US Pharm. 2008;33(10)(Student
suppl):12-14.
The profession of pharmacy is
evolving into a new and exciting area of health care now that pharmacists are
being prepared to become emerging leaders of medication therapy management.
Pharmacists' knowledge and skills are no longer unseen and unrecognized behind
the counter at the local community drugstore. Pharmacists are now a
considerable force at the forefront of disease-state management. The passage
of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act on
December 8, 2003 ushered in a new era for pharmacist utilization.1
New opportunities have opened up, and pharmacists can finally receive
reimbursement for medication therapy management services.2 In their
curriculum, today's pharmacy students are prospectively trained about disease
states and how to properly manage them. Additionally, pharmacy students are
encouraged to complete residencies and become credentialed to gain a thorough
understanding of disease-state management. A residency can provide unique
opportunities for an individual to explore different aspects of pharmacy as a
licensed practitioner. Whether one is a recent graduate or a practitioner with
years of professional experience, residency training can successfully provide
any pharmacist with the practical skills needed in this new era of health care
management.
Many pharmacists in practice
today are becoming increasingly interested in retrospectively completing a
residency. With the gradual change in the profession, the additional training
and experience afforded by a residency are an effective way to better prepare
pharmacists for the changing market. Making a career change like this usually
means investing both your time and your money. Getting the necessary
information to formulate a plan can be difficult, but this goal is attainable.
As with any investment, it is important to be informed before you make a
life-altering decision. Before you make the change, it is wise to take certain
necessary steps to ensure your success.
Planning a Career Change
Decide
Whether a Change Is Needed:
Before seriously considering a practice change, decide whether you actually
need one. A lot of people change careers because they dislike their job, their
boss, or their company.3 Identifying your dislikes is often the
easiest part of the step; however, you will not know which direction your
career should take unless you examine your likes as well. What excites and
energizes you? What's your new passion? Ask yourself whether the job you seek
requires a residency. Maybe the needed change can be certification in a
specific disease state, which doesn't require giving up a year or two to
complete a residency. If you are seeking a promotion or advancement, then
completing a residency may be one of the qualifications. Keep in mind that
most pharmacy graduates today have a Doctor of Pharmacy degree; a residency
can set you apart from other PharmD graduates.
Assess Yourself:
Evaluate your attitude, values, skills, personality, and interests.3
Do you believe that you have what it takes to complete a residency? Are you
willing to sacrifice salary and time away from family? Will you be able to
integrate and work with a whole new staff? Have you considered the possibility
that additional training or education may be needed to gain the skills to be
competitive in your new career goal? Start slowly with research, and evaluate
yourself truthfully.
Explore Each Potential
Career Possibility:
For each new career option on your list, examine the job description,
educational and other requirements, job outlook, advancement opportunities,
and earning potential.3 Pharmacy is a broad profession with
existing and emerging career opportunities. Take advantage of all potential
networking possibilities by seeking out pharmacists working in your new career
interest and contacting professional organizations and alumni associations.3
Build a relationship with a contact or mentor in your new career interest, and
confer with him or her frequently.3
Set Your Goals:
Once you decide on a new career choice to pursue, put a plan in place to
eventually find a job in your chosen field. Set short-term and long-term goals
and reevaluate your progress periodically.
Consult a Financial
Planner: Map out a
budget and get your family on board.4 Think about how you and your
family can trim expenses for the next few years. Even though residents can
make from one-fourth to one-half of a registered pharmacist's salary,
difficult questions still must be addressed. Will you relocate, or will you
choose to apply for residency in the area? Can the family cover all the bills
and still maintain the lifestyle you are accustomed to? What sacrifices will
your children, your spouse, or family as a whole have to make? Scaling down
vacations, limiting eating out, and doing away with luxuries like lawn service
can save money. Use your assets.4 Chances are, pharmacists who have
been out of school for many years have something new that graduates do not
have: home equity and perhaps a substantial amount of money in their savings
and retirement accounts. An experienced financial advisor can help you map out
a plan for maintaining financial security for the family while you pursue your
career change.
Train for Your New
Career: Changing your
career may require a particular type of residency. Are you currently in retail
pharmacy, but want to become a clinical pharmacist? A pharmacy-practice
residency in a hospital setting with an emphasis on internal medicine would be
appropriate. Community clinics would benefit from a pharmacist completing an
ambulatory residency. If you know that you want to do a residency but are
undecided about which type, then a general-practice residency would probably
suit you best.
What a Residency Involves
A residency is an
organized, directed postgraduate training program in a defined area of
pharmacy practice.5 It provides the knowledge and experience
pharmacy practitioners need to handle the challenges of today's complex health
care environment while also teaching essential skills for meeting the practice
demands of the future.5 Increasingly, many employment opportunities
indicate a strong preference for individuals who have completed a residency
accredited by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).5
The type of residency to select depends on your career interest. Residency
training can take place in such diverse settings as hospitals, community
pharmacies, patients' residences (home infusion), long-term care facilities,
ambulatory-care facilities, and other establishments.5 There are
many reasons for doing a residency, but the best reasons involve learning how
to apply the knowledge and skills you've learned in school and practice to
real patients, situations, and settings. During a residency, you will have the
chance to work with patients as part of an interdisciplinary team, sharpen
your critical thinking skills, and learn the subtleties of leadership.5
You also will be exposed to different facets of practice and learn about the
many and varied career paths available to pharmacists today.5 These
experiences are unique to residencies and help set you apart from your peers
as you progress in your career.5
The Application Process
All pharmacists
interested in a postgraduate ASHP-accredited pharmacy residency should
participate in the matching process.5 To participate in the ASHP
Resident Matching Program (or, as it is familiarly known, "the Match"), you
must be a graduate of a college of pharmacy that is accredited by the
Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education or a graduate of a foreign school
of pharmacy.5 National Matching Services Inc. (NMS) maintains a Web
site for the Match at www.natmatch.com/ashprmp.5 To register, an
applicant agreement must be completed and the application fee paid to NMS.5
Registration for the Match does not constitute an application to any programs
participating in the Match.5 Applications to residency programs are
made independently of the Match.5 Each residency program has its
own application deadline, which may be earlier than the January deadline for
registering for the Match.5 Information about residency programs
may be obtained from the ASHP Residency Directory, which can be found at
www.ashp.org.5 You must apply directly for any residency program in
which you are interested.5 All application requirements, including
the interview, must be completed by the March deadline.
Conclusion
With the emergence
of medication therapy management services, properly trained pharmacists will
have more opportunities to provide services. Increasingly more pharmacy
students and graduates are electing to complete residencies to gain the
necessary experience. Pharmacists are a key component of the health care
system, and they are continuing to develop pharmaceutical-care services.
Investment in the proper training for disease-state management is increasingly
becoming the standard for pharmacy practice. In essence, pharmacists are
generating a supply of pharmaceutical-care services for a need it has
identified in the health care system--a need that results primarily from
negative outcomes associated with poor patient care and drug-therapy problems.
Pharmacists need to prepare today for evolving changes in the health care
system of tomorrow.
REFERENCES
1. Medication
therapy management program (MTMP). Fed Regist. 2005;70:4541.
2. Altman JS.
Medication therapy management and the new practitioner. Am J Health Syst
Pharm. 2007;64:590-592.
3. American Society of
Health-System Pharmacists. Why should I do a residency?
www.ashp.org/s_ashp/docs/files/RTP_ASHPResidencyBrochure.pdf. Accessed
November 30, 2007.
4. Cheney K. Shifting
gears at mid-career. Money. 2007;12:39-43.
5. Hansen RS. The
10-step plan to career change. Quintessential Careers.
www.quintcareers.com/career-change.html. Accessed November 15, 2007.
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