Hospital pharmacist to pharmacist
A hospital pharmacist already meets 50% of what the pharmacist role asks for. The move turns on 31 required skills not yet in the profile.
66.8/ 100
1 How much of what a pharmacist is expected to do is already part of a hospital pharmacist’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the pharmacist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A pharmacist role treats 34 of its required skills as things a hospital pharmacist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accept own accountability
- advise on healthcare users' informed consent
- applied therapeutics related to medicines
- biological chemistry
- check information on prescriptions
- communicate in healthcare
What stands in the way is 31 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 40 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A pharmacist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a hospital pharmacist background worth leading with.
- already held applied therapeutics related to medicines health and welfare
- already held evaluate scientific data concerning medicines information skills
- already held monitor patients' medication communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held counsel healthcare users on medicines communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held dispense medicines communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held maintain pharmacy records information skills
All 40 carried skills, including the 34 the pharmacist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 46 missing skills fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn provide medicines information required
- still to learn comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice required
- still to learn contribute to continuity of health care required
- still to learn ensure safety of healthcare users required
- still to learn prepare doses of medication according to patient needs required
- still to learn refer healthcare users required
- still to learn comply with legislation related to health care required
- still to learn empathise with the healthcare user required
- still to learn botany required
- still to learn microbiology-bacteriology required
- still to learn analytical chemistry required
- still to learn inorganic chemistry required
- still to learn organic chemistry required
- still to learn pharmaceutical chemistry required
- still to learn pharmacology required
- optional, not held medical statistics optional
- still to learn supervise pharmaceutical staff required
- still to learn apply organisational techniques required
- still to learn contribute to public health campaigns required
- still to learn manage personal professional development required
- still to learn perform project management required
- optional, not held operate cash register optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- still to learn communicate with customers required
- still to learn ensure client orientation required
- still to learn interact with healthcare users required
- optional, not held apply blended learning optional
- optional, not held teach in academic or vocational contexts optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages for health-related research optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages in patient care optional
- still to learn handle the logistics of medicinal products required
- still to learn manufacture medicines required
- still to learn participate in medical inventory control required
- still to learn human anatomy required
- still to learn pharmaceutical technology required
- optional, not held radiopharmaceuticals optional
- optional, not held nutrition optional
- optional, not held phytotherapy optional
- optional, not held homeopathy optional
- optional, not held medical devices optional
5 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a pharmacist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 provide medicines information practise this
- 02 supervise pharmaceutical staff practise this
- 03 botany study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 40 skills that carry over
- already held accept own accountability skill
- already held advise on healthcare users' informed consent skill
- already held applied therapeutics related to medicines knowledge
- already held biological chemistry knowledge
- already held check information on prescriptions skill
- already held communicate in healthcare skill
- already held counsel healthcare users on medicines skill
- already held deal with emergency care situations skill
- already held dispense medicines skill
- already held ensure pharmacovigilance skill
- already held ensure the appropriate supply in pharmacy skill
- already held evaluate scientific data concerning medicines skill
- already held follow clinical guidelines skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held maintain adequate medication storage conditions skill
- already held maintain pharmacy records skill
- already held manage medical supply chains skill
- already held manage medication safety issues skill
- already held medicines knowledge
- already held monitor patients' medication skill
- already held obtain healthcare user's medical status information skill
- already held perform therapeutic drug monitoring skill
- already held pharmacognosy knowledge
- already held pharmacokinetics knowledge
- already held pharmacotherapy knowledge
- already held pharmacy law knowledge
- already held physics knowledge
- already held prepare medication from prescription skill
- already held process medical insurance claims skill
- already held provide health education skill
- already held provide pharmaceutical advice skill
- already held test medicinal products skill
- already held toxicology knowledge
- already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
- already held advise on poisoning incidents skill
- already held conduct health related research skill
- already held improve safety of medicines skill
- already held manage adverse reactions to drugs skill
- already held provide anti-cancer medical treatment skill
- already held use e-health and mobile health technologies skill
The 5 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn sales strategies required
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- still to learn manage healthcare users' data required
- still to learn hygiene in a health care setting required
- optional, not held pedagogy optional
- optional, not held maintain medical devices optional
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held radiopharmaceuticals optional
- optional, not held nutrition optional
- optional, not held operate cash register optional
- optional, not held phytotherapy optional
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held apply blended learning optional
- optional, not held homeopathy optional
- optional, not held maintain medical devices optional
- optional, not held medical devices optional
- optional, not held medical statistics optional
- optional, not held pedagogy optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- optional, not held teach in academic or vocational contexts optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages for health-related research optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages in patient care optional
12 held skills the pharmacist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adhere to organisational guidelines skill
- not needed by the target role apply context specific clinical competences skill
- not needed by the target role develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
- not needed by the target role educate on the prevention of illness skill
- not needed by the target role follow procedures to control substances hazardous to health skill
- not needed by the target role inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
- not needed by the target role manage hospital-acquired infections skill
- not needed by the target role perform diagnostic testing for allergies skill
- not needed by the target role prescribe medication skill
- not needed by the target role promote inclusion skill
- not needed by the target role provide specialist pharmaceutical care skill
- not needed by the target role treat endocrine disorders skill
19 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn botany required
- still to learn microbiology-bacteriology required
- still to learn sales strategies required
- still to learn analytical chemistry required
- still to learn human anatomy required
- still to learn hygiene in a health care setting required
- still to learn inorganic chemistry required
- still to learn organic chemistry required
- still to learn pharmaceutical chemistry required
- still to learn pharmaceutical technology required
- still to learn pharmacology required
- optional, not held radiopharmaceuticals optional
- optional, not held nutrition optional
- optional, not held phytotherapy optional
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held homeopathy optional
- optional, not held medical devices optional
- optional, not held medical statistics optional
- optional, not held pedagogy optional
Common questions about this move
Can a hospital pharmacist become a pharmacist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A hospital pharmacist already covers 50% of what a pharmacist is expected to do: 40 skills carry over, 34 of which the pharmacist role treats as required.
What skills does a hospital pharmacist need to become a pharmacist?
31 required skills are missing, plus 15 optional ones. They fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is provide medicines information.
How hard is the move from hospital pharmacist to pharmacist?
Its learning distance is 66.8 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.