Physiotherapist to specialist pharmacist
A physiotherapist already meets 57% of what the specialist pharmacist role asks for. The move turns on 21 required skills not yet in the profile.
58.4/ 100
1 How much of what a specialist pharmacist is expected to do is already part of a physiotherapist’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 29 of its required skills as things a physiotherapist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accept own accountability
- adhere to organisational guidelines
- advise on healthcare users' informed consent
- apply context specific clinical competences
- apply organisational techniques
- communicate in healthcare
What stands in the way is 21 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 33 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 a physiotherapist background worth leading with.
- already held prescribe medication assisting and caring
- already held provide treatment strategies for challenges to human health management skills
- already held conduct health related research information skills
- already held educate on the prevention of illness communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held pharmacology natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held use foreign languages for health-related research communication, collaboration and creativity
All 33 carried skills, including the 29 the specialist pharmacist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 27 missing skills fall into 8 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 cancer risks required
- still to learn pharmacognosy required
- still to learn pharmacotherapy required
- still to learn pharmaceutical industry required
- still to learn pharmaceutical technology required
- still to learn pharmacokinetics required
- optional, not held homeopathy optional
- optional, not held medical devices optional
- still to learn botany required
- still to learn microbiology-bacteriology required
- still to learn inorganic chemistry required
- still to learn organic chemistry required
- still to learn pharmaceutical chemistry required
- still to learn toxicology required
- still to learn advise on poisoning incidents required
- still to learn provide pharmaceutical advice required
- still to learn provide specialist pharmaceutical advice required
- still to learn provide medication information required
- still to learn apply person-centred care required
- still to learn provide anti-cancer medical treatment required
- still to learn provide specialist pharmaceutical care required
- optional, not held manage adverse reactions to drugs optional
- still to learn review patient's medical data required
- optional, not held perform diagnostic testing for allergies optional
- still to learn pharmacy law required
2 further areas 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 poisoning incidents practise this
- 02 apply person-centred care 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 33 skills that carry over
- already held accept own accountability skill
- already held adhere to organisational guidelines skill
- already held advise on healthcare users' informed consent skill
- already held apply context specific clinical competences skill
- already held apply organisational techniques skill
- already held communicate in healthcare skill
- already held comply with legislation related to health care skill
- already held comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
- already held contribute to continuity of health care skill
- already held deal with emergency care situations skill
- already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
- already held educate on the prevention of illness skill
- already held empathise with the healthcare user skill
- already held ensure safety of healthcare users skill
- already held follow clinical guidelines skill
- already held human anatomy knowledge
- already held inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
- already held interact with healthcare users skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held manage healthcare users' data skill
- already held pharmacology knowledge
- already held physics knowledge
- already held promote inclusion skill
- already held provide health education skill
- already held provide treatment strategies for challenges to human health skill
- already held respond to changing situations in health care skill
- already held use e-health and mobile health technologies skill
- already held work in a multicultural environment in health care skill
- already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
- already held conduct health related research skill
- already held prescribe medication skill
- already held use foreign languages for health-related research skill
- already held use foreign languages in patient care skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held improve safety of medicines optional
- optional, not held maintain medical devices optional
6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held improve safety of medicines optional
- optional, not held manage adverse reactions to drugs optional
- optional, not held perform diagnostic testing for allergies optional
- optional, not held homeopathy optional
- optional, not held maintain medical devices optional
- optional, not held medical devices optional
65 held skills the specialist pharmacist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adhere to health well-being and safety skill
- not needed by the target role adjust physiotherapy interventions skill
- not needed by the target role advocate health skill
- not needed by the target role analyse personal fitness information skill
- not needed by the target role apply acupuncture skill
- not needed by the target role apply massage therapy skill
- not needed by the target role assess physical conditions of clients skill
- not needed by the target role biomechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role collect healthcare user's general data skill
- not needed by the target role conduct physiotherapy assessment skill
- not needed by the target role contribute to quality physiotherapy services skill
- not needed by the target role contribute to the rehabilitation process skill
- not needed by the target role correct potentially harmful movements skill
- not needed by the target role create solutions to problems skill
- not needed by the target role develop physiotherapy services skill
- not needed by the target role develop plans related to client discharge skill
- not needed by the target role develop plans related to the transfer of care skill
- not needed by the target role develop strategic plans for physiotherapy services skill
- not needed by the target role develop therapeutic relationships skill
- not needed by the target role emergency surgery knowledge
- not needed by the target role employ cognitive behaviour treatment techniques skill
- not needed by the target role engage in physiotherapy research skill
- not needed by the target role first aid knowledge
- not needed by the target role formulate a treatment plan skill
- not needed by the target role general medicine knowledge
- not needed by the target role geriatrics knowledge
- not needed by the target role human physiology knowledge
- not needed by the target role hydrotherapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role intensive care medicine knowledge
- not needed by the target role interpret medical results skill
- not needed by the target role kinetics knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain physiotherapy equipment skill
- not needed by the target role manage a healthcare unit budget skill
- not needed by the target role manage clinical risk skill
- not needed by the target role manage healthcare staff knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage physiotherapy staff skill
- not needed by the target role measure effectiveness of the service provided skill
- not needed by the target role medical informatics knowledge
- not needed by the target role medical terminology knowledge
- not needed by the target role neurology knowledge
25 further entries not listed here
15 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 cancer risks required
- still to learn microbiology-bacteriology required
- still to learn pharmacognosy required
- still to learn pharmacotherapy required
- still to learn inorganic chemistry required
- still to learn organic chemistry required
- still to learn pharmaceutical chemistry required
- still to learn pharmaceutical industry required
- still to learn pharmaceutical technology required
- still to learn pharmacokinetics required
- still to learn pharmacy law required
- still to learn toxicology required
- optional, not held homeopathy optional
- optional, not held medical devices optional
Other moves recorded from physiotherapist
- specialist chiropractor 82% covered · moderate
- healthcare assistant 65% covered · moderate
- dental hygienist 62% covered · moderate
- respiratory therapy technician 58% covered · moderate
- homeopath 58% covered · moderate
- dental chairside assistant 56% covered · substantial
- orthoptist 56% covered · substantial
- dental technician 54% covered · moderate
Common questions about this move
Can a physiotherapist become a specialist pharmacist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A physiotherapist already covers 57% of what a specialist pharmacist is expected to do: 33 skills carry over, 29 of which the specialist pharmacist role treats as required.
What skills does a physiotherapist need to become a specialist pharmacist?
21 required skills are missing, plus 6 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by health and welfare. The single most important is advise on poisoning incidents.
How hard is the move from physiotherapist to specialist pharmacist?
Its learning distance is 58.4 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.