A clinical retail pharmacist?

Started by BenJammin
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BenJammin

No Apologies
15+ Year Member
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Anybody know what the heck that is? I saw that term used last week and just don't understand it. Is it a real thing?
 
I still don't know if a clinical hospital pharmacist even exist outside of academia. I have heard about them but I have never seen one...just like a unicorn.
 
Here is a question tho: what is going on with you and retail pharmacists? It seems like there is some bitterness.
 
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Your hospital is cutting back huh? Medicare cuts?

I am sure retails will accept you with opened arms!
 
Saw a posting for one of these for CVS. Looked like a pharmacist who would do targeted disease-state education by phone all day.
 
Noticed that a PharmD is the laboratory director of mycology reference lab at the university of texas when I recieved back a patient sample I had sent off. He specializes in novel antifungal therapy testing and validation.
 
I still don't know if a clinical hospital pharmacist even exist outside of academia. I have heard about them but I have never seen one...just like a unicorn.

Dudebro. Check out my job near LA. I am a goddamn unicorn!
 
There are clinical hospital pharmacists all over the VA.

I know several retail clinical pharmacists. One of them is responsible for training pharmacists to do MTM and directing MTM programs for her district + training all of the pharmacists in immunizations.

But you don't need a residency for any of that. I thought it was pretty well accepted that you couldn't be considered truly clinical without one.
 
Accepted by whom? Who makes those rules?

Nothing official I guess. The only reason I bring it up is because I read a student interview that said "I am hoping to pursue a community pharmacy Post Graduate Year (PGY1) residency and then becoming a clinical retail pharmacist." Just never heard of this idea taking off.
 
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Nothing official I guess. The only reason I bring it up is because I read a student interview that said "I am hoping to pursue a community pharmacy Post Graduate Year (PGY1) residency and then becoming a clinical retail pharmacist." Just never heard of this idea taking off.

I don't think there are a ton of clinical pharmacists in retail. But it does exist. The ones that I know are residency trained, but I don't know that it would be required.
 
At least in some states, the volume of MTM cases is rapidly increasing. For example, large Medicaid programs are making MTM available to their members. There are clinical positions in the community setting where pharmacists develop and implement MTM programs, both at a store and regional level. Community pharmacies are also increasing involvement in patient centered medical homes, transition of care services, and wellness coaching programs, to name a few. For example, I see patients for face-to-face disease state coaching visits (ex. for a patient with diabetes - A1C and lipid panel, foot exams, etc), MTMs after patients are hospitalized, and I work with a physician's office to see their patient who are non-adherent with therapies, who are not meeting clinical goals, who have new medications, etc. Some community pharmacies are starting to offer genomics testing for specified medications. Other community pharmacy residents I know ultimately decide to work in physician's offices... with or without a PGY2 in ambulatory care, particularly if the community experience has a large ambulatory care component. It's also a fairly quick path to obtain an academic position... 1 year residencies are the expectation for community pharmacy faculty members, not 2 year residencies...
 
Walgreens in Wisconsin is about to join WPQC (Wisconsin Pharmacy Quality Collaborative). All pharmacists are supposed to finish the training by the end of the month. This is a large program in the state. It will allow us to conduct MTM services for WI Medicaid/Senior Care members, regular United Healthcare, Cigna, and a few others. In anticipation of the start of the program, corporate is being a little more generous with tech hours. My district already is one of the most active MTM districts in the country. It is uncertain how all of this will play out.

I am at a CLIA waived pharmacy, and the only time we really do the tests is for the wellness screenings for employees.

It is always fun to give med histories to nurses for extremely non-compliant patients.

If you truly want to change the profession, it has to be done at community/retail pharmacies. This is where the vast majority of pharmacists work.
 
We have a couple of faculty members that are partially funded (~50%) by providing "clinical" services at a small local retail chain. They do MTM and some am care type disease state management. Of course, the academic world often differs from the non-academic world and I don't know whether or not the chain employs anyone full-time for these services who is not associated with the college.
 
here we go, another credential/title arms race.

I hereby decree all retail pharmacists be bestowed the title "clinical pharmacist"

I then hereby decree all hospital pharmacists be bestowed the title "uber clinical unicorns"

it is so ordered.
 
here we go, another credential/title arms race.

I hereby decree all retail pharmacists be bestowed the title "clinical pharmacist"

I then hereby decree all hospital pharmacists be bestowed the title "uber clinical unicorns"

it is so ordered.

Don't forget to make up some more acronyms to go after your name.

Digsbe, Pharm.D. D.Ph. BCPS ABC XYZ and now UCU for "under clinical unicorns."