How to Transition From Retail to Consultant Pharmacist

Q: Chen, I wanted to look into being a consultant pharmacist for nursing homes but I don’t know how to go about doing that or what the requirements are.  It’s been about 2 years since I have graduated and I currently work for CVS and have not done any residency.  Any advice?

A: The best way to approach this would be to first connect with any current contacts with pharmacists in the long-term care setting, or contacts from your rotations, ie: if you did a long-term care rotation during pharmacy school.

Making those connections is going to be instrumental in helping you get into long-term care consulting. What you do with the connections is a longer conversation.  Just knowing people is not enough.  How you approach them and how you convey why you are the best pharmacist for the position is equally as important.  I coach pharmacists on a regular basis on how to approach connections or network beyond current contacts to get the job they want.

Next, we need to look at your skill set & experience. What is your experience with long-term care consulting? If you have only been working for CVS, then chances are you have not done any nursing home consulting.  If you don’t have experience, you can still get into the role, but you would need to overcome hurdles of convincing the pharmacy hiring manager that you are the best pharmacist for the role.

This may mean persuading them that you review charts easily to make interventions, you work closely with geriatric patients and counseling them on their medications, and that you have worked with nursing home providers. This can be tough if you live in a geographic area with other pharmacists you’re competing with in this tight job market who are more experienced than you and who have direct experience in the long-term care setting.

You could also look into getting your Certified Geriatric Pharmacist (CGP) certification and be board-certified in geriatrics.    The next testing window is July 1-Aug 31 and the deadline to sign up is June 15:  http://www.ccgp.org.  Here is the review information:  http://www.geriatricpharmacyreview.com

Depending on where you live, you may also need a separate license to practice consultant pharmacy.  Arkansas, for example, requires an “at large consultant pharmacist” permit.  Check into your state license requirements.  FL requires a that you finish a consultant course sponsored by the FL Board of Pharmacy and get a special license.  During your certification process, you will need to have a consultant pharmacist preceptor.  Get to know your preceptor well and who may be able to refer you to a facility if they are impressed with your skill set.

An easier way to get into a consultant pharmacist position without prior experience is to get your foot in the door first. Get a position as a staff pharmacist servicing nursing homes and get to understand the inner workings of a nursing home pharmacy . Impress your boss working in that role, get clear about the requirements they look for in order for you to become a consultant pharmacist at the pharmacy, and then create a plan for moving into that role down the road.

For more guidance on how to transition into a consultant pharmacist job in this job market, stay tuned for expert interviews of pharmacists who are already in these positions and advice from them about how to get into the positions.  You will get the scoop on getting access to these live interviews if you are a part of our community.  To become a part of our community & stay connected on events offered first to our community, click here to get access to unadvertised jobs.  To book your free 20-minute “Get the Job” Strategy Session, click on the link.

If you have experience transitioning into a long-term care consulting position from another practice setting, share your experience below.