Hi all. I’ve been working as a hospital pharmacist for about 10 years now, mostly staffing in a hospital pharmacy, with some clinical work on the inpatient floors and outpatient experience. My current position doesn’t really offer other responsibilities beyond what I have been doing, and there haven’t been any opportunities to move up over the last few years within the hospital. Even though I have my BCPS certification and the Collaborative Drug Therapy Management privilege, I still haven’t been able to land an ambulatory care job for the past year, even within the hospital organization I work for, despite networking. Every clinical job posting in my area (NYC) lists residency as a requirement; I rarely ever get a call back from the few that also list Board Certification as an alternative. Despite many people who say that experience counts for a lot, and that a smart hiring manager will look favorably upon this versus residency, I simply haven’t found that to be true. I believe the main reason is that employers/pharmacy management won’t trust someone without a residency with a more clinical role.
At this point, I know I don’t want to do staffing for the rest of my career. Even though it will look very odd, I’m seriously considering doing a residency so I can have more career options. I understand that the pay cut will suck, but I would be willing to forgo this money for a year in place of more clinical (and most likely better-paying) opportunities in the future.
That being said, does anyone have any advice about going back for a residency after staffing in a hospital for so long? Are there any specific kinds of programs (i.e., out of state, hospital type) that would be more willing to work with a non-traditional candidate? I’d appreciate any advice about applying and the general process (application, interview tips, etc) as a non-traditional candidate, as well as any other feasible career paths to a more clinical role I haven’t mentioned in this post. Thank you in advance.
At this point, I know I don’t want to do staffing for the rest of my career. Even though it will look very odd, I’m seriously considering doing a residency so I can have more career options. I understand that the pay cut will suck, but I would be willing to forgo this money for a year in place of more clinical (and most likely better-paying) opportunities in the future.
That being said, does anyone have any advice about going back for a residency after staffing in a hospital for so long? Are there any specific kinds of programs (i.e., out of state, hospital type) that would be more willing to work with a non-traditional candidate? I’d appreciate any advice about applying and the general process (application, interview tips, etc) as a non-traditional candidate, as well as any other feasible career paths to a more clinical role I haven’t mentioned in this post. Thank you in advance.
