Pharmacy residency after staffing in a hospital

[pharm0374]

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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.

 

[projektreverb]

Bump. I wonder what you ended up deciding.

It’s been a minute since I’ve set foot in inpatient but there’s no way for you to gradually move towards a more clinical role within your institution? Maybe convince a boss or superior to give you some hours in a clinical setting?

 

[pharm0374]

Bump. I wonder what you ended up deciding.

It’s been a minute since I’ve set foot in inpatient but there’s no way for you to gradually move towards a more clinical role within your institution? Maybe convince a boss or superior to give you some hours in a clinical setting?

Hi there, I ended up trying for a residency and I matched! As for your question about moving up... unfortunately, there isn't a way of moving toward a more clinical role where I work. Staffing just isn't structured that way, and only our two clinical pharmacists practice in a more "clinical setting." Furthermore, the pharmacists at my workplace (myself included), are part of a union, and our job responsibilities and what we get compensated for are defined by our contract.

 

[projektreverb]

Hi there, I ended up trying for a residency and I matched! As for your question about moving up... unfortunately, there isn't a way of moving toward a more clinical role where I work. Staffing just isn't structured that way, and only our two clinical pharmacists practice in a more "clinical setting." Furthermore, the pharmacists at my workplace (myself included), are part of a union, and our job responsibilities and what we get compensated for are defined by our contract.

Congrats on matching!!!!

The explanation makes sense

 

[clarkbar]

Hi there, I ended up trying for a residency and I matched! As for your question about moving up... unfortunately, there isn't a way of moving toward a more clinical role where I work. Staffing just isn't structured that way, and only our two clinical pharmacists practice in a more "clinical setting." Furthermore, the pharmacists at my workplace (myself included), are part of a union, and our job responsibilities and what we get compensated for are defined by our contract.

I have seen this trend at large academic centers and metro areas, like yours. There isn't enough clinical work to go around for a hybrid role (this is the most common; every HCA facility is like this), so they have 2 men doing all the staffing, sometimes with people on the floors doing their verifications.
Outside of these places, I have never heard of a residency trumping a board certification and experience. Even with the federal gov., nothing wrong with a board cert.
For non-academic hospitals and government facilities, experience is better than a residency or a board cert.