What is a Pharmacist?

I would like to vent a bit about a local pharmacist I saw last night. According to the US Department of Labor,

"Pharmacists distribute prescription drugs to individuals. They also advise their patients, as well as physicians and other health practitioners, on the selection, dosages, interactions, and side effects of medications. Pharmacists monitor the health and progress of patients to ensure the safe and effective use of medication."

If this is what a Pharmacist is trained to do, then why was it that the pharmacist I saw last night couldn't tell me the difference between Robitussin, Robitussin DM, and Robitussin night time...Obviously I can read the label and tell the difference, but all of the medical lingo doesn't mean crap to me. I wanted it in layman's terms which he could not offer. All he preceded to do was pick up the bottles and show me that each brand has a different active ingredients. Well duh! What I wanted to know was what exactly were these active ingredients, how would they affect me, how it would affect my baby, etc. What's worse than that is the fact that he couldn't tell me which drugs were safest for pregnant women. If he is supposed to be able to advise patients and physicians on what drugs a person should/should not take, shouldn't he have known all of these answers?

I'm not criticizing others in this profession...just the particular one I spoke with last night. I'm pretty sure this drug store found a high joe schmoe off the streets to put on a white lab coat and cover their pharmacist's shift last night with all of the "ums" and "I don't knows" I got as answers. I don't think I will be going back to them for help.

Sorry for the venting, but it pissed me off!