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Is it really necessary to do a residency?
Started by Scott80
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Not in my opinion. You do realize that a year of a residency equates to more than a year of experience, no?
With that said, over time, yes, I think you could be, but I honestly think that working a year compared to someone who did a residency, your chance of being as competitive is small.
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I think you could gain experience without a formal residency program. There are so many these days, and they vary in what you'll learn anyways. If you are a good learner, you will pick up important stuff no matter what you're called. I know many folks with B.S. rph degrees who are 20 leagues above the rest... It all comes down to your own commitment. You don't need a $60,000 pay cut to learn clinical pharmacy.
I am one of those few who got a clinical position without a residency. I was able to do so because I had a medical background and 5 years of patient-care experience prior to entering pharmacy school.
Becoming a clinical pharmacist right out of school is difficult though. Physicians come to me every day and ask me to decide on an antibiotic for them, recommend a pain management program, determine pediatric dosing, etc. The bad part is they never come and ask me the easy questions, it is always for a patient who is allergic to 5 classes of antibiotics, or refuses to take certain narcotic pain relievers, and has no insurance so they can't afford any brand name meds.
We have a pharmacy resident at my hospital and I see what she is experiencing. I think I am getting far more practical experience (in my specialty area) than she is. She spends much of her day working on projects, doing presentations, going to meeting, etc. What I do envy about her is that she will get to rotate through all the specialty areas around the hospital, and she isn't under the pressure I am in making a split-second decision.
After her one year residency she can get a clinical job in any general pharmacy area, I am pretty much limited to my specialty for now. I would probably need about three years to be able to expand out into a general clinical position.
Either way you go about it, deciding to become a clinical pharmacist is definitely a challenging road. Make sure you plan to study long after your graduation date.
Becoming a clinical pharmacist right out of school is difficult though. Physicians come to me every day and ask me to decide on an antibiotic for them, recommend a pain management program, determine pediatric dosing, etc. The bad part is they never come and ask me the easy questions, it is always for a patient who is allergic to 5 classes of antibiotics, or refuses to take certain narcotic pain relievers, and has no insurance so they can't afford any brand name meds.
We have a pharmacy resident at my hospital and I see what she is experiencing. I think I am getting far more practical experience (in my specialty area) than she is. She spends much of her day working on projects, doing presentations, going to meeting, etc. What I do envy about her is that she will get to rotate through all the specialty areas around the hospital, and she isn't under the pressure I am in making a split-second decision.
After her one year residency she can get a clinical job in any general pharmacy area, I am pretty much limited to my specialty for now. I would probably need about three years to be able to expand out into a general clinical position.
Either way you go about it, deciding to become a clinical pharmacist is definitely a challenging road. Make sure you plan to study long after your graduation date.
