Norwegian Pharmacy Association - Apotekforeningen

In order to represent its members' interests when dealing with the government and other sectors of the economy, the organization was established in 1881.

The group includes all of the pharmacies in Norway.

Purpose of Norwegian Pharmacy Association - Apotekforeningen

The primary objectives of the Norwegian Pharmacy Association ( Apotekforeningen) are to guarantee that pharmacies possess:

The best possible political awareness and acceptance. The most effective position and framework for competing with other sales channels within the product and service categories in which the pharmacies have, or wish to have, a commercial interest.

The Norwegian Pharmacy Association also conducts duties and executes operations on behalf of the industry as and when the group's members deem it necessary. Such duties and responsibilities are ineligible for regions that the members have designated as arenas of competition.

Year (1st of January)	Number of pharmacies in Norway	inhabitants' per pharmacy
2022	1031	5 262
2021	988	5 433
2020	958	5 562
2019	934	5670
2018	899	5849
2017	868	6 007
2016	834	6 194
2015	800	6386
2014	767	6 586
2013	738	6 756
2012	707	6 959
2011	682	7123

(Number of pharmacies and inhabitants per pharmacy 2011-2021) 

Some highlights

• Influenza vaccines can be prescribed by pharmacists in Norway.
• The Norwegian Ministry of Health has granted pharmacists the authority to recommend flu shots. This autumn, pharmacies will be able to recommend and deliver the immunization.
• More flu shots are anticipated in Norwegian pharmacies
• The Norwegian government will soon allow pharmacists to distribute flu shots on their own, without a prescription from a doctor. Today, the required regulatory actions are taken. Once the Covid-19 vaccine is delivered, the necessary conditions will also be in place for mobilizing thousands of pharmacy personnel.

Membership of Norwegian Pharmacy Association - Apotekforeningen

• Anyone who has earned a bachelor's or master's degree in pharmacy that meets Norwegian criteria is eligible to join NFF.
• You can submit an application for membership as soon as you have received your Norwegian authorization.
• Students from outside Norway who are studying pharmacy there may apply for student membership.

To know more about Norwegian Pharmacist registration follow this link for more updated articles.

All about Pharmacy Stores in Norway

Working in Norway as a Pharmacist is a popular aspect these days yet many people including registered pharmacists don't know where to start. In this article you can find information of pharmacies working in Norway, its different cities.

In Norway there are total of 1032 pharmacies. Large number belongs to retail pharmacy chains, some are hospital pharmacies and others are independent running pharmacies.

If you are a Pharmacist and looking forward to work in Norway as registered Pharmacist you can visit our Guide on how to become a Pharmacist in Norway

 

Pharmacy chains in Norway

Retail pharmacy chains are leaders in medicine sector. Below is a list of pharmacy chains and their websites to look for more information.

  1. Apotek 1 - Norway's favorite Pharmacy

This chain currently holds highest number of pharmacies throughout the Norway. A total of 450 pharmacies. 

2. Vitusapotek - Smart pharmacy of Norway

There are total of 301 pharmacy stores under this chain.

3. Boots Pharmacy Norway

Being an international pharmacy chain and a more prominent pharmacy chain of Europe. Boots pharmacy currently holds 149 stores.

4. Ditt apotek

It is a small group of pharmacy chain with 71 stores all over Norway.

Other Pharmacies

Aside from the chain of pharmacies rest of them are Hospital and independent pharmacies

Hospital Pharmacies

Each of the four regional health authorities owns a pharmaceutical trust that oversees hospital pharmacies and is set up as a health trust. However, some hospitals choose to do business with chain pharmacies. Ditt Apotek owns 33 hospital pharmacies in total.

Alliance Healthcare is the supplier for all hospital pharmacies.

1. Southern and Eastern Norway Pharmaceutical Trust: 19 outlets
2. Western Norway Pharmaceutical Trust: 6 outlets
3. Central Norway Pharmaceutical Trust: 4 outlets
4. Northern Norway Pharmaceutical Trust: 4 outlets
   

Independent pharmacy owners are few but they have built their business since decades. One can find them providing services where competition is low but services are essentially needed.

Norway for Pharmacists Career Guide

If you are a Pharmacist and looking for applying to Norway as a Pharmacist stay tuned we will be providing all the necessary information in this regard.

Pharmacist license in Norway

All the applications for pharmacists to work in Norway are governed by one central health body. It is responsible for all healthcare sector licensing which is Norwegian Directorate of Health.

The application process is called authorization which is a letter issued to applying pharmacist. We will be posting all the details of requirements, and documents required and frequently ask questions to apply.

The authorization letter is the preliminary Norway pharmacist license which is valid for all regions.

Pharmacist salary in Norway

A pharmacist is paid much better in Norway than any other place in the world considering the benefits attached to your job.

In Norway, the average salary for a pharmacist is about 777,000 NOK per year. The lowest salary is 358,000 NOK, and the highest is 1,240,000 NOK (highest). This is the typical annual pay after housing, transportation, and other amenities. [1]

Many experts names Norway the best country for pharmacist immigration.

Language Requirement for Pharmacists (Norway)

There is a language requirement for Pharmacists. Full license to get a job in Norway is provided after securing a satisfactory level of Norwegian language. 

It is advised to begin studying the language as soon as possible if you intend to work in Norway. Working in pharmacies in Norway typically requires a high level of Norwegian language proficiency.

Online Training - Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) training

If you are a health professional looking towards to learn more about Corona Virus Covid-19. If it so you can take advantage of some free resources which are now being shared online. Most of these resources are from health authorities leading in care and management of health issues online.

One of such authority managing Corono Pandemic has open doors of online education for free.

WHO (World Health Organization) is now offering free corona virus training online for health care professionals. This certification is not only free but also you can access it from any device which has internet connection.

All you have to do is go their page for Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) training: Online training.

Right now as of writing this following online training are being provided.

COVID-19: Operational Planning Guidelines and COVID-19 Partners Platform to support country preparedness and response

3 modules to scale up country preparedness to cop up corona pandemic.

Who can attend this training?

• For UN country teams (UNCTs)
• For other relevant stakeholders, including partners, donors and civil society
• To support national readiness and preparedness for COVID-19
• To help countries increase their capacity to respond to COVID-19
• To increase international coordination for response and preparedness
• To streamline the process of coordinating resources and assessing country preparedness level

Access this training.

Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) for novel coronavirus (COVID-19)

This course comprises of all information which facilitates essential preparedness to respond to a case of an respiratory virus including novel corona virus. You will be able to identify a case once it occurs and how to implement IPC measures to counteract and protect other patients and healthcare facility.

Useful for all healthcare professionals.

Access this training.


Introduction to emerging respiratory viruses, including novel coronavirus

Learn general introduction to Covid-19 and other respiratory viruses. This course is intended for public health professionals, incident managers and personnel working for the United Nations, international organizations and NGOs

Access this training.

Clinical Care Severe Acute Respiratory Infection

Clinical management of patients with a severe acute respiratory infection due to due avian influenza virus (H5N1, H7N9), MERS-CoV, COVID-19 or other emerging respiratory viral epidemics.

Access this training

Mom as Pharmacist among top 5 professions ruled by women

When we graduate and get a degree in our needed or unwanted field there comes a second step where the real hustle begins - job
hunting with a career stability. Million get a job but they don't know how to acquire a stability in their daily routines with their perfect jobs.

If you are among these people you should contact these 5 professional lady worker where they are beating the odds. This story was published in Forbes magazine emphasizing the women role and their hard work in daily routines and hustle for a perfect family.

According to Forbes number one place is given to;

Pharmacists

The first North American pharmacy school, The Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, was founded in 1821. The first woman didn’t graduate from the school until 1883, when Susan Hayhurst received her degree. Later on, she led the pharmaceutical department of the Women’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Every class following Hayhurst graduated at least one woman.

The pharmacy student population skewed male for quite some time. As recently as 1983, only 27% of pharmacists were women, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But over the past 30 years or so, the gender breakdown has shifted. As of fall 2011, 60% of students enrolled in pharmacy professional degree programs were women, according to the American Association of colleges of Pharmacy. In 2012, women made up 54% of practicing pharmacists nationwide.

Other listed professions included

• Accountants
• Physician assistants
• Photographers
• Bartenders

Being in the field of IT and health I would like to mention a recent change in career shifting towards coding. Hopefully in next decade or recent five years we will see these professions replaced by mothers who code and still acquire a stability for their family and career.

Reference:

http://fortune.com/2013/03/11/5-professions-ruled-by-women/