Regional Clinical Rx Specialty Job Search Marketability

[Snapoutofit]

So sitting here trying to plan my future and thinking about residency. Weighing the pros and cons. I would really like to practice in a rural/ small town setting upon completion of school. From my hospital work experience in a major metro I would also like to target a career as a oncology, critical care, or emergency specialist. Are these things mutually exclusive, or is there some room/ demand for someone with these skills in rural healthcare centers? Are some state's laws more conducive to job opportunities for a specialist in these settings? What specialty (and not necessarily just these three) would be most in demand in a small town setting?

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[bacillus1]

So sitting here trying to plan my future and thinking about residency. Weighing the pros and cons. I would really like to practice in a rural/ small town setting upon completion of school. From my hospital work experience in a major metro I would also like to target a career as a oncology, critical care, or emergency specialist. Are these things mutually exclusive, or is there some room/ demand for someone with these skills in rural healthcare centers? Are some state's laws more conducive to job opportunities for a specialist in these settings? What specialty (and not necessarily just these three) would be most in demand in a small town setting?

Most major hospitals nowadays have a critical care specialist, so as long as it's a bigger hospital, you're fine, even if it's in a small town setting. Onc and ED positions will be a bit harder to find.

 

[njac]

Most major hospitals nowadays have a critical care specialist, so as long as it's a bigger hospital, you're fine, even if it's in a small town setting. Onc and ED positions will be a bit harder to find.

Many smaller hospitals are putting pharmacists in the ED for Med Rec.

So while not an ED specialist, there's a body with a pharmd down there..


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[rl123]

agree- in my region, many ED staff pharmacists are at least PGY1-trained for verification/ med rec/ code response, but no admin/ committee/ teaching responsibilities. In my region, the critical care job market was pretty tight when I was job hunting post PGY2. Oncology remains a huge area, but just remember that this depends on whether the hospital has a large enough oncology service/ infusion center to justify the position- which not all rural hospitals will have.

If things all line up, I have seen PGY1-trained pharmacists transition into clinical coordinator roles after a few years in a staff position, or even right after residency graduation. In such a case, someone in this role might be able to take care of a bunch of different things: anticoagulation, basic stewardship stuff, nursing/ pharmacy staff education, building new ordersets, etc

also big in my opinion:
- ID (to bolster antimicrobial stewardship programs- but one of the most competitive PGY2 disciplines I believe)
- transitions of care (not necessarily residency-trained, I think this depends on the DOP's preference)
- pediatrics- even in hospitals with smaller pediatric services, I've seen them justify having 1 peds coordinator for all things peds (gen peds, PICU, NICU). finding pharmacists with pediatric experience is very hard!

 

[jmcmans1]

So sitting here trying to plan my future and thinking about residency. Weighing the pros and cons. I would really like to practice in a rural/ small town setting upon completion of school. From my hospital work experience in a major metro I would also like to target a career as a oncology, critical care, or emergency specialist. Are these things mutually exclusive, or is there some room/ demand for someone with these skills in rural healthcare centers? Are some state's laws more conducive to job opportunities for a specialist in these settings? What specialty (and not necessarily just these three) would be most in demand in a small town setting?

You may want to check out University of Rochester (Rochester, NY) when starting your search for residencies. They are an academic medical center based in a small rural city in NY, but have a huge hospital and specifically have learning experiences (rotations) in the areas you mentioned. I interviewed there and it seems like a great program!

 

[MindGeek]

small rural city in NY

If Rochester was rural my rent wouldn't have been $980/month. URMC sits central in a county that has 749,606 citizens. Rochester is a small city, but is a city, not rural.

Do look into URMC's PGY-1 Programs. They do have ED and Oncology PGY-2's. When you include URMC's Highland Hospital and both PGY-1&2 U of R takes on 13 pharmacy residents (and I know 6 of them who are there now before they even applied). They are an exceptional hospital (I completed two inpatient rotations there). Just be prepared because they take on extremely high performers as residents.

 

[jmcmans1]

If Rochester was rural my rent wouldn't have been $980/month. URMC sits central in a county that has 749,606 citizens. Rochester is a small city, but is a city, not rural.

Hahaha I stand corrected and thank you for that, because the rural definition I had in mind definitely doesn't coincide with the real definition of "rural". What about a suburban-like city? I'm from the south and I did only see what Rochester looked like from a hotel to hospital to airport drive, so I think it's safe to say I am no Rochester area expert by any means.