Volunteering as a Clinical Pharmacist

[Sparda29]

Now for someone like me who probably cannot get a residency due to bad GPA. Would volunteering part-time as a clinical pharmacist at an ambulatory care clinic or inpatient setting for a couple of years be something that I could use to gain clinical experience to apply for clinical pharmacist jobs? Would that allow me to be eligible to take the BCPS?

 

[pharm B]

Without looking at the website (I'll let you do that 😉 ), I think BCPS requires five years of practice experience, with at least 50% of that time spent in a clinical role.

If you can make those numbers work, have at it, but I think it'd be tough to do.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

The better question is why would a clinic or hospital want a new grad to volunteer for a job that would normally be done by a more experienced, or at least, residency trained pharmacist?

Anyway, I thought you were getting a clinical/staffing hybrid job?

 

[hereticmnk]

Without looking at the website (I'll let you do that 😉 ), I think BCPS requires five years of practice experience, with at least 50% of that time spent in a clinical role.

If you can make those numbers work, have at it, but I think it'd be tough to do.

I thought it was 3

 

[Sparda29]

The better question is why would a clinic or hospital want a new grad to volunteer for a job that would normally be done by a more experienced, or at least, residency trained pharmacist?

Anyway, I thought you were getting a clinical/staffing hybrid job?

I am getting a clinical/staffing hybrid job. The additional volunteer thing would be to pad my CV.

I'm gonna ask at either the hospital where I'm gonna start if they have any ambulatory care services or I'll ask my old preceptor from my internal med rotation (same health-system). Thing with the internal med rotation site is that they have one clinical pharmacist (my preceptor) for the entire hospital.

 

[pharm B]

I thought it was 3

You're right. I was thinking of BCPP.

 

[deleted205891]

I just saw an off-cycle PGY1 residency opening (for October) at a VA near me, so maybe you should see if more of these exist. These are unaccredited programs of course. I thought you had a hospital job lined up though. I think that would be even better than a new unaccredited residency.

 

[Its Z]

Too much liability, risk, and regulatory issues to hire a volunteer to work with actual patients.

This will never happen in my organization.

 

[Sparda29]

I just saw an off-cycle PGY1 residency opening (for October) at a VA near me, so maybe you should see if more of these exist. These are unaccredited programs of course. I thought you had a hospital job lined up though. I think that would be even better than a new unaccredited residency.

Yeah, I'm starting that hospital job in 2 weeks. Can you PM me the link for the PGY1 residency though?

One of my professors/preceptor volunteers at an anticoag + diabetes clinic, thus I was trying to do something like that on the side as well.

This is what I'm trying to figure out. Without having to do 2 years of residency (I'd do it if I could get a residency, I have major GPA issues), what would I have to do in order to get a clinical coordinator, amb care pharmacist, icu pharmacist, or specialist position + pharmacy school faculty in 5-8 years?

 

[GoldfishPharmD]

Yeah, I'm starting that hospital job in 2 weeks. Can you PM me the link for the PGY1 residency though?

One of my professors/preceptor volunteers at an anticoag + diabetes clinic, thus I was trying to do something like that on the side as well.

This is what I'm trying to figure out. Without having to do 2 years of residency (I'd do it if I could get a residency, I have major GPA issues), what would I have to do in order to get a clinical coordinator, amb care pharmacist, icu pharmacist, or specialist position + pharmacy school faculty in 5-8 years?

Just wondering did you apply for residency and didn't get one or you didn't bother since you thought your GPA was too low?

 

[Sparda29]

Just wondering did you apply for residency and didn't get one or you didn't bother since you thought your GPA was too low?

Applied for 10, got two interviews. Interview I got back in February, I didn't like the place. Interview that I got in June at a new residency starting here in NYC, didn't get it. I found out that a guy from my class got that residency.