Pharmacist to hospital pharmacist
A pharmacist already meets 82% of what the hospital pharmacist role asks for. The move turns on 4 required skills not yet in the profile.
26.7/ 100
1 How much of what a hospital pharmacist is expected to do is already part of a 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 hospital pharmacist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A hospital pharmacist role treats 26 of its required skills as things a pharmacist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accept own accountability
- advise on healthcare users' informed consent
- advise on poisoning incidents
- biological chemistry
- check information on prescriptions
- communicate in healthcare
What stands in the way is 4 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 hospital pharmacist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a pharmacist background worth leading with.
- already held monitor patients' medication communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held applied therapeutics related to medicines health and welfare
- already held evaluate scientific data concerning medicines information skills
- 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 26 the hospital pharmacist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 12 missing skills fall into 4 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 manage hospital-acquired infections required
- still to learn provide specialist pharmaceutical care required
- still to learn adhere to organisational guidelines required
- optional, not held prescribe medication optional
- optional, not held treat endocrine disorders optional
- optional, not held promote inclusion optional
- still to learn apply context specific clinical competences required
- optional, not held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship optional
- optional, not held educate on the prevention of illness optional
- optional, not held inform policy makers on health-related challenges optional
- optional, not held follow procedures to control substances hazardous to health optional
- optional, not held perform diagnostic testing for allergies optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a hospital pharmacist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 apply context specific clinical competences practise this
- 02 manage hospital-acquired infections practise this
- 03 provide specialist pharmaceutical 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 40 skills that carry over
- already held accept own accountability skill
- already held advise on healthcare users' informed consent skill
- already held advise on poisoning incidents skill
- 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 dispense medicines skill
- already held ensure pharmacovigilance skill
- already held ensure the appropriate supply in pharmacy skill
- already held follow clinical guidelines skill
- already held maintain adequate medication storage conditions skill
- already held maintain pharmacy records skill
- already held manage medical supply chains skill
- already held medicines knowledge
- already held monitor patients' medication skill
- already held obtain healthcare user's medical status information skill
- already held pharmacognosy knowledge
- already held pharmacokinetics knowledge
- already held pharmacotherapy knowledge
- already held pharmacy law knowledge
- already held prepare medication from prescription skill
- already held provide anti-cancer medical treatment skill
- already held provide pharmaceutical advice skill
- already held toxicology knowledge
- already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
- already held applied therapeutics related to medicines knowledge
- already held conduct health related research skill
- already held deal with emergency care situations skill
- already held evaluate scientific data concerning medicines skill
- already held improve safety of medicines skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held manage adverse reactions to drugs skill
- already held manage medication safety issues skill
- already held perform therapeutic drug monitoring skill
- already held physics knowledge
- already held process medical insurance claims skill
- already held provide health education skill
- already held test medicinal products skill
- already held use e-health and mobile health technologies skill
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held follow procedures to control substances hazardous to health optional
- optional, not held perform diagnostic testing for allergies optional
- optional, not held prescribe medication optional
- optional, not held treat endocrine disorders optional
- optional, not held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship optional
- optional, not held educate on the prevention of illness optional
- optional, not held inform policy makers on health-related challenges optional
- optional, not held promote inclusion optional
46 held skills the hospital pharmacist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role accounting techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role analytical chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply blended learning skill
- not needed by the target role apply organisational techniques skill
- not needed by the target role botany knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role comply with legislation related to health care skill
- not needed by the target role comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
- not needed by the target role contribute to continuity of health care skill
- not needed by the target role contribute to public health campaigns skill
- not needed by the target role empathise with the healthcare user skill
- not needed by the target role ensure client orientation skill
- not needed by the target role ensure safety of healthcare users skill
- not needed by the target role handle the logistics of medicinal products skill
- not needed by the target role homeopathy knowledge
- not needed by the target role human anatomy knowledge
- not needed by the target role hygiene in a health care setting knowledge
- not needed by the target role inorganic chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role interact with healthcare users skill
- not needed by the target role maintain medical devices skill
- not needed by the target role manage healthcare users' data skill
- not needed by the target role manage personal professional development skill
- not needed by the target role manufacture medicines skill
- not needed by the target role medical devices knowledge
- not needed by the target role medical statistics knowledge
- not needed by the target role microbiology-bacteriology knowledge
- not needed by the target role nutrition knowledge
- not needed by the target role operate cash register skill
- not needed by the target role organic chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role participate in medical inventory control skill
- not needed by the target role pedagogy knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform project management skill
- not needed by the target role pharmaceutical chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role pharmaceutical technology knowledge
- not needed by the target role pharmacology knowledge
- not needed by the target role phytotherapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role prepare doses of medication according to patient needs skill
- not needed by the target role provide medicines information skill
- not needed by the target role radiopharmaceuticals knowledge
- not needed by the target role recruit employees skill
6 further entries not listed here
Other moves recorded from pharmacist
- specialist pharmacist 69% covered · moderate
- industrial pharmacist 68% covered · moderate
- pharmacy technician 63% covered · moderate
- pharmacy assistant 63% covered · moderate
- homeopath 46% covered · substantial
- healthcare assistant 45% covered · substantial
- dental hygienist 43% covered · substantial
- physiotherapy assistant 42% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can a pharmacist become a hospital pharmacist?
Yes, and it is an adjacent move. A pharmacist already covers 82% of what a hospital pharmacist is expected to do: 40 skills carry over, 26 of which the hospital pharmacist role treats as required.
What skills does a pharmacist need to become a hospital pharmacist?
4 required skills are missing, plus 8 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is apply context specific clinical competences.
How hard is the move from pharmacist to hospital pharmacist?
Its learning distance is 26.7 out of 100, which is the adjacent 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.