Industrial pharmacist to specialist pharmacist
An industrial pharmacist already meets 38% of what the specialist pharmacist role asks for. The move turns on 31 required skills not yet in the profile.
73.1/ 100
1 How much of what a specialist 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 specialist pharmacist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A specialist pharmacist role treats 19 of its required skills as things an industrial pharmacist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accept own accountability
- adhere to organisational guidelines
- apply context specific clinical competences
- botany
- comply with legislation related to health care
- human anatomy
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 23 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A specialist 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 pharmacotherapy health and welfare
- already held pharmacognosy health and welfare
- already held pharmacokinetics health and welfare
- already held pharmacy law business, administration and law
- already held provide pharmaceutical advice communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held inorganic chemistry natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
All 23 carried skills, including the 19 the specialist pharmacist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 37 missing skills fall into 7 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 advise on poisoning incidents required
- still to learn provide specialist pharmaceutical advice required
- still to learn work in multidisciplinary health teams required
- still to learn communicate in healthcare required
- still to learn develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship required
- still to learn educate on the prevention of illness required
- still to learn interact with healthcare users required
- still to learn listen actively required
- still to learn provide health education required
- still to learn provide medication information required
- still to learn work in a multicultural environment in health care required
- optional, not held use foreign languages for health-related research optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages in patient care optional
- still to learn apply person-centred care 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 provide anti-cancer medical treatment required
- still to learn provide specialist pharmaceutical care 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 promote inclusion required
- optional, not held prescribe medication optional
- still to learn provide treatment strategies for challenges to human health required
- still to learn apply organisational techniques required
- still to learn respond to changing situations in health care required
- still to learn cancer risks required
- still to learn pharmaceutical industry required
- optional, not held homeopathy optional
- optional, not held medical devices optional
- still to learn review patient's medical data required
- still to learn manage healthcare users' data required
- optional, not held perform diagnostic testing for allergies optional
- still to learn pharmacology required
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a specialist pharmacist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 advise on healthcare users' informed consent practise this
- 02 advise on poisoning incidents practise this
- 03 apply person-centred care 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 23 skills that carry over
- already held accept own accountability skill
- already held adhere to organisational guidelines skill
- already held apply context specific clinical competences skill
- already held botany knowledge
- already held comply with legislation related to health care skill
- already held human anatomy knowledge
- already held inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
- already held inorganic chemistry knowledge
- 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 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 1 learning area not shown above
- still to learn use e-health and mobile health technologies required
6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held perform diagnostic testing for allergies optional
- optional, not held prescribe medication optional
- optional, not held homeopathy optional
- optional, not held medical devices optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages for health-related research optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages in patient care optional
23 held skills the specialist pharmacist role does not ask for
- 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 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 public health campaigns 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 ensure pharmacovigilance skill
- not needed by the target role implement marketing strategies skill
- not needed by the target role maintain medical laboratory equipment skill
- not needed by the target role manage medical supply chains skill
- not needed by the target role manage medication safety issues skill
- not needed by the target role manufacture medicines 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 sales strategies knowledge
- not needed by the target role test medicinal products skill
- not needed by the target role wear appropriate protective gear skill
5 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 cancer risks required
- still to learn pharmaceutical industry required
- still to learn pharmacology required
- optional, not held homeopathy optional
- optional, not held medical devices optional
Common questions about this move
Can an industrial pharmacist become a specialist pharmacist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An industrial pharmacist already covers 38% of what a specialist pharmacist is expected to do: 23 skills carry over, 19 of which the specialist pharmacist role treats as required.
What skills does an industrial pharmacist need to become a specialist pharmacist?
31 required skills are missing, plus 6 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is advise on healthcare users' informed consent.
How hard is the move from industrial pharmacist to specialist pharmacist?
Its learning distance is 73.1 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.