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Does A New Grad Need To Do A Residency To Become An IT Pharmacist?

December 6, 2017 By Sean

Ask Me A Question › Category: General Pharmacy Questions › Does A New Grad Need To Do A Residency To Become An IT Pharmacist?
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Sean asked 5 years ago

Hey Dani,
I’m a pharmacy student graduating in 6 months and I wanted to get your opinion on what I’m planning on doing.

I’ve only worked in an independent pharmacy for the past few years and don’t have any inpatient experience at the moment. However I really want to become an IT pharmacist like you one day and am thinking about applying for “pharmacy application analyst” jobs online.

A few of them do say they prefer a licensed pharmacist so it might work out but I would have to be trained/sponsored by them to get the willow certification. Residency is not what I want to do as I’d rather gain hands on experience in those first 1-2 years preparing my way to becoming an IT pharmacist.

Your feedback on any of what I shared would be appreciated and if you have any other suggestions for me I’d love that also. Thank you in advance and have a great one šŸ™‚

Regards,
Sean

Question Tags: General Pharmacy Questions, New Pharmacy Grads, Pharmacy Students

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1 Answers
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Dani Staff answered 5 years ago

Hi Sean!
You’re almost done… Good for you!

Here’s the first piece of good news I have for you… Having experience in an independent pharmacy only is not necessarily a bad thing. That’s because Epic now has a retail pharmacy application called “Epic Willow Ambulatory” which is not only for outpatient pharmacies in hospitals but also CVS pharmacy (and I think I heard Walgreens too maybe) have purchased it to use on their retail pharmacies.

So, whereas in the past, IT pharmacists were considered a predominantly inpatient pharmacist opportunity, that is no longer true.
it is true that a lot of employers require pharmacist licensure so you should definitely plan on getting your license once you graduate. It will also ensure that you get paid as an IT pharmacist, rather just an unlicensed IT analyst. Your pharmacy degree counts for a lot.

Yes, it is true that an organization has to sponsor your Epic certification so once you get an offer for such a position the next step will be for them to pay for and send you to get the training required for your certification.

Regarding getting a residency, I won’t officially say that you don’t need one, but I will say this… I don’t have a residency and none of the other IT pharmacists I work with have one either. Also, when my organization hires for Epic Willow Pharmacist positions, having a residency is neither a requirement nor a “nice to have”… It isn’t even mentioned in the job requisitions, so hopefully that’s more good news for you šŸ˜‰

Please let me know how things go!

PS: Check out the tips I gave to Aniya here on how to find these types of IT pharmacist positions.

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About

Hi there, I’m Dani, Pharm.D. Clinical pharmacist. IT pharmacist. Regulatory affairs specialist. More about me.

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