Antibiotic Resistance In Bacteria Essays - Pharmaceuticals Policy

Antibiotic Resistance In Bacteria Essays - Pharmaceuticals Policy Antibiotic Resistance In Bacteria For about 50 years, antibiotics have been the answer to many bacterial infections. Antibiotics are chemical substances that are secreted by living things. Doctors prescribed these medicines to cure many diseases. During World War II, it treated one of the biggest killers during wartime - infected wounds. It was the beginning of the antibiotic era. But just when antibiotics were being mass produced, bacteria started to evolve and became resistant to these medicines. Antibiotic resistance can be the result of different things. One cause of resistance could be drug abuse. There are people who believe that when they get sick, antibiotics are the answer. The more times you use a drug, the more it will decrease the effect it has on you. That is because the bacteria has found a way to avoid the effects of that antibiotic. Another cause of resistance is the improper use of drugs. When patients feel that the symptoms of their disease have improved, they often stop taking the drug. Just because the symptoms have disappeared it does not mean the disease has gone away. Prescribed drugs should be taken until all the medicine is gone so the disease is completely finished. If it is not, then this will just give the bacteria some time to find a way to avoid the effects of the drug. One antibiotic that will always have a long lasting effect in history is penicillin. This was the first antibiotic ever to be discovered. Alexander Fleming was the person responsible for the discovery in 1928. In his laboratory, he noticed that in some of his bacteria colonies, that he was growing, were some clear spots. He realized that something had killed the bacteria in these clear spots, which ended up to be a fungus growth. He then discovered that inside this mold was a substance that killed bacteria. It was the antibiotic, penicillin. Penicillin became the most powerful germ-killer known at that time. Antibiotics kill disease-causing bacteria by interfering with their processes. Penicillin kills bacteria by attaching to their cell walls. Then it destroys part of the wall. The cell wall breaks apart and bacteria dies. After four years, when drug companies started to mass produce penicillin, in 1943, the first signs of penicillin-resistant bacteria started to show up. The first bacteria that fought penicillin was called Staphylococcus aureus. This bug is usually harmless but can cause an illness such as pneumonia. In 1967, another penicillin-resistant bacteria formed. It was called pneumococcus and it broke out in a small village in Papua New Guinea. Other penicillin resistant bacteria that formed are Enterococcus faecium and a new strain of gonorrhea. Antibiotic resistance can occur by a mutation of DNA in bacteria or DNA acquired from another bacteria that is drug-resistant through transformation. Penicillin-resistant bacteria can alter their cell walls so penicillin can not attach to it. The bacteria can also produce different enzymes that can take apart the antibiotic. Since antibiotics became so prosperous, all other strategies to fight bacterial diseases were put aside. Now since the effects of antibiotics are decreasing and antibiotic resistance is increasing, new research on how to battle bacteria is starting. Antibiotic resistance spreads fast but efforts are being made to slow it. Improving infection control, discovering new antibiotics, and taking drugs more appropriately are ways to prevent resistant bacteria from spreading. In developing nations, approaches are being made to control infections such as hand washing by health care people, and identifying drug resistant infections quickly to keep them away from others. The World Health Organization has began a global computer program that reports any outbreaks of drug-resistant bacterial infections. In the early 1900's, the discovery of penicillin began the antibiotic era. People thought they have finally won the battle with bacteria. But now since antibiotic resistance is increasing rapidly, new strategies must be developed to destroy these microbes. To many scientists the antibiotic era is over Bibliography Bylinsky, Gene. Sept. 5,1995. The new fight against killer microbes. Fortune. p. 74-76. Dixon, Bernard. March 17,1995. Return of the killer bugs. New Statesman & Society. p. 29-32. Levy, Stuart B. Jan. 15,1995. Dawn of the post-antibiotic era? Patient Care. p. 84-86. Lewis, Ricki. Sept. 1995. The rise of antibiotic-resistant infections. FDA Consumer. p. 11-15. Miller, Julie Ann. June 1995. Preparing for the postantibiotic era. BioScience. p. 384-392. an excellent news article summary, got me a 100, by strife007

Average Salary Guide How Much Do Pharmacists Make

Average Salary Guide How Much Do Pharmacists Make SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Thinking about becoming a pharmacist? Or maybe you’re just wondering how much the person filling your prescriptions is making? How much does a pharmacist make? We have all answer all of your questions about pharmacist pay! In this guide, we go over average pharmacist salary overall and in each of the 50 states.To help put these numbers into context, we also explain what factors affect pharmacist salary, why pharmacists make so much, what work they do, and how you can become a pharmacist yourself. What Is the Average Pharmacist Salary? How much does a pharmacist make each year? According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average pharmacist in the US earned an annual salary of $120,270 in 2016, or about $57.82 an hour. The chart below (from the US Dept of Labor) shows the percentile wage estimates for pharmacists in 2016 so you can get a better idea of the range of pharmacist salaries. Percentile 10% 25% 50% (Median) 75% 90% Annual Wage $87,120 $109,400 $122,230 $138,920 $157,950 There are several factors that determine how much a specific pharmacist makes. Experience: Pharmacists who have worked in the profession longer make more money than pharmacists just starting out, since more experienced pharmacists typically have more responsibilities and expertise. Geographic Location: Some parts of the country have a higher average pharmacist salary than others. We discuss this more in the next section. Employer Type: The type of pharmacy job you have will also affect your pay. Pharmacists at mail-order pharmacies had the lowest annual salary (average salary $7,000) while clinical pharmacists were, on average the highest paid ($128,000). Retail pharmacists generally earn less than pharmacists working in hospitals or other clinical settings. How Much Do Pharmacists Make a Year in Each State? Depending on which part of the country you live in, you might be making more or less than the national pharmacist salary. Below is a chart showing the average annual salary for pharmacists in each of the 50 states, as well as Washington D.C. This data comes from the United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2016. You can use this chart to get a better idea of what the average pharmacist salary is in the state where you live or would like to live. State Average Annual Salary in 2016 Alabama $120,000 Alaska $138,000 Arizona $9,000 Arkansas $7,000 California $136,000 Colorado $8,000 Connecticut $121,000 Delaware $8,000 Florida $8,000 Georgia $6,000 Hawaii $5,000 Idaho $6,000 Illinois $7,000 Indiana $7,000 Iowa $0,000 Kansas $9,000 Kentucky $122,000 Louisiana $3,000 Maine $123,000 Maryland $120,000 Massachusetts $131,000 Michigan $5,000 Minnesota $123,000 Mississippi $121,000 Missouri $121,000 Montana $2,000 Nebraska $109,000 Nevada $123,000 New Hampshire $129,000 New Jersey $7,000 New Mexico $120,000 New York $9,000 North Carolina $121,000 North Dakota $3,000 Ohio $5,000 Oklahoma $121,000 Oregon $123,000 Pennsylvania $4,000 Rhode Island $2,000 South Carolina $123,000 South Dakota $2,000 Tennessee $120,000 Texas $124,000 Utah $3,000 Vermont $128,000 Virginia $9,000 Washington $124,000 Washington D.C. $121,000 West Virginia $8,000 Wisconsin $124,000 Wyoming $6,000 As you can see from the chart, the average annual salary for pharmacists ranges from $109,000 (Nebraska) to $138,000 (Alaska). Differences among states in average pharmacist salaries can be due to multiple factors, including cost of living, demand for pharmacists, and where the pharmacists are employed. Why Are Pharmacist Salaries So High? Now you know that most pharmacists are bringing in six figures a year. Why is pharmacist pay so high? There are three main reasons: Lots of Schooling Required As you’ll see in the next section, you can’t wake up one day and decide to start applying to pharmacist jobs. You’ll need a bachelor’s degree as well as a PharmD degree. For most people, this means eight years of university and graduate-level schooling, and the high level of education required for pharmacists contributes to the high salary. Requires Specialized Knowledge and Attention to Detail To be a pharmacist, you must have a lot of knowledge specific to the field, and you must also have a high attention to detail. Pharmacists spend much of their time preparing and dispensing medication, and if they make a mistake, it can literally affect other people’s lives. Therefore, they must always be careful when they are working. Additionally, many pharmacists are balancing multiple duties and many clients/customers which can cause a hectic work schedule. Because the work pharmacists do is so important, and because they are the only ones who can do it, they have a high average salary. High Demand for Pharmacists Another reason pharmacists make so much is that there is a high demand for pharmacists in many parts of the country. As the population gets older and healthcare expands, more people need the services pharmacists provide, which drives up demand. The number of pharmacists in the country is fairly small, so some employers will often offer higher salaries in order to entice pharmacists to work for them. What Do Pharmacists Do? So, what exactly do pharmacists do? It’s far more than just dispensing pills. A pharmacist’s work depends a lot on the specific field they’re in, although all pharmacist jobs involve understanding the impacts and potential risks of different medications. There are three main types of pharmacists: Retail pharmacists spend a majority of their time processing and filling prescriptions, interacting with customers, and watching for potential side effects and interactions of the drugs they prescribe. Clinical pharmacists typically work in hospitals or other medical settings, and a lot of their duties involve working directly with medical professionals and patients, either by choosing which medications to prescribe for a patient, monitoring patients, and other additional duties. Research pharmacists usually work for drug companies, although they can also work for government agencies or universities. They spend the majority of their time developing new medications and conducting drug studies. How Can You Become a Pharmacist? In order to become a pharmacist and start making the big bucks, it’ll take several years of schooling and hard work. Below are the four main steps you need to complete to become a pharmacist. #1: Take the PCAT To begin your applications and get the ball rolling, you’ll need to take the PCAT (Pharmacy College Admission Test), a standardized test for pharmacy school admissions, and submit your scores as part of your application. Not every pharmacy school requires PCAT scores, but most of them do. #2: Get Admitted to a PharmD Program The next step to becoming a pharmacist is being accepted into a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program. You’ll need a Bachelor's degree to apply. Most of the time, your degree doesn’t need to be in a specific field, but you’ll need to have certain prerequisite classes (usually two years worth) completed before you’ll be admitted, and you have a better chance of already having taken them if you majored in a science as an undergrad. The prerequisites required vary by program, but often include chemistry, biology, physics, and statistics. It’s also possible to get accepted into an accelerated PharmD program while you’re in high school. In this case, you’ll complete your undergraduate degree and PharmD degree in a total of six years. It’s worth noting though, that these programs are not very common, and they’re very competitive to get into. #3: Complete the PharmD Program It typically takes four years to complete PharmD school, which means most people are in school for eight years to become a pharmacist (four years of undergraduate + four years of PharmD school). A few pharmacy schools do have accelerated programs that allow you to complete PharmD school in three years. Even if you already have a graduate degree, even one in the sciences it’ll likely still take you four years to complete PharmD school since the course requirements are very specific to the program. At PharmD school, you’ll take courses that will teach you everything you need to know about becoming a pharmacist. Many programs also allow you to specialize in a specific area of pharmaceutical sciences such as clinical pharmacology or rural pharmacy services. You’ll also get hands-on experience through internships, rotations, and/or work placements during your time in PharmD school. #4: Get Licensed as a Pharmacist After you’ve completed PharmD school, you still need to get licensed before you can work as a pharmacist. Licenses are issued by individual states, so each state has its own requirements. However, most of them are follow the same basic set of guidelines. In every state, you’ll need to pass the NAPLEX (North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination), and most states require you to pass the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam (MPJE) as well. Your state may also have additional requirements, such as other tests you must pass, a certain number of practical hours you need to complete and/or consenting to a criminal background check. Once you’ve completed all of your state’s requirements, you’re able to begin working as a pharmacist! Review: How Much Do Pharmacists Make, Really? So, how much does a pharmacist make? The average pharmacist salary in the US is $120,270. A pharmacist’s salary depends on multiple factors, such as where they live, the type of pharmacy work they do, and how many years of experience they have. Pharmacists living in different parts of the country have different average salaries. Pharmacist pay is so high because pharmacists must attend fours years of PharmD school in addition to undergrad coursework, the profession requires specific expertise and a variety of skills, and because demand for pharmacists is growing. In order to become a pharmacist, you’ll need to: Have a Bachelor degree Complete the necessary prereqs for the program(s) you’re applying to Take the PCAT Complete (typically four years of) PharmD school Become certified (usually by passing the NAPLEX and MPJE exams)

The U.K Defence Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The U.K Defence Industry - Essay Example Defence exports of the nation are worth almost  £5 billion on an average every year (The Telegraph, 2014). In the recent years however the share of government spending upon defence equipments have fell from 10% to 5%. The nation has had 21% share in the defence export market on a global scale from the year 2005 to 2010 (The Telegraph, 2014).The presence of a well developed export market has facilitated the creation of 65,000 jobs in the nation (Brauer and Dunne, 2004). The defence industry of the U.K successfully contributes  £12 billion value addition to the nation’s economy (The Telegraph, 2014). The major challenges faced by the industry are to work in alliance with the government, to assist reformation of the procurement processes, to encourage authorities to spend more on research and reform and to further develop the export capabilities. The Ministry Of Defence of the U.K is seen to follow an open competition policy (Neuman, 2006). The figure below shows some of the largest firms of the U.K in the defence industry in terms of revenue. Companies such as Rolls-Royce, Smiths Group Plc and BAE Systems rely on exports for their growth. Many such U.K based defence companies are looking towards selling their products in the emerging markets of the world which provide a greater opportunity for earning profits than the developed nations. The current paper analyses the general business and completion of three important defence firms of the U.K, namely Rolls-Royce, Smiths Group Plc and BAE Systems (Global Security, 2014). Rolls-Royce is the 16th largest contractor of defence equipments in the world (Neuman, 2006). The company is one of the pioneers in providing defence goods and services and caters to fulfilling the defence equipments and parts needs of many nations of the world.