Industrial pharmacist to pharmacist
An industrial pharmacist already meets 34% of what the pharmacist role asks for. The move turns on 42 required skills not yet in the profile.
78.4/ 100
1 How much of what a pharmacist is expected to do is already part of an industrial 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 23 of its required skills as things an industrial pharmacist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accept own accountability
- botany
- comply with legislation related to health care
- contribute to public health campaigns
- ensure pharmacovigilance
- human anatomy
What stands in the way is 42 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 27 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 an industrial pharmacist background worth leading with.
- already held ensure pharmacovigilance assisting and caring
- already held manage medication safety issues management skills
- already held pharmacotherapy health and welfare
- already held test medicinal products information skills
- already held manage medical supply chains management skills
- already held pharmacognosy health and welfare
All 27 carried skills, including the 23 the pharmacist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 59 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 advise on healthcare users' informed consent required
- still to learn counsel healthcare users on medicines required
- still to learn monitor patients' medication required
- still to learn work in multidisciplinary health teams required
- still to learn communicate in healthcare required
- still to learn communicate with customers required
- still to learn dispense medicines required
- still to learn ensure client orientation required
- still to learn interact with healthcare users required
- still to learn listen actively required
- still to learn provide health education required
- optional, not held advise on poisoning incidents optional
- 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 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 perform therapeutic drug monitoring required
- still to learn prepare doses of medication according to patient needs required
- still to learn refer healthcare users required
- still to learn deal with emergency care situations required
- still to learn empathise with the healthcare user required
- still to learn follow clinical guidelines required
- still to learn prepare medication from prescription required
- optional, not held provide anti-cancer medical treatment optional
- still to learn check information on prescriptions required
- still to learn evaluate scientific data concerning medicines required
- still to learn maintain pharmacy records required
- still to learn obtain healthcare user's medical status information required
- still to learn manage healthcare users' data required
- still to learn process medical insurance claims required
- still to learn supervise pharmaceutical staff required
- still to learn apply organisational techniques required
- still to learn ensure the appropriate supply in pharmacy 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 biological chemistry required
- still to learn analytical chemistry required
- still to learn pharmacology required
- optional, not held medical statistics optional
- still to learn handle the logistics of medicinal products required
- still to learn maintain adequate medication storage conditions required
- still to learn participate in medical inventory control required
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 advise on healthcare users' informed consent practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 27 skills that carry over
- already held accept own accountability skill
- already held botany knowledge
- already held comply with legislation related to health care skill
- already held contribute to public health campaigns skill
- already held ensure pharmacovigilance skill
- already held human anatomy knowledge
- already held inorganic chemistry knowledge
- already held manage medical supply chains skill
- already held manage medication safety issues skill
- already held manufacture medicines skill
- already held microbiology-bacteriology knowledge
- already held organic chemistry knowledge
- already held pharmaceutical chemistry knowledge
- already held pharmaceutical technology knowledge
- already held pharmacognosy knowledge
- already held pharmacokinetics knowledge
- already held pharmacotherapy knowledge
- already held pharmacy law knowledge
- already held physics knowledge
- already held provide pharmaceutical advice skill
- already held sales strategies knowledge
- already held test medicinal products skill
- already held toxicology knowledge
- already held conduct health related research skill
- already held improve safety of medicines skill
- already held maintain medical devices skill
- already held manage adverse reactions to drugs skill
The 5 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn applied therapeutics related to medicines required
- still to learn medicines 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
- still to learn hygiene in a health care setting required
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held pedagogy optional
- optional, not held use e-health and mobile health technologies optional
17 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held radiopharmaceuticals optional
- optional, not held advise on poisoning incidents optional
- optional, not held nutrition optional
- optional, not held operate cash register optional
- optional, not held phytotherapy optional
- optional, not held provide anti-cancer medical treatment optional
- optional, not held use e-health and mobile health technologies optional
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held apply blended learning optional
- optional, not held homeopathy 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
19 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 analyse experimental laboratory data skill
- not needed by the target role analyse medication's impact on brain skill
- not needed by the target role apply context specific clinical competences skill
- not needed by the target role apply safety procedures in laboratory skill
- not needed by the target role assist in the production of laboratory documentation skill
- not needed by the target role contribute to registration of pharmaceutical products skill
- not needed by the target role develop pharmaceutical drugs skill
- not needed by the target role implement marketing strategies skill
- not needed by the target role inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
- not needed by the target role maintain medical laboratory equipment skill
- not needed by the target role perform laboratory tests skill
- not needed by the target role perform toxicological studies skill
- not needed by the target role pharmaceutical processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role quality assurance methodologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role recommend product improvements skill
- not needed by the target role report medication interaction to pharmacist skill
- not needed by the target role safe management of medicines knowledge
- not needed by the target role wear appropriate protective gear skill
14 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 applied therapeutics related to medicines required
- still to learn biological chemistry required
- still to learn analytical chemistry required
- still to learn hygiene in a health care setting required
- still to learn medicines 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 an industrial pharmacist become a pharmacist?
Yes, and it is a career change move. An industrial pharmacist already covers 34% of what a pharmacist is expected to do: 27 skills carry over, 23 of which the pharmacist role treats as required.
What skills does an industrial pharmacist need to become a pharmacist?
42 required skills are missing, plus 17 optional ones. They fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is provide medicines information.
How hard is the move from industrial pharmacist to pharmacist?
Its learning distance is 78.4 out of 100, which is the career change 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.