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Oncology Pharmacist Positions?

Started by rx_magic
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Yes. I've seen it but it was for an oncology position with a focus on pharmacy operations and the pharmacist was PGY1 trained.
 
If you wanna go into these more specialized positions in pharmacy, residency training is really what you need. With that being said, it is not impossible to get these positions without a residency but significantly a lot harder.

You definitely need to be creative to land these positions without a residency. Consider working at a smaller hospital where there is less competition and pursuing any chemo opportunities there. Also consider working an evening staff position (bottom of the ladder) in an oncology hospital and working your way up. I'm always getting e-mails from Baptist Health South Florida looking for staff pharmacists at their cancer institute. Just don't expect to be hired as a clinical specialist at MD Anderson right out of school.
 
Oncology staff pharmacist- yes- I've even seen new grads without PGY1 quickly transfer into oncology once there was an opening. Best time to apply would be 6-8 weeks* before your target start date (allow time for HR to take their time pre-screening your app, them sending it to the pharmacy department, pharmacy giving the go-ahead to set up an interview, interview, background/ reference check, usual on-boarding, etc). *subtract 2 weeks if it's a vacancy they need filled ASAP

Oncology specialist- PGY2 or equivalent experience; if it's a large academic medical center (ie with big scholarship focus), would probably want to see a PGY2. Best time to network would be Jan-March, best time to apply depends on whether it's a new position they can keep open for you vs a vacancy they need filled and can't wait for your residency to be over
 
I know a few, varying ages and experience, and I strongly urge you to work your way in, rather than doing residency. Doing a two year residency effectively costs you about $140,000, plus whatever interest accrues on your loans.