oncological pharmacist

[moy_05]

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is there such a thing? I mean, i see residencies offered for this specialty, however is there going to be jobs in this specific area? I love working with cancer patients(i have worked with them in a hospice), however, i am concerned with the job possibilities. 🙂

 

[moy_05]

is there such a thing? I mean, i see residencies offered for this specialty, however is there going to be jobs in this specific area? I love working with cancer patients(i have worked with them in a hospice), however, i am concerned with the job possibilities.
__________________
"the more you put in, the more you'll pull out, education is its own reward"

 

[freshbeatschris]

is there such a thing? I mean, i see residencies offered for this specialty, however is there going to be jobs in this specific area? I love working with cancer patients(i have worked with them in a hospice), however, i am concerned with the job possibilities.
__________________
"the more you put in, the more you'll pull out, education is its own reward"

I don't have any details, but I have heard people refer to jobs that allow us to prepare chemo treatments. This sounds like an ideal position for myself.

Chris

 

[Sosumi]

I'm taking the oncology pharmacotherapy elective at my school this semester, and hopefully get to do an oncology rotation as well. These are clinical pharmacists who work at Univ of Maryland Med or Johns Hopkins who work with and round with the oncologists to devise and prepare protocols for chemotherapy regimens for their institution, educate patients about what to expect from their regimen and what adverse effects to look for, help manage the adverse effects and complications from their regimen and cancer, check and verify chemotherapy orders, and research different treatment options. There are also pediatric oncologists who work at JHH. They gave a few lectures for the class about pediatric malignancies, although that job sounds depressing.

 

[erinlindsey]

I'm really interested in this option too. I'm currently a research scientist in oncology testing various cancer vaccines and drugs. I've read about oncology pharmacy and it's sounds pretty much like Sosumi describes with research options as well. From what I've read, it does require a residency and there are quite a few jobs out there as a specialist in oncology.

 

[bananaface]

Alot of inpatient and outpatient oncology centers have a dedicated pharmacist.

 

[genesis09]

Yes. Cancer drugs have unique parameters, and so, an Oncological Pharmacist will just focus on those. My local hospital has a cancer clinic, and has an Oncological Pharmacist and a resident. Think about all the potential problems and issues cancer drugs have, and you can imagine what an oncological pharmacist will do. There is a lot of potential growth in this area.

 

[bananaface]

Merging duplicate threads...

 

[kwizard]

is there such a thing? I mean, i see residencies offered for this specialty, however is there going to be jobs in this specific area? I love working with cancer patients(i have worked with them in a hospice), however, i am concerned with the job possibilities. 🙂

Yes there are a lot of oncology pharmacists. Oncology pharmacy is one of those rapidly growing areas and probably only second to critical pharmacists in regards to specialty or positions justified within a medical center. You may want to check out the International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners (ISOPP http://isopp.org/). Salaries are very competitive along w/ other clinical pharmacists and yes training typically includes 2 yrs of residency training (Post Graduate Year 1 (PGY-1) Pharmacy Practice + PGY 2 (Oncology Pharmacy Practice Residency). Typically board certification (Board Certified Oncology Pharmacist, BCOP) is followed after residency training or they may require one year of practice after residency training (I'm not sure on requirements for BCOP but see http://www.bpsweb.org/ and click on recognized specialties tab and/or check on candidate guide for requirements for various specialties). Residencies can be searched via the search engines on ASHP (www.ashp.org) or ACCP (www.accp.com).

Many oncology pharmacy residencies have their own webpage so I'd check them out to get a better idea of roles/responsibilities. Secondly fellowship (i.e. research training) may also be an option as many oncology pharmacists are into clinical reseach via applying pharmacokinetic principles to drug monitoring/development, clinical trial development, etc. Probably two of the most renowned in the nation would be William D. Figg, Pharm.D. at NCI (does almost all research w/ very little to no clinical duties) and/or Val R. Adams, Pharm.D. (fair balance b/w clinical duties and research) at Univ of KY to only name a few (also Barry Goldspiel at NIH). There are also several that function w/ more clinical roles. As with everything else in pharmacy the options are endless and it is just on you as the individual to obtain the appropriate training and develop a pathway of application for you ideas.

Hope this helps.

 

[MutantClone]

if you want to know if there are jobs, just go to ACCP's online recruitement forum and type "oncology" as your search term. I believe there are 50 or so listings now. Some are industry positions, but a lot of general oncology pharmacists positions as well.