Non-accredited drug information residency before fellowship

[bookworm92]

I am thinking of pursuing a non-accredited drug information residency with many contracted formulary and drug monograph activities, then pursue a fellowship (many areas of interest: pharmacoeconomic, drug information, medication safety, pharma, and regulatory). Personally I believe this would provide the training that I need to become a good pharmacist in my areas of interest, but I would appreciate any opinions on this career path.

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[lionheart555]

I am thinking of pursuing a non-accredited drug information residency with many contracted formulary and drug monograph activities, then pursue a fellowship (many areas of interest: pharmacoeconomic, drug information, medication safety, pharma, and regulatory). Personally I believe this would provide the training that I need to become a good pharmacist in my areas of interest, but I would appreciate any opinions on this career path.

I think any residency OR fellowship will allow you to get some experience to give you a leg up in your career hunt. Doing both for 30-40% of a pharmacists pay seems like a bad idea. To get great jobs in pharma you need diverse experiences. That seems to be the bottom line. I would just recommend doing that while getting paid. You can always bounce around companies for different experiences in pharma too.

Consider after a residency

- contract MSL job. I know people who did this right out of pharmacy school
- medical communication or med info ( I know a guy that failed Naplex, gave up, then became a med info manager after he failed)
- payer space (MCO like a pbm or health plan). Very useful in seeing the payer side of things if considering a heor, outcomes liaison, trade/managed markets position
- PhD, MBA, maybe even the BCMAS would help too. Recommend doing that concurrently with your job too so PhD may be out.

 

[ImmunoglobulinE]

I think any residency OR fellowship will allow you to get some experience to give you a leg up in your career hunt. Doing both for 30-40% of a pharmacists pay seems like a bad idea. To get great jobs in pharma you need diverse experiences. That seems to be the bottom line. I would just recommend doing that while getting paid. You can always bounce around companies for different experiences in pharma too.

Consider after a residency

- contract MSL job. I know people who did this right out of pharmacy school
- medical communication or med info ( I know a guy that failed Naplex, gave up, then became a med info manager after he failed)
- payer space (MCO like a pbm or health plan). Very useful in seeing the payer side of things if considering a heor, outcomes liaison, trade/managed markets position
- PhD, MBA, maybe even the BCMAS would help too. Recommend doing that concurrently with your job too so PhD may be out.

I tried applying for residencies this year and made the mistake of applying to a few programs so I didn't get any interviews at all. I am still undecided about participating in phase II as this depends on how many quality managed care residencies will be left unfilled from phase I. Therefore, I need a back up plan on how I can go about any of the choices you listed here. How can you put yourself in a good position for this options right out of school.

- Contract MSL Jobs: Many contract jobs now require you to have prior experience. therefore, getting one right outta school maybe a daunting task
- Medical communication or medical information: what experiences in school now can I use to sell myself into landing such position?
-Payer space: I am actually unfamiliar with this side of managed care what is this about exactly?
- PhD, MBA, maybe BCMAS - I totally agree with you on this but PhD is out of the question for me. After pharmacy school, my brain only has enough endurance for one or maybe two years of schooling. I am considering masters in pharmaco-economics or outcome research (online programs)

 

[lionheart555]

- Contract MSL Jobs: Many contract jobs now require you to have prior experience. therefore, getting one right outta school maybe a daunting task
- Medical communication or medical information: what experiences in school now can I use to sell myself into landing such position?
-Payer space: I am actually unfamiliar with this side of managed care what is this about exactly?
- PhD, MBA, maybe BCMAS - I totally agree with you on this but PhD is out of the question for me. After pharmacy school, my brain only has enough endurance for one or maybe two years of schooling. I am considering masters in pharmaco-economics or outcome research (online programs)

I would still look at the contracting job as an option. Treat it as an entry level pharma position but again, I know several people with just a PharmD (unlicensed) that strolled right in with no prior industry experience.

Getting into entry industry usually requires an industry rotation, internship, or fellowship, knowing a good connect that can help sponsor getting your foot in the door. Sometimes you can get in just by being lucky but I can't speak to that

Managed care residencies with a PBM, health plan, government payer group (State medicaid, medicare). Part of the role of these companies is to negotiate rebates from pharmaceutical companies. From a managed market, outcomes liaison side, the key question is access. How do you get onto formulary for your product. What discounts need to be offered? What kind of restriction does the MCO require for access (PA, Step, QL, etc). Decision makers are not as knowledgeable about individual products (or classes) like the manufacturers are. Outcomes liaisons tend to stay clinical and present tailored slide decks to payer groups. Account managers/directors generally are responsible for discussing financial contracting with payers. That's the short summary. Usually to get into these roles requires experience in managed care. For a trade (financial) position, a residency or even multiple years of experience may be necessary. I would say it's easier to get into formulary then trade.

 

[cl0ud]

I am thinking of pursuing a non-accredited drug information residency with many contracted formulary and drug monograph activities, then pursue a fellowship (many areas of interest: pharmacoeconomic, drug information, medication safety, pharma, and regulatory). Personally I believe this would provide the training that I need to become a good pharmacist in my areas of interest, but I would appreciate any opinions on this career path.

Do you have prior experience in drug information? Internship, drug information rotation, etc.

 

[bookworm92]

Do you have prior experience in drug information? Internship, drug information rotation, etc.

Yes I interned at a DIC. I had a medication safety rotation and really liked it. Let me utilize my DI skills.

 

[cl0ud]

Yes I interned at a DIC. I had a medication safety rotation and really liked it. Let me utilize my DI skills.

Like lionheart said, it does not seem practical to do a residency PLUS fellowship. That could potentially take three years considering most fellowships last 2 years (there are many 1-year fellowships too). However, if industry is truly your passion, then spending 2-3 years after graduation would be worth landing a career that could potentially make you happy for life. I actually met a couple fellowship candidates who were completing their PGY1 residencies, so it does happen.

You already have some DI and med safety experience, so you could definitely search for and apply to positions related to those fields. Medical information and pharmacovigilance are typically entry-level positions and it sounds like you'd have a shot at going directly into these roles. However, I feel like you would need to complete a fellowship in order to jump into functions like HEOR, commercial, clinical research, reg affairs, etc.

I believe that the principles of drug information are incredibly valuable whether you practice in a clinical setting or work in industry. I learned so much during my drug info rotation and even enjoyed writing monographs! There is no "right" path to industry and I wish you the best!

 

[bookworm92]

Like lionheart said, it does not seem practical to do a residency PLUS fellowship. That could potentially take three years considering most fellowships last 2 years (there are many 1-year fellowships too). However, if industry is truly your passion, then spending 2-3 years after graduation would be worth landing a career that could potentially make you happy for life. I actually met a couple fellowship candidates who were completing their PGY1 residencies, so it does happen.

You already have some DI and med safety experience, so you could definitely search for and apply to positions related to those fields. Medical information and pharmacovigilance are typically entry-level positions and it sounds like you'd have a shot at going directly into these roles. However, I feel like you would need to complete a fellowship in order to jump into functions like HEOR, commercial, clinical research, reg affairs, etc.

I believe that the principles of drug information are incredibly valuable whether you practice in a clinical setting or work in industry. I learned so much during my drug info rotation and even enjoyed writing monographs! There is no "right" path to industry and I wish you the best!

Thanks for your advices. I just accepted the position as a drug information resident at a DIC (took a lot of thinking to decide that vs. the ASHP ones). My goal would be to work the FDA, so I was thinking this residency would set me up for that career.

 

[cl0ud]

Thanks for your advices. I just accepted the position as a drug information resident at a DIC (took a lot of thinking to decide that vs. the ASHP ones). My goal would be to work the FDA, so I was thinking this residency would set me up for that career.

There are some really cool two-year fellowships on the east coast that give fellows the opportunity to rotate through the FDA, industry, and an academic institution. If I remember correctly, this program will launch a brand new fellowship position for regulatory/advertising (?) in the next application cycle. I could be completely wrong.. Either way, I think that this program aligns perfectly with what you want in your career.