• Job: Clinical pharmacist, Northside Hospital-Forsyth in Cumming

BARRY WILLIAMS/Special (ENLARGE)

Carrie Hamilton is a clinical pharmacist at Northside Hospital-Forsyth. 'To be able to ... directly impact a patient's well-being is an amazing responsibility,' she said.

• What I do: "As a clinical pharmacist I am involved in the daily care of medical/surgical patients on the floors of the hospital. I monitor renal function and drugs that may be impacted by that. I also monitor drug and drug/food interactions of patients and consult with physicians to dose and monitor specific intravenous medications daily, as well as IV nutrition when appropriate.

"I educate patients about their medications and empower them to ask questions about their health care.

"Another exciting part of my job is serving as preceptor to fourth-year pharmacy students from Georgia pharmacy schools for their five-week advanced clinical-practice experience. My students apply the knowledge they learned in the classroom in a practice setting. Training our future pharmacists is one of the most rewarding parts of my job."

• What got me interested in this: "I have been interested in medicine and science since I was very young. In college, I dated a young man whose father was a pharmacist. After talking with him about his profession, researching the qualifications, [the] flexibility and working in a pharmacy while in college, I knew it was a perfect fit for me."

• Best part of the job: "The patients. I love the opportunities I have to interact with them. Teaching patients about their medications can improve their health and help them avoid future hospitalizations and future health issues.

"To be able to use my education to directly impact a patient's well-being is an amazing responsibility; the appreciation I get back makes my job worth it."

• Most challenging part: "Keeping up with all of the new medications added to the market every year."

• What most people don't know about my job: "Most people associate pharmacists with working in the retail (drugstore) setting. They are surprised when I tell them that I work in a hospital and that I'm involved with clinical interactions, drug monitoring and interactions with nurses and doctors on a daily basis. Most people respond, 'And I thought that all pharmacists did was count pills.'

"People also don't know that this is a great profession for a woman. There's enough flexibility in the workplace to be able to adjust your schedule around raising a family."

• What keeps me going: "The daily challenges of my job and the daily opportunities to learn. In a hospital setting, you are part of a team approach to health care, so you get to interact with patients, doctors and nurses. I'm always learning something that I can use directly in my care of patients. I look forward to work every day."

• Preparation needed for this job: Pharmacists must earn a PharmD. degree (four years of graduate school) from an accredited college of pharmacy and are required to pass licensure exams to practice. Pharmacy schools require applicants to have attended at least two years of college, although it's an advantage for applicants to have already earned a bachelors's degree. Most schools also require PCAT (Pharmacy College Admission Test) scores.

A passion for helping people is essential in this job.

• Average median salary in Georgia: About $86,000.

— By Laura Raines, Pulse editor. Got an interesting job that you love? E-mail your story to pulseeditor@ajc.com.