilled all the academic and clinical requirements of your degree, you will be allowed to graduate. When you graduate, your journey is not yet over. You will need to do some licensure exams.

Licensure Exams

The licensure exams are the NAPLEX (North American Pharmacist Licensure Exam) and the MPJE (Multi-state Jurisprudence Exam).

The NAPLEX is a general exam done by all PharmD graduates nationwide. It is the same in all 50 states of the U.S and costs $505 to take. The NAPLEX is used to evaluate your knowledge of therapeutic outcomes in pharmacy.

MPJE

The MPJE is not the same in every state. For Delaware, this exam focuses on your knowledge of the laws that regulate pharmacy in the state. It focuses on the accepted practices of pharmacy in Delaware.

Continued Education

As a pharmacist in Delaware, you must renew your license every three years to make sure that you stay up to date with all industry standards. In Delaware, you must complete 30 hours of continued education every two years. 2 of those 30 hours will be in safety and error in pharmacy, 2 in dispensing and delivery of controlled substances, and 2 hours must be in injectable medications and adult immunization.

The Delaware Board of Pharmacy oversees this process. The courses that offer continued education must be accredited by ACPE (Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education) before the Delaware Board of Pharmacy can accept them. NetCE offers these continuing education courses and is ACPE accredited.

Residency Training

This training aims to build upon the knowledge gained during the PharmD training. However, it is an optional process even though most inpatient health care facilities might need you to do it. It usually lasts for one year, and in that one year, you will be trained to become a more clinical exposed pharmacist. This residency prepares you for your board exams and performance in a clinical acute care facility, adjunct faculty positions, and independent practice.  

Accredited Online PharmD Schools in Delaware

St. John Fisher College 

St. John Fisher College offers an online PharmD program. To be considered in this school, you have to have at least completed a pre-pharmacy program. You do not need to write the PCAT for this program if you did a lab science-related course less than five years ago.

However, if you did your pre-pharmacy program more than five years ago, you will have to write the PCAT. An interview will be performed after your application is considered. You have the option to do it online or in person. If you are an international student, you will have to submit the TOEFL to prove your proficiency in English.

This pharmacy program is a standard four-year college program. This program costs around $181,337, excluding the accommodation and other fees like clinical posting fees. Nevertheless, there is a presence of financial aid if you want it. To access financial assistance, click here.

Onsite Options:

There is no physical pharmacy school in Delaware. However, the University of Delaware(U.D.) and the Thomas Jefferson University (TJU) school of pharmacy collaborate to help students in Delaware. This option is especially great for students with no previous experience or Baccalaureate in Pharmacy.

You can enroll in a four-year Bachelor of Pharmacy program at the University of Delaware and complete a three-year program on the University of Delaware Newark campus. Following this, you can move to the school of pharmacy at TJU for a four-year PharmD program. The courses taken in the first year of the PharmD program at TJU will serve to complete your fourth-year courses in U.D.

At TJU, students will get cohesive and comprehensive clinical practice skills, professional acumen and critical thinking skills, ethics, and legal behavior.

Hands-on practical experience is required, which can be taken at an affiliated institution such as the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. At the end of the seven-year program, students will have a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences degree from U.D. and a PharmD from TJU.

To apply and learn more about this, click here.

Major Pharmacy Employers in Delaware

According to the U.S Bureau of Statistics, the number of pharmacists in Delaware is approximately 900 and has a mean hourly wage of $62.8 per hour. This amount is above the federal average of $60. This means that Delaware is a good place to get a job. It also helps that Delaware is a good location for multinational companies. The places you can work include biotechnology companies, inpatient health centers, hospitals, health care stores, and outpatient care centers. You could also choose to own a pharmacy store of your own. Here are some places you can work in Delaware.

  • AstraZeneca
  • Incyte
  • QPS
  • Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma America
  • SmithKline Beecham Holdings
  • Bayhealth Medical Center
  • Beebe Healthcare
  • Partners Pharmacy
  • Christiana Care Health Systems
  • Walgreens

Professional Organizations

As a pharmacist in Delaware, being part of an organization helps you network and access benefits like symposiums and free training. The Delaware Pharmacist Society is a community of pharmaceutical professionals in Delaware. They provide free continued education, grants for research, and information on the current best practices in the state. It was created in 1886 and since then has been part of the community; it provides wellness programs, free screening, and health promotion and prevention activities.

The Delaware Board of Pharmacy is another professional organization. They deal with the more legal aspect of pharmacy. Their duties are in making laws and enforcing them. They are also responsible for issuing licenses and renewing them. They also maintain the registry of all drug outlets and pharmacists that produce and distribute medication in the state.

Online vs. Physical Learning in PharmD Degree

Pharmacy as a field of study requires utmost seriousness. It includes long hours of studying, long clinical posting hours, countless lectures, exams, and assignments. So one may not be sure whether to choose online or physical learning. Since the dawn of the new decade, the world has slowly but surely started getting the hang of online learning. This is not to say that it will take over from physical learning. It is just a new model trying to fit better into our world.

With the online teaching of PharmD, you still have to meet all the licensing boards’ requirements. You still have to go for clinical posting and still have hands-on experience; it is just mainly the academic part that is virtual. However, you can get the required practical experience in a facility near you. This way, if you are a busy person, far from the physical campus, or prefer staying in your home, you will have the opportunity to get your PharmD degree.