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If you are finishing your pharmacy degree, it’s time to complete your license. In North America you will need to take the NAPLEX, or the North American Pharmacy Licensing Examination. Your NAPLEX exam requires you to show that you can safely and accurately dispense medicine, and will reflect your performance in pharmacy school.

Before you take this exam, you should look into what specialization you want to pursue during your practical training since it is sometimes difficult to secure employment for pharmacists. All pharmacy trainees are required to complete an internship of at least 1,500 hours. You should choose an internship that is specific to your career trajectory and personal interests, if possible, so that it will prepare you for the path of your choice.

Even after you complete your license, you must continue your education each year. The number of hours and type of classes will depend on the state. The goal of this training is to ensure that you are keeping up-to-date with changing drug formulations and laws.

In addition, you will learn pharmacy law, which includes subjects including prescribing authority, state drug restrictions, and patient counseling requirements. As you may expect, these laws are quite complex, and you should find helpful resources that include summary tables for your reference.

Your most important concern is to conform to the licensing requirements that are particular to your state. There is a bit of variation between different state pharmacy regulations, and you will be subject to serious penalties if you neglect to comply with specific state laws.