Clinical pharmacist training on the job?

[PharmacistWA]

Hello everyone,

This is kind of an odd question, but I've applied recently to several clinical pharmacist positions , one of them specializing in oncology. They only ask for two years pharmacy practice experience, but no clinical or oncology specific experience specified.
Is it possible that they provide training if you are chosen for the job? Has anyone transitioned from retail to clinical and received training before starting ( as part of the new job)?
All information would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

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[KidPharmD]

I would guess that most likely, what you are seeing are minimum standards set by the health system for a pharmacist of that pay grade. For example, they may only have two standard set of requirements. One for positions that allow for new grads, and one that does not. Whether or not they would hire someone with no specialized (or even hospital) experience probably depends on two things. First, who the other applicants are. If you apply at the same time to an oncology position as someone with a BCOP, then they probably won't even interview you. Second is how desperate they are to fill the position. They are more likely to give on the job training if they need to fill it now, than if they could wait 6 months to fill it. For example, if any single specialized pharmacist leaves our hospital, we could make do for 6-9 months before really having to fill the spot. At this point in the year, that is enough time to wait on residency classes to finish.

I don't know anyone who has transitioned from retail to clinical without doing some hospital staffing in between.

 

[PharmacistWA]

Thanks for the input KidPharmD