Specialist nurse to specialist pharmacist
A specialist nurse already meets 52% of what the specialist pharmacist role asks for. The move turns on 24 required skills not yet in the profile.
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1 How much of what a specialist pharmacist is expected to do is already part of a specialist nurse’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 26 of its required skills as things a specialist nurse 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 person-centred care
- communicate in healthcare
What stands in the way is 24 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 31 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 specialist nurse background worth leading with.
- already held provide anti-cancer medical treatment assisting and caring
- already held perform diagnostic testing for allergies information skills
- already held manage adverse reactions to drugs assisting and caring
- already held prescribe medication assisting and caring
- already held provide treatment strategies for challenges to human health management skills
- already held educate on the prevention of illness communication, collaboration and creativity
All 31 carried skills, including the 26 the specialist pharmacist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 29 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 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 pharmacology required
- still to learn physics required
- still to learn toxicology required
- still to learn cancer risks required
- still to learn pharmacognosy required
- still to learn pharmacotherapy required
- still to learn human anatomy 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 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 review patient's medical data required
- still to learn manage healthcare users' data required
- optional, not held conduct health related research optional
- still to learn apply organisational techniques required
- optional, not held improve safety of medicines optional
- still to learn provide specialist pharmaceutical care 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.
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 31 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 person-centred care 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 inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
- already held interact with healthcare users skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held promote inclusion skill
- already held provide anti-cancer medical treatment 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 manage adverse reactions to drugs skill
- already held perform diagnostic testing for allergies 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
- still to learn pharmacy law required
- optional, not held maintain medical devices optional
5 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held improve safety of medicines optional
- optional, not held conduct health related research optional
- optional, not held homeopathy optional
- optional, not held maintain medical devices optional
- optional, not held medical devices optional
61 held skills the specialist pharmacist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adapt leadership styles in healthcare skill
- not needed by the target role address problems critically skill
- not needed by the target role address side effects of menopause skill
- not needed by the target role administer immunotherapy skill
- not needed by the target role advise on healthy lifestyles skill
- not needed by the target role advise patients on infectious diseases when travelling skill
- not needed by the target role analyse quality of nurse care skill
- not needed by the target role apply nursing care in long-term care skill
- not needed by the target role apply sustainability principles in health care skill
- not needed by the target role assess physical conditions of clients skill
- not needed by the target role assist in epilepsy surgery skill
- not needed by the target role assist in kidney transplant skill
- not needed by the target role carry out invasive cardiovascular procedures skill
- not needed by the target role carry out nurse-led discharge skill
- not needed by the target role coach individuals in specialised nursing care skill
- not needed by the target role communicate in specialised nursing care skill
- not needed by the target role conduct patch testing skill
- not needed by the target role conduct polysomnography skill
- not needed by the target role conduct preoperative investigations skill
- not needed by the target role contribute to the advancements in specialised nursing care skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate care skill
- not needed by the target role delegate emergency care skill
- not needed by the target role diagnose nursing care skill
- not needed by the target role empower individuals, families and groups skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate nursing care skill
- not needed by the target role evaluation in specialised nursing care skill
- not needed by the target role follow-up patients with heart attack skill
- not needed by the target role have computer literacy skill
- not needed by the target role impact of social contexts on health knowledge
- not needed by the target role implement fundamentals of nursing skill
- not needed by the target role implement nursing care skill
- not needed by the target role implement scientific decision making in healthcare skill
- not needed by the target role initiate life preserving measures skill
- not needed by the target role manage communicable disease skill
- not needed by the target role manage hospital-acquired infections skill
- not needed by the target role manage information in health care skill
- not needed by the target role manage multiple patients simultaneously skill
- not needed by the target role manage personal professional development skill
- not needed by the target role manage trauma through surgical means skill
- not needed by the target role participate in health personnel training skill
21 further entries not listed here
18 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 human anatomy 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 pharmacology required
- still to learn pharmacy law required
- still to learn physics required
- still to learn toxicology required
- optional, not held homeopathy optional
- optional, not held medical devices optional
Other moves recorded from specialist nurse
- advanced nurse practitioner 71% covered · moderate
- healthcare assistant 62% covered · moderate
- nurse responsible for general care 60% covered · substantial
- nurse assistant 56% covered · substantial
- dental hygienist 56% covered · substantial
- physiotherapy assistant 54% covered · substantial
- dental chairside assistant 51% covered · substantial
- dental technician 50% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can a specialist nurse become a specialist pharmacist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A specialist nurse already covers 52% of what a specialist pharmacist is expected to do: 31 skills carry over, 26 of which the specialist pharmacist role treats as required.
What skills does a specialist nurse need to become a specialist pharmacist?
24 required skills are missing, plus 5 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by natural sciences, mathematics and statistics. The single most important is advise on poisoning incidents.
How hard is the move from specialist nurse to specialist pharmacist?
Its learning distance is 62 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.