Alternative pharmacist careers

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PharmaSex

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I work in inpatient right now and want something different. Perhaps something more project based. Looking for ideas on where a PharmD can take you. I know of Medical writing, long term care, home infusion. Can anyone elaborate more on these or other avenues you could take. I know there are some positions out there that value PharmD's but don't have you working as a pharmacist (i.e. regulatory affairs). Could anyone shed light on how to get into these positions, where to apply, how to find, salary range, responsibilities, etc.?

Any input would be appreciated.

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Hi, I am a licensed pharmacist who works for a large health system. My job is doing projects most of the times. I do not verify prescriptions. I am involved in purchasing, 340B and cost savings for the department. That being said, I have had years of experience working at outpatient, inpatient, clinical, and good understanding of pharmacy and financial operations.
Opportunity exists, but you have to have the right credential and timing to get a shot.
Specialization is the key, do something to stand out, pharmacy IT could be a decent start.
Pay is better than retail, and great work life balance.
I would urge you to ask your director what you could take on, and take initiatives to do more and learn more. Do those assigned projects so you can list them on your resume.
Good luck.


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Specialization is the key, do something to stand out, pharmacy IT could be a decent start.



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I'm going to second this recommendation. It offers a great work-life balance and is virtually stress free. Some of the non-clinical analysts think it's stressful, but working nights and evenings in an ICU has calibrated my stressometer to a higher scale.

Inpatient experience is one of the best ways to get in as well. What EHR does your institution use? Do you have any dedicated IT staff in the pharmacy? There are plenty of things to work on.. Automated dispensing machines, carousels, dose prep software/hardware, infusion pumps, everything in the EHR from order sets to dosing rules, charging, etc.
 
I know you mentioned regulatory affairs, but just to add to that, FDA, especially within the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, really likes to hire PharmDs as project managers. Having some PM experience is a plus, but not required. Most PM jobs are going to be at the FDA's main campus in Silver Spring, MD - so if you're not from the area or looking to relocate, this probably isn't a viable option. Salaries usually start in the 90k-100k range (GS-12), with good promotion potential to GS-13 (100k-130k), and even GS-14 and Gs-15 if you're interested in being a lead PM or PM supervisor.

Another non-traditional pharmacy job option is becoming an FDA consumer safety officer, i.e. an FDA inspector - these positions are available all over the country / wherever FDA has a field office. FDA also likes to hire pharmacists for CSO positions. The main drawback with the CSO route is that you typically start off at the GS-11 pay rate, although you usually have the ability to promote up to GS-13 within a few years. But GS-11, depending on locality pay and what step you are able to negotiate starting in, will put you somewhere around 70k-80k/year. You start hitting six figures at the higher steps of GS-12 / lower steps of GS-13. CSOs get a lot of extensive training in performing FDA inspections (the first year on the job is pretty much all training), and you can really build a niche for yourself over time (e.g. become the expert on manufacturing facilities for complex biological products), and post-FDA you can make good money as a consultant to industry. If you don't mind the initial pay cut and the work itself - there's usually a good amount of travel involved (including international travel), you have to sometimes deal with folks who aren't very cooperative or friendly, and you spend a lot of time writing up reports - it can be a really fulfilling and worthwhile career.

There are other opportunities in public health for pharmacists, including pharmacovigilance and pharmacoepidemiology (e.g. FDA and CDC), emergency preparedness (e.g. managing drug stockpiles / medical caches; pharmacy logistics in emergency responses - this is usually under the purview of ASPR), public pharmacy benefit management programs (e.g CMS), and supporting clinical research (e.g. NIH). I mostly pointing out that these opportunities exist, but they are relatively far and few (especially compared to clinical / retail), they can be quite competitive, and you often have to already have some public health experience to get into these positions (but not always).

In terms of finding these public health positions - usajobs.gov is a good starting point. Going to the individual agency websites and looking at the different hiring programs, and fellowships or training programs they might have is also a potential avenue. Going to professional conferences and networking. Also, you may consider joining the USPHS Commissioned Corps.
 
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