The semicolons are separating parts of a series because some of the parts of the series have commas within them.
See if it makes better sense when the parts of the series are separated:
Pharmacists are the medication experts. They advise doctors, nurses, and patients
~~on the correct drug dosage for a patient's weight, age, health, and gender;
~~on interactions between drugs;
~~on side effects;
~~on drug alternatives;
~~on costs;
~~and on ways to give drugs.
They also dispense drugs at pharmacies, according to prescriptions, checking for dangerous drug interactions, and educating patients on how to take drugs, what reactions to watch out for, and how long it should take for drugs to work.
Pharmacists are the medication experts. They advise doctors, nurses, and patients on the correct drug dosage for a patient's weight, age, health, and gender; on interactions between drugs; on side effects; on drug alternatives; on costs; and on ways to give drugs. They also dispense drugs at pharmacies, according to prescriptions, checking for dangerous drug interactions, and educating patients on how to take drugs, what reactions to watch out for, and how long it should take for drugs to work.
I don't understand the paragraph with the semicolon stuff.
2 answers
I don't either! It is sometimes used to separate a long list and that seems to be how it is used here. Usually the semi-colon replaces a period to join 2 clauses. Just consider it a way to separate things in a list here.
Sra
Sra
2 answers