Pharmacy Practice Fields
☸Pharmacy Practice Division☸
The mission of the Pharmacy Practice Division (PPD) is to educate students, health practitioners and the public in ways that optimize health outcomes from drug and related treatments, to participate in research and practice that lead to safe and effective drug use, and to develop innovations in the practice of pharmacy that help maximize patient benefit from medications.
Our faculty is diverse and each member possesses different interests within the field of Pharmacy Practice. Areas of clinical practice and research include: medication utilization, sleep disorders, osteoporosis, hematology/oncology, cardiac rehabilitation, family medicine, asthma, lung transplantation, epilepsy, heart failure, diabetes, long term care, pulmonary/critical care, and metabolic/nutrition support.
*Retail Pharmacy Careers:
Retail pharmacists dispense medications at drug stores or grocery stores. While the pay and benefits are excellent, the hours can be tough in retail pharmacy jobs, due to the fact that most stores are now open 24 hours, seven days a week. If you plan to work in retail pharmacy career setting, be prepared to work at least every other weekend. Most retail stores employ 2 full-time pharmacists who work a shift based schedule of 12-hour shifts alternating two days on and two days off.
*Clinical Pharmacy Careers:
Clinical pharmacists work in a hospital as part of a medical care team. They typically round on patients with a physician and help to determine which medications and doses would be most effective for each patient's conditions.
*Long-term care:
Long-term care facilities are homes where ongoing care is provided to the elderly or incapacitated individuals who are not in need of acute medical care but who are unable to care for themselves.
Pharmacists who work in long-term care homes are sometimes referred to as "closed door pharmacists", meaning they do not interact with patients directly at all.
Typically, nurses deliver drugs to each patient's room from a cart which is stocked by the pharmacist on staff at the facility. The pharmacist is responsible for stocking and organizing the contents of the cart, dose by dose, of all prescription and over-the counter medications for each patient individually. This is done typically twice per day, and the pharmacist remains on call the rest of the day, including overnight. A role in long-term care would not be ideal for a pharmacist who really thrives on interacting with patients.
*Nuclear Pharmacy Careers:
Nuclear pharmacists are responsible for measuring and delivering the radioactive materials which are used in digital imaging (MRI, CT, etc)and other procedures in medical offices and hospitals. Due to the nature of the radioactive materials and how they are handled, nuclear pharmacists are typically required to start each work day very early, sometimes pre-dawn, as the radioactive materials must be delivered within a few hours of their use, or they lose their effectiveness. So if you're not an early riser, nuclear pharmacy jobs might not be the best option for you!
*Home infusion and Chemotherapy:
These pharmacists are responsible for accurately mixing the chemotherapy drugs for cancer patients.
*Pharmaceutical Benefit Management:
☸PharmD Career Opportunities☸
Following are some of the numerous and diverse career options available to PharmD graduates:
☸Career Opportunities☸
Although all pharmacists must be knowledgeable about a wide variety of pharmacotherapy issues, one can choose to pursue a generalized clinical career or one involving a subspecialty. A pharmacist can choose to specialize within a certain area at any time during one’s career.
The following list includes the specialties in which clinical pharmacists may practice. Even though this list is not all-inclusive, it showcases the variety and versatility of a clinical pharmacy career.
Regardless of the subspecialty, a clinical pharmacist should possess:
♦a desire to stay up-to-date with literature,
♦an ability to critically evaluate literature,
♦excellent communication skills,
♦collaboration with other healthcare professionals,
♦a desire to advocate for the patient and for the pharmacy profession,
♦strong leadership skills.
For information on a specialty area, click on one of the links below.
♦Adult Medicine
♦Ambulatory Care
♦Cardiology
♦Clinical Administration
♦Clinical Informatics
♦Critical Care
♦Drug Information
♦Emergency Medicine
♦Endocrinology/Diabetes
♦Geriatrics
♦Hematology/Oncology
♦Immunology/Transplantation
♦Infectious Diseases
♦Nephrology
♦Nutrition Support
♦Managed Care
♦Medication Therapy Management
♦Outcomes and Economics
♦Pain and Palliative Care
♦Pediatrics
♦Pharmaceutical Industry
♦Poison Control
♦Psychiatry and Central Nervous System
♦Research
♦Women’s Health
ACCP Clinical Career Profiles
This online database allows you to explore the world of clinical pharmacy. Learn more about the many career opportunities and specialty practice areas available to you as a clinical pharmacist. Review profiles of active practitioners in various fields as you define your own professional goals.
Leadership Positions
As a clinical pharmacist, your opportunities to be a leader are greatly expanding. All pharmacists are leaders in their everyday practices by successfully influencing the behavior of physicians, nurses, pharmacy technicians, interns, support staff, and others to enhance medication safety and optimize patient outcomes.
Formal leadership positions are also available to those interested. Within these roles, practitioners may hold many different titles and responsibilities while working with other health care professionals in promoting superior patient care:
♦Clinical Pharmacist Specialist
♦Clinical Manager
♦Clinical Coordinator
♦Clinical Pharmacy Operations Manager
♦Pharmacy Supervisor
♦Pharmacy Assistant Director
♦Pharmacy Associate Director
♦Pharmacy Director
Within these roles, practitioners may be responsible for:
♦Providing leadership through development and involvement in clinical pharmacy consult services, drug informatics, and hospital quality initiatives
♦Assisting in the development of a drug formulary and involvement in the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee
♦Planning, developing, and providing drug information and educational sessions to professionals within the pharmacy setting, as well as to physicians, nursing staff, and other health care professionals
♦Teaching, precepting, and mentoring students and residents
Academia and Clinical Pharmacy Careers
Clinical pharmacists interested in teaching at a college of pharmacy can do so. These clinical pharmacists have dual roles: both as a clinical pharmacist and a professor of pharmacy. These pharmacists often specialize within a certain area of pharmacy, and work at a clinical site in the area where the college is located. Many faculty members provide didactic instruction to students as well as serve as preceptors during their clinical rotations and other experiential training. Most colleges of pharmacy require at least one year of residency to become a faculty member.
Pharmacy Informatics
A pharmacy informatist is a Pharm.D. who "employs health information and communications technology to develop systemized approaches to patient care using evidence-based medicine and other clinical decision-making tools." (ASHP) If you like information technology-related activities and see yourself helping to shape health information technology, this may be a specialty career for you to pursue. Often, residency training and/or a second degree such as business or health administration aids with this specialty.
Research-Oriented Careers
The demand for clinical pharmacist scientists is becoming more widespread within the healthcare arena. Clinical scientists can oversee clinical development strategies, design studies, and analyze data for publication. Other areas include participation and leading preclinical studies on new technologies, and developing protocols for pharmacogenomics and biomarkers. Clinical research does not only involve a “lab-type” research setting. Clinical research also involves studies of human subjects, not limited to surveys, cross-sectional, case-series, case-control, cohort, and first-in-human studies, proof-of-principle projects, and all phases of clinical trials.
Postgraduate Training and Research Oriented Careers
The Demand for Clinical Scientists
A demand for clinical pharmacist scientists is becoming more widespread within the healthcare arena. Key initiatives in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) roadmap (http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/clinicalresearch/overview-translational.asp) outline the need to involve clinical pharmaceutical scientists in new research partnerships involving both community-based health care providers as well as academic researchers. Clinical scientists can oversee clinical development strategies, design studies, and analyze data for publication. Other areas include participation and leading preclinical studies on new technologies, and developing protocols for pharmacogenomics and biomarkers. Clinical research does not only involve a “lab-type” research setting. Clinical research also involves studies of human subjects, not limited to surveys, cross-sectional, case-series, case-control, cohort, and first-in-human studies, proof-of-principle projects, and all phases of clinical trials. Translational research/science can be defined as improving human health through practical applications directly involving the patient. There are two processes of translational research: 1) “T1” defined as bench to bedside, or laboratory to human, and 2) “T2” defined as bedside to the community, or evidence to practice. Opportunities to begin your development in translational research as a clinical pharmacist scientist are outlined below.
☸ACCP Online Position Listings☸
Use this valuable resource to explore the many available opportunities, including residencies, fellowships, clinical pharmacy practitioners, tenure-track clinical faculty, nontenure-track clinical faculty, pharmacy managers, pharmaceutical industry positions, graduate programs, and academic administrators, on the ACCP Web site at http://www.accp.com/careers/onlinePositionListings.aspx.
The mission of the Pharmacy Practice Division (PPD) is to educate students, health practitioners and the public in ways that optimize health outcomes from drug and related treatments, to participate in research and practice that lead to safe and effective drug use, and to develop innovations in the practice of pharmacy that help maximize patient benefit from medications.
Our faculty is diverse and each member possesses different interests within the field of Pharmacy Practice. Areas of clinical practice and research include: medication utilization, sleep disorders, osteoporosis, hematology/oncology, cardiac rehabilitation, family medicine, asthma, lung transplantation, epilepsy, heart failure, diabetes, long term care, pulmonary/critical care, and metabolic/nutrition support.
Retail pharmacists dispense medications at drug stores or grocery stores. While the pay and benefits are excellent, the hours can be tough in retail pharmacy jobs, due to the fact that most stores are now open 24 hours, seven days a week. If you plan to work in retail pharmacy career setting, be prepared to work at least every other weekend. Most retail stores employ 2 full-time pharmacists who work a shift based schedule of 12-hour shifts alternating two days on and two days off.
*Clinical Pharmacy Careers:
Clinical pharmacists work in a hospital as part of a medical care team. They typically round on patients with a physician and help to determine which medications and doses would be most effective for each patient's conditions.
*Long-term care:
Long-term care facilities are homes where ongoing care is provided to the elderly or incapacitated individuals who are not in need of acute medical care but who are unable to care for themselves.
Pharmacists who work in long-term care homes are sometimes referred to as "closed door pharmacists", meaning they do not interact with patients directly at all.
Typically, nurses deliver drugs to each patient's room from a cart which is stocked by the pharmacist on staff at the facility. The pharmacist is responsible for stocking and organizing the contents of the cart, dose by dose, of all prescription and over-the counter medications for each patient individually. This is done typically twice per day, and the pharmacist remains on call the rest of the day, including overnight. A role in long-term care would not be ideal for a pharmacist who really thrives on interacting with patients.
*Nuclear Pharmacy Careers:
Nuclear pharmacists are responsible for measuring and delivering the radioactive materials which are used in digital imaging (MRI, CT, etc)and other procedures in medical offices and hospitals. Due to the nature of the radioactive materials and how they are handled, nuclear pharmacists are typically required to start each work day very early, sometimes pre-dawn, as the radioactive materials must be delivered within a few hours of their use, or they lose their effectiveness. So if you're not an early riser, nuclear pharmacy jobs might not be the best option for you!
*Home infusion and Chemotherapy:
These pharmacists are responsible for accurately mixing the chemotherapy drugs for cancer patients.
*Pharmaceutical Benefit Management:
These corporations negotiate between pharmaceutical companies and healthcare insurance companies regarding coverage and reimbursement amounts for drugs on various health plans. There are not as many jobs available for PharmDs at PBMs as there are in more traditional pharmacy roles, but such corporate jobs could provide a viable option for pharmacists who are seeking a change from retail or clinical pharmacy jobs.
*Contract, Temporary, or Hourly Pharmacy Careers:
Still can't decide which pharmacy career is best for you? Then you might want to work on a contract basis until you figure out where you'd like to work long-term. Contract work entails shift-based work, on an as-needed basis.
Therefore, contract pharmacy careers offer a great deal of flexibility and versatility in the schedule, which is great if you're trying to work around extenuating circumstances or a busy family schedule. Plus, working as a contractor, one can experience several different types of employers and work settings first-hand prior to committing to long-term or permanent employment.
*Other Industry Careers for Pharmacists:
Finally, there is always the option of going into an "industry" career or non-clinical career for those with a background and degree in Pharmacy. Some non-clinical industry job options include those in regulatory affairs, medical sales, and medical writing, to name a few.
*Contract, Temporary, or Hourly Pharmacy Careers:
Still can't decide which pharmacy career is best for you? Then you might want to work on a contract basis until you figure out where you'd like to work long-term. Contract work entails shift-based work, on an as-needed basis.
Therefore, contract pharmacy careers offer a great deal of flexibility and versatility in the schedule, which is great if you're trying to work around extenuating circumstances or a busy family schedule. Plus, working as a contractor, one can experience several different types of employers and work settings first-hand prior to committing to long-term or permanent employment.
*Other Industry Careers for Pharmacists:
Finally, there is always the option of going into an "industry" career or non-clinical career for those with a background and degree in Pharmacy. Some non-clinical industry job options include those in regulatory affairs, medical sales, and medical writing, to name a few.
☸PharmD Career Opportunities☸
Following are some of the numerous and diverse career options available to PharmD graduates:
♦Clinic Pharmacy Practice
In many clinics that serve diverse segments of the US population, pharmacists are integral members of the health care team whose contributions have been shown to optimize patient outcomes while being cost effective. Working in partnership with physicians, pharmacists increasingly assume responsibility for medication therapy management—especially for patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, asthma and high blood pressure—aiming to help patients achieve desired therapeutic outcomes through appropriate medication usage, diet and lifestyle choices.
In many clinics that serve diverse segments of the US population, pharmacists are integral members of the health care team whose contributions have been shown to optimize patient outcomes while being cost effective. Working in partnership with physicians, pharmacists increasingly assume responsibility for medication therapy management—especially for patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, asthma and high blood pressure—aiming to help patients achieve desired therapeutic outcomes through appropriate medication usage, diet and lifestyle choices.
♦Community Pharmacy
Community pharmacists are often on the first line of health care. In addition to dispensing medications and monitoring patients for adverse effects and interacting drugs, pharmacists provide important counseling services, such as the proper selection of over-the-counter medications and/or referral to other health care providers. Today’s pharmacist also must be versed in alternative medicines. Many USC graduates own independent pharmacies or have advanced to management positions within retail chain pharmacy organizations.
Community pharmacists are often on the first line of health care. In addition to dispensing medications and monitoring patients for adverse effects and interacting drugs, pharmacists provide important counseling services, such as the proper selection of over-the-counter medications and/or referral to other health care providers. Today’s pharmacist also must be versed in alternative medicines. Many USC graduates own independent pharmacies or have advanced to management positions within retail chain pharmacy organizations.
♦Geriatric Pharmacy
By 2020, some 37 percent of the U.S. population will be mature adults who will likely consume more than half of all health care resources. Because of the advances in geriatrics being made at USC, the School’s PharmD graduates are leaders in geriatric pharmacy. Careers in this field will serve the needs of this growing population segment.
By 2020, some 37 percent of the U.S. population will be mature adults who will likely consume more than half of all health care resources. Because of the advances in geriatrics being made at USC, the School’s PharmD graduates are leaders in geriatric pharmacy. Careers in this field will serve the needs of this growing population segment.
♦Governmental Agencies
Local, state and federal governmental agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, the Veterans Administration and the Armed Forces require the expertise of skilled pharmacists. Many USC graduates work in hospitals and clinics within these agencies.
Local, state and federal governmental agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, the Veterans Administration and the Armed Forces require the expertise of skilled pharmacists. Many USC graduates work in hospitals and clinics within these agencies.
♦Home Health Care
Patients formerly treated in a hospital setting are now receiving professional care in their residences through home health care. PharmD graduates who work in this field of pharmacy provide medications, such as intravenous antibiotics, pain management medication, nutritional supplements and chemotherapy. Pharmacists also monitor the patients’ progress and adjust therapy as needed.
Patients formerly treated in a hospital setting are now receiving professional care in their residences through home health care. PharmD graduates who work in this field of pharmacy provide medications, such as intravenous antibiotics, pain management medication, nutritional supplements and chemotherapy. Pharmacists also monitor the patients’ progress and adjust therapy as needed.
♦Hospital Pharmacy
Many graduates pursue careers in hospital pharmacy where they are directly involved in patient care. Pharmacists in hospitals monitor and adjust patient medications and work closely with physicians, nurses and other health professionals to determine the most appropriate drug therapy possible. Clinical pharmacists may specialize in a variety of areas of pharmacy practice, including pediatrics, critical care, cardiology, surgery, psychopharmacy, neurology, infectious disease, drug information and transitions of care. USC graduates bring to the hospital setting a strong clinical education background, and the ability and confidence required for direct involvement with patients and other members of the health care team.
Many graduates pursue careers in hospital pharmacy where they are directly involved in patient care. Pharmacists in hospitals monitor and adjust patient medications and work closely with physicians, nurses and other health professionals to determine the most appropriate drug therapy possible. Clinical pharmacists may specialize in a variety of areas of pharmacy practice, including pediatrics, critical care, cardiology, surgery, psychopharmacy, neurology, infectious disease, drug information and transitions of care. USC graduates bring to the hospital setting a strong clinical education background, and the ability and confidence required for direct involvement with patients and other members of the health care team.
♦Managed Care
Broadly stated, managed care is planned, comprehensive and integrated provision of health care in a cost-effective manner that emphasizes preventive care. Optimization of drug therapy, development of drug formularies, evaluation of therapeutic protocols, patient consultation, and reduction in unnecessary doctor visits and hospitalization are all responsibilities of pharmacists who practice in the managed-care environment.
Broadly stated, managed care is planned, comprehensive and integrated provision of health care in a cost-effective manner that emphasizes preventive care. Optimization of drug therapy, development of drug formularies, evaluation of therapeutic protocols, patient consultation, and reduction in unnecessary doctor visits and hospitalization are all responsibilities of pharmacists who practice in the managed-care environment.
♦Pharmaceutical Industry
Modern drug therapy is highly sophisticated, and the pharmaceutical industry recognizes the need for technical proficiency among its sales and marketing personnel. Additionally, the area of research and development provides numerous opportunities for pharmaceutical scientists, including drug isolation and synthesis to formulation, packaging and quality control of the finished dosage form. Because of their expertise in drug therapy and their knowledge of the health care delivery system, USC graduates are actively recruited by major pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Modern drug therapy is highly sophisticated, and the pharmaceutical industry recognizes the need for technical proficiency among its sales and marketing personnel. Additionally, the area of research and development provides numerous opportunities for pharmaceutical scientists, including drug isolation and synthesis to formulation, packaging and quality control of the finished dosage form. Because of their expertise in drug therapy and their knowledge of the health care delivery system, USC graduates are actively recruited by major pharmaceutical manufacturers.
♦Pharmacoeconomics
Society’s demand for graduates with specialized knowledge in pharmacoeconomics is steadily increasing. The demand for such scholars exceeds the current supply, providing a wealth of opportunities for graduates of USC’s Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy program. Graduates often choose academic positions at university schools of pharmacy, or opportunities in public administration, public health or medicine. A strong demand for specialists also comes from government agencies, insurance plans, managed health care organizations, professional health care associations, hospital administration departments, health care consulting organizations, pharmaceutical companies and international organizations. Pharmacoeconomics faculty teach PharmD students, providing them with exposure to the field.
Society’s demand for graduates with specialized knowledge in pharmacoeconomics is steadily increasing. The demand for such scholars exceeds the current supply, providing a wealth of opportunities for graduates of USC’s Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy program. Graduates often choose academic positions at university schools of pharmacy, or opportunities in public administration, public health or medicine. A strong demand for specialists also comes from government agencies, insurance plans, managed health care organizations, professional health care associations, hospital administration departments, health care consulting organizations, pharmaceutical companies and international organizations. Pharmacoeconomics faculty teach PharmD students, providing them with exposure to the field.
♦Pharmacy Education
The USC Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum offers a strong foundation in the clinical sciences. As the first school to develop a clinical pharmacy curriculum and pharmacoeconomic program, USC provides graduates with training that is sought by other pharmacy schools developing pharmaceutical care programs. Nearly half of the nation’s pharmacy schools have recruited USC graduates to join their faculties, to teach clinical pharmacy and to conduct research on optimization of drug therapies and the costs of health care.
The USC Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum offers a strong foundation in the clinical sciences. As the first school to develop a clinical pharmacy curriculum and pharmacoeconomic program, USC provides graduates with training that is sought by other pharmacy schools developing pharmaceutical care programs. Nearly half of the nation’s pharmacy schools have recruited USC graduates to join their faculties, to teach clinical pharmacy and to conduct research on optimization of drug therapies and the costs of health care.
♦Specialized Area Opportunities
Pharmacists with expertise in specialized areas such as consulting, legal practice, drug information, poison control and pharmacy affairs are becoming more in demand as the profession evolves. At USC, students have an opportunity to pursue a range of dual and joint degrees in combination with the PharmD to better prepare themselves for many of these specializations.
Pharmacists with expertise in specialized areas such as consulting, legal practice, drug information, poison control and pharmacy affairs are becoming more in demand as the profession evolves. At USC, students have an opportunity to pursue a range of dual and joint degrees in combination with the PharmD to better prepare themselves for many of these specializations.
☸Career Opportunities☸
Although all pharmacists must be knowledgeable about a wide variety of pharmacotherapy issues, one can choose to pursue a generalized clinical career or one involving a subspecialty. A pharmacist can choose to specialize within a certain area at any time during one’s career.
The following list includes the specialties in which clinical pharmacists may practice. Even though this list is not all-inclusive, it showcases the variety and versatility of a clinical pharmacy career.
Regardless of the subspecialty, a clinical pharmacist should possess:
♦a desire to stay up-to-date with literature,
♦an ability to critically evaluate literature,
♦excellent communication skills,
♦collaboration with other healthcare professionals,
♦a desire to advocate for the patient and for the pharmacy profession,
♦strong leadership skills.
For information on a specialty area, click on one of the links below.
♦Adult Medicine
♦Ambulatory Care
♦Cardiology
♦Clinical Administration
♦Clinical Informatics
♦Critical Care
♦Drug Information
♦Emergency Medicine
♦Endocrinology/Diabetes
♦Geriatrics
♦Hematology/Oncology
♦Immunology/Transplantation
♦Infectious Diseases
♦Nephrology
♦Nutrition Support
♦Managed Care
♦Medication Therapy Management
♦Outcomes and Economics
♦Pain and Palliative Care
♦Pediatrics
♦Pharmaceutical Industry
♦Poison Control
♦Psychiatry and Central Nervous System
♦Research
♦Women’s Health
ACCP Clinical Career Profiles
This online database allows you to explore the world of clinical pharmacy. Learn more about the many career opportunities and specialty practice areas available to you as a clinical pharmacist. Review profiles of active practitioners in various fields as you define your own professional goals.
Leadership Positions
As a clinical pharmacist, your opportunities to be a leader are greatly expanding. All pharmacists are leaders in their everyday practices by successfully influencing the behavior of physicians, nurses, pharmacy technicians, interns, support staff, and others to enhance medication safety and optimize patient outcomes.
Formal leadership positions are also available to those interested. Within these roles, practitioners may hold many different titles and responsibilities while working with other health care professionals in promoting superior patient care:
♦Clinical Pharmacist Specialist
♦Clinical Manager
♦Clinical Coordinator
♦Clinical Pharmacy Operations Manager
♦Pharmacy Supervisor
♦Pharmacy Assistant Director
♦Pharmacy Associate Director
♦Pharmacy Director
Within these roles, practitioners may be responsible for:
♦Providing leadership through development and involvement in clinical pharmacy consult services, drug informatics, and hospital quality initiatives
♦Assisting in the development of a drug formulary and involvement in the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee
♦Planning, developing, and providing drug information and educational sessions to professionals within the pharmacy setting, as well as to physicians, nursing staff, and other health care professionals
♦Teaching, precepting, and mentoring students and residents
Academia and Clinical Pharmacy Careers
Clinical pharmacists interested in teaching at a college of pharmacy can do so. These clinical pharmacists have dual roles: both as a clinical pharmacist and a professor of pharmacy. These pharmacists often specialize within a certain area of pharmacy, and work at a clinical site in the area where the college is located. Many faculty members provide didactic instruction to students as well as serve as preceptors during their clinical rotations and other experiential training. Most colleges of pharmacy require at least one year of residency to become a faculty member.
Pharmacy Informatics
A pharmacy informatist is a Pharm.D. who "employs health information and communications technology to develop systemized approaches to patient care using evidence-based medicine and other clinical decision-making tools." (ASHP) If you like information technology-related activities and see yourself helping to shape health information technology, this may be a specialty career for you to pursue. Often, residency training and/or a second degree such as business or health administration aids with this specialty.
Research-Oriented Careers
The demand for clinical pharmacist scientists is becoming more widespread within the healthcare arena. Clinical scientists can oversee clinical development strategies, design studies, and analyze data for publication. Other areas include participation and leading preclinical studies on new technologies, and developing protocols for pharmacogenomics and biomarkers. Clinical research does not only involve a “lab-type” research setting. Clinical research also involves studies of human subjects, not limited to surveys, cross-sectional, case-series, case-control, cohort, and first-in-human studies, proof-of-principle projects, and all phases of clinical trials.
Postgraduate Training and Research Oriented Careers
The Demand for Clinical Scientists
A demand for clinical pharmacist scientists is becoming more widespread within the healthcare arena. Key initiatives in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) roadmap (http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/clinicalresearch/overview-translational.asp) outline the need to involve clinical pharmaceutical scientists in new research partnerships involving both community-based health care providers as well as academic researchers. Clinical scientists can oversee clinical development strategies, design studies, and analyze data for publication. Other areas include participation and leading preclinical studies on new technologies, and developing protocols for pharmacogenomics and biomarkers. Clinical research does not only involve a “lab-type” research setting. Clinical research also involves studies of human subjects, not limited to surveys, cross-sectional, case-series, case-control, cohort, and first-in-human studies, proof-of-principle projects, and all phases of clinical trials. Translational research/science can be defined as improving human health through practical applications directly involving the patient. There are two processes of translational research: 1) “T1” defined as bench to bedside, or laboratory to human, and 2) “T2” defined as bedside to the community, or evidence to practice. Opportunities to begin your development in translational research as a clinical pharmacist scientist are outlined below.
☸ACCP Online Position Listings☸
Use this valuable resource to explore the many available opportunities, including residencies, fellowships, clinical pharmacy practitioners, tenure-track clinical faculty, nontenure-track clinical faculty, pharmacy managers, pharmaceutical industry positions, graduate programs, and academic administrators, on the ACCP Web site at http://www.accp.com/careers/onlinePositionListings.aspx.
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