Career Timeline overview
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Staff/clinical
pharmacist transitions into pharmacy informatics role
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IT
professional (with previous formal training) graduates from pharmacy school,
and takes on pharmacy informatics role
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Pharmacist
completes residency (PGY1 +/- PGY2 informatics) and takes on pharmacy
informatics role
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Pharmacist
completes post-graduate training in informatics after pharmacy school
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Prior to pharmacy
school
(2-10 years)
|
·
Pre-pharmacy prerequisites
May
include:
·
Undergraduate degree
·
Informal IT training
Likely
to have interest in technology (software and/or hardware)
|
·
Formal IT training
(up
to and including undergraduate Bachelor’s degree, in a field such as Computer
Science)
May
include:
·
Experience providing technical support in a healthcare setting
(even
specifically to a pharmacy or institutional pharmacy department)
·
Experience as a pharmacy technician
|
·
Pre-pharmacy prerequisites
May
include:
·
Undergraduate degree
·
Informal IT training
Likely
to have interest in technology (software and/or hardware)
|
·
Pre-pharmacy prerequisites
May
include:
·
Undergraduate degree
·
Informal IT training
Likely
to have interest in technology (software and/or hardware)
|
During pharmacy
school
(4-6 years)
|
·
Works as pharmacy intern
·
May leverage technical skills for projects, depending on departmental
needs
|
Immediately post
pharmacy school
(1-2 years)
|
·
Works as staff and/or clinical pharmacist
·
May complete PGY1 residency
·
May include vendor-specific training
|
·
Working in pharmacy informatics
·
May spend some time staffing as a pharmacist
·
May include vendor-specific training
|
·
Completes PGY1 pharmacy residency
·
Potentially pursues and completes PGY2 specialty residency in
pharmacy informatics
·
May include vendor-specific training
|
·
Enters academic program (Master’s degree and/or PhD)
·
Potential fields of study include Management Information Systems
(MIS), Health Informatics, Biomedical Informatics
|
Long-term career
trajectory
|
·
Transition into pharmacy informatics role
·
Often to fulfill the informatics personnel needs created by a
large project (e.g. EHR implementation)
·
Technical skills often gained on the job
Many of the first pharmacy
informaticists "stumbled" into the field this way
|
·
Works in pharmacy informatics, which combines technical skills
and pharmacy knowledge
|
·
Works in pharmacy informatics, which combines technical skills
and pharmacy knowledge
|
·
Works in pharmacy informatics
·
May work in academic arena, perhaps even within a school of
pharmacy
|
Pros +++
(from student perspective)
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·
Will learn pharmacy workflows very well in long-term
staffing/clinical role
|
·
Possession of strong technical skill set from the "previous
professional life"
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·
Opportunity to learn pharmacy operations and workflows within
the condensed time-frame of residency
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·
Opportunity to conduct research relate to health informatics
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Increased career prospects in academia
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Cons ---
(from student perspective)
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·
Depends on availability of position
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·
Potential for unfamiliarity with pharmacy workflows, depending
on student/intern experiences and extent of staffing experience
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·
Requirement to complete 1-2 years of residency
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·
Requirement to complete additional academic training after
completing the PharmD
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