what goes first?

[badxmojo]

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I am thinking about wroking in a hospital pharmacy when I get my degree.. I am torn between looking for a purely clinical position in which i will do no dispensing.. or a position in which i will do some of both.. my question is..

if you are away from either aspect of pharmacy (the clinical or the staffing) which one do you feel you will "loose touch" of? meaning if i decide to get a prely staffing position am i likely to loose my clinical skills and knowledge in a few years? and if I get a purely clinical position will i be unable to to fufill a staffing postion a few years down the line?

 

[GravyRPH]

I believe it will be very difficult to find a purely clinical position. There is not enough money to provide enough pure clinical jobs to meet the number of applicants. That being said, to answer your question I feel that a dispensing pharmacist uses clinical expertise constantly throughout the work day and the clinical pharmacist needs to know the dispensing end of the equation to be good at their job. Many questions to a clinical pharmacist will involve dispensing aspects, e.g. what is the minimum amount of fluid I can put this vanco in, or how fast can I run this k-rider in, or what cox-2 inhibitor do we have on formulary. Therefore, I feel even after a few years of doing only one or the other you will be ablet to switch no problem.

That is far from the truth if going from retail to hospital or hospital to retail. They are very different creatures and that is why I continue to pick up days here and there at a retail pharmacy so I don't lose my "skills".

 

[lord999]

I've always wondered whether a "pure" clinical job is even desired for a pharmacist. I would be loathe to not have at least some contact with the dispensing function, because I believe it adds value to the clinical relationship (since no one else can do it like we can).

I completely agree with GravyRPH that regardless of which field you choose, you want to keep some experience in the other field just in case you want to fully transition.

 

[angelic02]

What sort of work does a clinical pharmacist do?

 

[GravyRPH]

see this thread: http://www.studentdoctor.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=72458

or this one:
http://www.studentdoctor.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=73353