Alternative Careers in Pharmacy

Ambulatory care is a pharmacy sector that provides one-on-one outpatient care to help patients manage chronic conditions such as diabetes, asthma, and heart disease. These pharmacists often work outside of traditional hospital or retail settings in clinics.

Their responsibilities typically include managing medication therapy and educating patients on pharmaceutical drug usage, lifestyle changes, and how to best address their chronic conditions.

Along with earning a Pharm.D. degree, pharmacists must obtain a Board Certification in Ambulatory Care Pharmacy (BCACP) to gain the specialized expertise for this role.

Compounding pharmacy is the specialized pharmaceutical practice of preparing custom medications not commercially available to meet patients’ specific needs. This was the original method pharmacists used to create medicines for patients before they were made available by drug manufacturers.

Using their vast knowledge of drug formulation, compounding pharmacists customize a medication’s dosage, form, or ingredients. Their work includes:

• Creating a lower-dose version of a medication for younger patients
• Adding flavors to make a liquid medicine more palatable
• Removing allergens like gluten or dyes for sensitive patients
• Converting pills into liquid or topical forms for easier use

Compounding pharmacists often create medications for hormone replacement therapy, topical pain relief, and veterinary patients—all of which improve patient care and treatment outcomes. 

As our population ages and health concerns increase, geriatric pharmacists, also known as senior care or consultant pharmacists, offer specialized treatment for older adults experiencing chronic and age-related health issues.

Typically, geriatric pharmacists collaborate with health care teams to educate patients and their caregivers about safely managing multiple medications, addressing long-term conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, and Alzheimer's, and meeting older adults' unique health care needs.

They often work in assisted-living or long-term care facilities, hospitals, or community pharmacies and play a pivotal role in ensuring their patients can maintain or improve their quality of life.

If you’re driven by innovation and want to contribute to health care's global impact, a career as an industry pharmacist offers a thriving path beyond traditional clinical settings. 

Industry pharmacists work in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and leverage their expertise and research skills to advance drug discovery, development, and commercialization. They create ground-breaking therapies, conduct early-stage research in a lab, manage clinical trials, oversee quality control in a drug production department, and ensure new drugs meet FDA and global regulations.

Since the United States leads the world in drug innovation, this sector has a broad range of professional opportunities, including sales, drug information, regulatory affairs, clinical development, and more. Whichever role piques your interest, you can become an industry pharmacist and establish yourself as a leader in public health and evidence-based medicine.

Infusion pharmacy is a practice that empowers pharmacists to compound and dispense sterile medications for patients who cannot take oral drugs, often due to severe illnesses, compromised digestive systems, or intensive treatment regimens. 

Infusion pharmacists deliver treatments, such as chemotherapy, antibiotics, and nutrients, intravenously (IV) or subcutaneously. They can serve patients in a variety of settings, including hospitals, clinics, and even in patients’ homes.

A career in infusion pharmacy offers the rewarding opportunity to use highly specialized clinical skills to support the health and medical treatment of patients from all walks of life.

Managed care pharmacists bridge the gap between patients and providers by optimizing medication therapy management through comprehensive strategies that address care gaps, enhance patient safety, control costs, and drive quality improvement.

They typically work behind the scenes for health insurance plans or pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), reviewing the effectiveness of drug therapies, evaluating drug formularies, and partnering with providers to reduce medication costs without negatively impacting their efficacy. 

Becoming a managed care pharmacist may be a suitable career if you enjoy health care strategy and problem-solving without the traditional pharmacy setting.

For professionals invested in relationship building, a medical science liaison (MSL) role allows professionals to leverage comprehensive health care expertise and find strategic collaboration opportunities. MSLs work in various health care industries, including pharmaceutics, and use their specialized therapeutic knowledge to bridge the gap between innovative research and clinical practice. 

Their primary goal is establishing and maintaining peer-to-peer relationships with key opinion leaders (KOLs), such as leading physicians and researchers at major academic institutions and clinics. Their expertise informs their ability to translate clinical data into insights for providers and industry stakeholders, support post-market drug therapy research, and oversee advisory boards. 

Often, MSLs receive a regional or geographical area assigned to them, which requires them to travel, attend conferences, and collaborate with KOLs nationwide.

Serve at the cutting edge of health care by charting a career as a nuclear pharmacist. 

Nuclear pharmacy is a specialized discipline that prepares and administers radioactive materials for diagnostic imaging, such as PET scans, targeted medical treatments, and cancer therapies. These critical skills help other physicians and medical professionals diagnose diseases and provide life-saving care.

Nuclear pharmacists typically work in radiopharmacies and large hospitals with nuclear medicine facilities. Their primary responsibilities include: 

• Adhering to strict radiation safety protocols to keep themselves, their colleagues, and their patients safe
• Compounding radiopharmaceuticals
• Calibrate dosages for patient specifications 

For those interested in merging public health and policy with their pharmaceutical expertise, working in regulatory science creates a positive impact on the lives of patients across the nation.

Regulatory science centers on ensuring that medicines, medical devices, and treatments are safe, effective, and meet quality standards before being distributed for public use. 

Pharmacists and other health care professionals working in regulatory science act as the guardians of public health. Along with reviewing drug therapies, regulatory scientists also:

• Enact guidelines for companies to follow for the safety of their patients
• Collaborate with governments, pharmaceutical companies, and health organizations to review new treatments
• Shape national public policy

Merge your love of animals and science by becoming a veterinary pharmacist. This career offers an alternative to a human health care role and allows you to treat chronic and acute conditions in animals. Like humans, animals also need medications to treat pain, reduce inflammation and infections, and improve their quality of life. Vet pharmacists utilize their expertise to customize prescription medications to an animal’s species, size, and condition, which includes altering a drug’s dosage, form, or flavor to make it easier to administer.

Vet pharmacists often work in research facilities, veterinary clinics, zoos, and compounding pharmacies. Their professional responsibilities also include:

• Oversee drug therapies for chronic or complex animal conditions
• Support disease prevention and wellness
• Conduct research or manage veterinary clinical trials