Exploring Different Types of Pharmacist Roles: Specialities, Settings, and Responsibilities

When you think of a pharmacist, you probably picture someone wearing a white coat, dispensing medications from behind the counter at your local pharmacy. While this tends to be the most common type of pharmacist, there are many other career options that pharmacists can pursue.

From hospital pharmacy to working in outpatient clinics and within the pharmaceutical industry, pharmacists can wear many different hats. Pharmacists can also be specially trained and board certified in certain areas of healthcare.

While there’s not necessarily one area that boasts the highest paid pharmacist, many career paths can provide value in unique ways. Here, we’ll discuss several different types of pharmacists.

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The community (retail) pharmacist

From large chains to “mom and pop” pharmacies, you’re probably most familiar with the community pharmacist role. They have many responsibilities, but they ultimately ensure that everyone receives safe and appropriate medications when needed.

After a prescription is sent to the pharmacy, it goes through several steps before being ready for pickup. Key steps include:

• Verifying the authenticity of the prescription

• Ensuring the medication is available

• Reviewing health insurance coverage

• Checking for potential drug interactions

• Making sure the prescribed dose is correct

• Providing counseling services and answering questions about safe medication use

• Administering vaccinations, if applicable

Although many pharmacists go directly into community pharmacy after completing pharmacy school, some continue training by completing a year-long residency in community practice. These pharmacists often go into an administrative role, such as store or district management, focusing on pharmacy experiences and services instead of frontline duties.

The hospital pharmacist

Pharmacists that work in a hospital are generally referred to as hospital pharmacists. But, there’s a wide range of roles for pharmacists in the hospital setting.

Hospital pharmacists play important roles on the broader healthcare team. This may include:

• Verifying medication orders placed by healthcare providers throughout the hospital

• Dispensing medications from the central pharmacy to different hospital units

• Rounding with the medical team to track a patient’s daily progress

• Recommending medications based on patient-specific factors

• Preparing patients for discharge

• Compounding IV medications

Some of the areas that hospital pharmacists can be found include:

• Emergency medicine

• Critical care

• Internal medicine

• Infectious disease

• Solid organ transplant

• Oncology

• Investigational drugs

Working in the hospital can be complex. Many hospital pharmacist positions require the completion of at least one year of residency.

Clinical pharmacy specialists

Clinical pharmacy specialists are trained in certain areas of pharmacy; they obtain advanced knowledge and skills in a specific topic. While all pharmacists can become clinical pharmacy specialists, it often requires specialized training, years of experience, and board certification.

The most common clinical pharmacy specialist roles include ambulatory care, oncology, infectious disease, and pediatrics.

The ambulatory care pharmacist

For chronic conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes, people often see healthcare providers in an outpatient clinic setting. They could also see an ambulatory care pharmacist.

Ambulatory care pharmacists can be found in a wide variety of clinics, ranging from family medicine practices and surgery centers to dialysis centers. This pharmacist role is focused on, but is not limited to, ensuring the safe and effective use of medications over time.

Other ambulatory care pharmacist duties may include:

• One-on-one appointments with patients

• Physical assessments

• Point-of-care testing

• Dose adjustments

• Medication recommendations

There are many post-graduate residencies that focus on ambulatory care. This additional training can prepare new pharmacists for ambulatory care in a variety of ways, such as managing a clinic, starting a new pharmacy service, or going into academia.

The oncology pharmacist

Oncology is the branch of medicine that focuses on cancer. Pharmacists who specialize in this area have many responsibilities, such as:

• Compounding or preparing chemotherapy

• Dispensing chemotherapies, immunotherapies, and other treatments for people with cancer

• Deciding which medication(s) would be most appropriate based on the results of lab tests and genomic data

• Managing supportive care treatments

• Patient education

Oncology pharmacists can be found in hospital and outpatient clinic settings. Many have also have additional training in oncology, such as completing two years of residency or obtaining board certification in oncology.

The infectious disease pharmacist

Infectious disease (ID) pharmacists are experts at finding the right treatment for an infection. They typically work in hospital or clinic settings. Their roles include:

• Making sure antibiotics are used appropriately

• Educating other healthcare providers and patients about infections and antibiotic use

• Conducting research about antibiotic resistance

• Collaborating with healthcare providers to design treatment plans for hard-to-treat infections

ID pharmacists often complete a 2-year residency in infectious disease. Pharmacists can also enter the ID specialty after years of experience and scholarship demonstrating proficiency in treating infectious disease.

The pediatrics pharmacist

Pediatric pharmacists provide healthcare services to children and adolescents up to 18 years old. Some of their responsibilities include:

• Verifying that prescribed medications and dosages are safe and effective for children

• Providing alternative, easier-to-take dosage forms when needed

• Educating other healthcare providers and children and their families on appropriate medication use

• Advocating for health and wellness for children and their families

Many pediatric pharmacists complete a 2-year specialized residency. Pediatric pharmacists are usually board certified for their role.

The long-term care pharmacist

Nursing homes are the most well-known type of long-term care facility. A long-term care facility is an institution that provides medical and personal care to those who aren’t able to live on their own. Pharmacists can be found there, as well as in skilled nursing facilities, performing similar duties as hospital pharmacists.

Pharmacy services are usually split into two areas: dispensing medications and providing consultations. Alongside those responsibilities, long-term care pharmacists may also do the following tasks:

• Monitoring drug levels

• Adjusting medication dosages

• Checking for drug interactions

• Managing drug formularies

The industry pharmacist

An ”industry pharmacist” is a general term for pharmacists working in the pharmaceutical industry — typically pharmaceutical companies. Industry pharmacists may have roles in:

• Medical communication and information

• Regulatory affairs

• Pharmacovigilance

• Clinical development

• Research and development

• Market access

• Sales

• Marketing

While there are many potential roles for pharmacists within the pharmaceutical industry, many areas and skills overlap. Pharmacists skilled at interpreting data, understanding the medication approval landscape, and marketing regulations could succeed in multiple industry jobs. Many pharmacists obtain a fellowship to break into the pharmaceutical industry.

The managed care pharmacist

Pharmacists can work for managed care organizations, health plans, and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). These organizations focus on reducing pharmacy spending and improving healthcare outcomes from a population perspective.

Managed care pharmacists work in a variety of areas, including prior authorizations, patient safety monitoring, and formulary management. While some managed care pharmacists complete a managed care residency, others enter the field over time without residency training.

The drug information pharmacist

All pharmacists provide drug information to some degree. Drug information is the practice of delivering detailed information about medications to patients or other healthcare professionals. But some pharmacists work in a specific drug information setting, where their primary role is to collect, assess, and evaluate literature on medications.

For instance, drug information pharmacists can share curated information with other professionals to help guide decisions on drug therapy regimens. Drug information pharmacists also participate in multidisciplinary teams at healthcare institutions, such as pharmacy and therapeutics (P&T) committees. P&T committees help make decisions about medications that should be included or excluded on a hospital’s formulary.

The compounding pharmacist

Compounding medications, the science of mixing and combining ingredients, can be traced back to the origins of pharmacy. Not all medications are readily available off the shelf in the required strength or dosage form. Some need to be compounded into their desired form.

Compounding pharmacists can participate in non-sterile or sterile compounding. Non-sterile medications typically include products like capsules, suppositories, and creams. Sterile medications are usually injected or infused into the body.

Unlike non-sterile medications, sterile medications need to be prepared in a highly controlled environment to make sure contaminants don’t accidentally get into them. Sterile medications made in a non-sterile environment could end up causing dangerous infections.

Different training and regulations need to be followed for sterile versus non-sterile compounding. Although not all pharmacies compound medications, compounding pharmacists can be found in community, hospital, and veterinary pharmacies.

Other types of pharmacists

Many pharmacists in the roles above receive board certifications or additional training. However, this isn’t an exhaustive list. Other board certifications available to pharmacists include:

• Cardiology (heart health)

• Critical care

• Emergency medicine

• Nutrition support

• Mental health

• Nuclear medicine

• Solid organ transplant

Other pharmacists may work in non-clinical roles aside from those mentioned above, such as medical writing, medical education, and pharmacy administration.

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Written by:

Austin Ulrich, PharmD, BCACP

Austin Ulrich, PharmD, BCACP, is a board-certified ambulatory care clinical pharmacist. In his early career, he provided direct patient care in a variety of settings, including hospital and community pharmacies, and in a primary care clinic as a clinical pharmacist.

Edited by:

Joshua Murdock, PharmD, BCBBS

Joshua Murdock, PharmD, BCBBS, is a licensed pharmacist in Arizona, Colorado, and Rhode Island. He has worked in the pharmacy industry for more than 10 years and currently serves as a pharmacy editor for GoodRx.

Reviewed by:

Christina Aungst, PharmD

Christina Aungst, PharmD, is a pharmacy editor for GoodRx. She began writing for GoodRx Health in 2019, transitioning from freelance writer to editor in 2021.

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