Cardiology Specialist in pharmacy?

[futuredoctor246]

Hello. I would like to become a pharmacist and specialize in a branch of it one day. Im curious if I were to specialize in Cardiology, how many more additional years of school would that be? Lastly, although I'm not entirely concerned about this but how much would one make in a year in NYC?

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[monkieez]

First you would get a pharmacy degree. It wouldn't necessarily require more schooling but would require 1 to 2 years of residency after school. The first year of residency is generalized and if you are very interested in cardiology you could do a second year that is focused on cardiology. You can search the ashp residency directory for programs which would give you an idea of what cardiology pharmacists and residents might do. Not sure about salaries but if you truly feel that you would want to specialize you would need to be geographically open because hospitals might only have one position per specialty. Or they might not even have a cardiology pharmacist at a smaller or less academic hospital.

 

[gwarm01]

You'd do two years post-grad to complete a PGY2 in cardiology, make less than a retail pharmacist, just to become the annoying person the cardiologist ignores. Best of luck.

 

[bacillus1]

You'd do two years post-grad to compete a PGY2 in cardiology, make less than a retail pharmacist, just to become the annoying person the cardiologist ignores. Best of luck.

I've actually never met a cardiology pharmacist outside of academia. If academia is your thing though, go for it.

 

[PharmtoCS]

You can become an ambulatory care pharmacist and specialize in cardiology and help patients manage heart conditions, i.e. heart failure. These positions will typically require a PGY1 minimum, often a PGY2.

 

[hye345]

I actually had a cardiology rotation this past fall, with a cardio pharmacist. He worked at the cardiac center affiliated with our university hospital; though oddly, he never taught any lectures at school. He certainly seemed on equal footing with the physicians in the hospital; From what I gather, he went over the profiles for the patients under the care of the cardiac team, and recommended changes (though he made it very clear that his recommendations weren't always followed).

 

[bacillus1]

I actually had a cardiology rotation this past fall, with a cardio pharmacist. He worked at the cardiac center affiliated with our university hospital; though oddly, he never taught any lectures at school. He certainly seemed on equal footing with the physicians in the hospital; From what I gather, he went over the profiles for the patients under the care of the cardiac team, and recommended changes (though he made it very clear that his recommendations weren't always followed).

But who paid for his position, the school or the hospital? A few hospitals do have cards pharmacists, but not too many that I know of.

 

[PharFromNormal]

But who paid for his position, the school or the hospital? A few hospitals do have cards pharmacists, but not too many that I know of.

My guess the school - gotta make sure we have enough rotation spots for the growing number of students. If there aren't positions, artificially create them! Set unrealistic expectations on the innocent people shelling out 6 figures to your institution, that these are real things. When they don't pan out, try harder, create more training, credentials, certificates, all costing them more, to justify the creation of something that still isn't justified with a strong business case.

 

[futuredoctor246]

You'd do two years post-grad to compete a PGY2 in cardiology, make less than a retail pharmacist, just to become the annoying person the cardiologist ignores. Best of luck.

How is it possible for one to specialize as a pharmacist and make less than a retail pharmacist. In essence, if they truly made less, why would anyone go for two extra years of "schooling."

 

[PharFromNormal]

How is it possible for one to specialize as a pharmacist and make less than a retail pharmacist. In essence, if they truly made less, why would anyone go for two extra years of "schooling."

It is absolutely happening. Easy answer is because it's a different job and people value things other than money. People can spend 8 years getting a liberal arts Ph.D. and work as a manager at Starbucks and be happy. We all don't make the same decisions because we all don't have the same opinions.

 

[bacillus1]

It is absolutely happening. Easy answer is because it's a different job and people value things other than money. People can spend 8 years getting a liberal arts Ph.D. and work as a manager at Starbucks and be happy. We all don't make the same decisions because we all don't have the same opinions.

Yep. I would make more in retail than I currently make now. Would I ever work retail? No way.

 

[steveysmith54]

agree with those who said it's great for academia and research, but other than that one of the most useless specialties out there. The specialty that will make u in demand is infectious disease. Antibiotic stewardship is huge if you work in a hospital.

 

[ChalupaBatman86]

How is it possible for one to specialize as a pharmacist and make less than a retail pharmacist. In essence, if they truly made less, why would anyone go for two extra years of "schooling."

Retail pharmacists work hard and provide a useful service that can be monetized. Not everybody wants to work that hard. Some would rather do more schooling and make less money in exchange for better working conditions.

 

[bacillus1]

agree with those who said it's great for academia and research, but other than that one of the most useless specialties out there. The specialty that will make u in demand is
infectious disease. Antibiotic stewardship is huge if you work in a hospital.

ID is good, though it is getting a bit saturated. Onc is still good if one is OK with moving. Seems like there are new transplant centers popping up, and they need pharmacists, so I think transplant PGY2 be the way to go nowadays. Also the VA still has lots of am care jobs, so an am care PGY2 with the VA is always an option. But who knows, by the time you get to PGY1, you might not even want to specialize. I know that's how I felt, and there's nothing wrong with that.

 

[gwarm01]

How is it possible for one to specialize as a pharmacist and make less than a retail pharmacist. In essence, if they truly made less, why would anyone go for two extra years of "schooling."

These specialized positions don't generate revenue, they are usually considered a nice bonus for the medical team. Meanwhile, dispensing pharmacists are a legal requirement and generate revenue with every prescription dispensed. You're basically going to have to weigh your personal income against your working conditions and decide what is best for you. I'd be careful becoming too specialized in a field with few jobs and dim prospects, as you may find yourself unemployable if you aren't willing to move for your job.

 

[PharFromNormal]

Keep in mind you can elect to "specialize" in anything you want and even have the entire world think you are the best at something that you percieve adds an incredible amount of value. However, employment/jobs/money etc. comes from how the marketplace/employer percieves your worth to them not your self-percieved worth.

 

[Corpseman]

I actually had a cardiology rotation this past fall, with a cardio pharmacist. He worked at the cardiac center affiliated with our university hospital; though oddly, he never taught any lectures at school. He certainly seemed on equal footing with the physicians in the hospital; From what I gather, he went over the profiles for the patients under the care of the cardiac team, and recommended changes (though he made it very clear that his recommendations weren't always followed).

Soooo.... He did med rec?

 

[hye345]

Soooo.... He did med rec?

More or less, among other things; more than once, I think he was on the phone with a patient (or patient's family member), talking to them about lifestyle changes and whatnot. In either event, we only saw him in the afternoons, and I assume he had 'heavier' duties earlier in the day.

 

[MasterStroke]

With ambitious personalities like you seem to have, it would be better to switch to medical school and become an actual cardiologist. You would apply your deep knowledge to save lives. A pharmacist is very marginalized. Their recommendations are usually not taken seriously by the physicians. They are treated equivalent to medical students when rounding with the team.

I have some pharmacy friends I went to school with, and now in the work world, the power differential we physicians have over pharmacists feels pretty weird. I tell them they should have gone into medicine with their big ego and strong personality. Pharmacy is more for people who want a stable, well-paying job for good lifestyle quality, without caring for what they actually do during work hours.

 

[BMBiology]

^ if you want real authority, you are in the wrong field. Physicians, pharmacists don't hold any real authority. They are just workers, like most people.

 

[trailerpark]

Just go to medical school if your that ambitious instead of trying to take the easier way so you can start serving the cool aid instead of just drinking it.

 

[steveysmith54]

ID is good, though it is getting a bit saturated. Onc is still good if one is OK with moving. Seems like there are new transplant centers popping up, and they need pharmacists, so I think transplant PGY2 be the way to go nowadays. Also the VA still has lots of am care jobs, so an am care PGY2 with the VA is always an option. But who knows, by the time you get to PGY1, you might not even want to specialize. I know that's how I felt, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Everything is Saturated. But I'd much rather do ID specialty than cardio.

 

[ChalupaBatman86]

Just go to medical school if your that ambitious instead of trying to take the easier way so you can start serving the cool aid instead of just drinking it.

Specializing and doing residencies always seemed like playing doctor to me. Seems like most of the time the docs were just humoring these pharmacists or giving them grunt work. Would rather run the show inside the pharmacy and perform a useful service.

 

[ChalupaBatman86]

And if you decide to become a cardipharmacist please don't be that guy who walks around with a stethoscope around his neck and a lab coat embroidered with "Dr. Batman". Everybody hates that guy.

 

[Rockinacoustic]

And if you decide to become a cardipharmacist please don't be that guy who walks around with a stethoscope around his neck and a lab coat embroidered with "Dr. Batman". Everybody hates that guy.

My preceptor would pull out his calipers during rounds when the EKG was passed around. He also had been rounding in that unit since the 70s so he could yell "jump" and the medical residents would respond "How high?".

 

[gwarm01]

Specializing and doing residencies always seemed like playing doctor to me. Seems like most of the time the docs were just humoring these pharmacists or giving them grunt work. Would rather run the show inside the pharmacy and perform a useful service.

You just need to complete a PGY3! Then you'll be a real doctor.

I agree completely though. In the pharmacy you are in charge, handling things within pharmacy's scope of practice. The moment you step outside, you are just another cog.