Infectious Diseases Pharmacist |
Career OverviewAn infectious diseases pharmacist specializes in the drug therapy and medicines needed to treat those patients in hospitals and healthcare facilities that have any type of infectious disease. These diseases are usually treated with combinations of antibiotics that help to eliminate the disease and control any possible spreading of the infectious disease to other people in the community.
The infectious diseases pharmacist must be aware of the various restrictions and regulation regarding the treatment of infectious diseases. They will work closely with the treatment team to evaluate the effectiveness of the drug therapy and the overall patient recovery. Excellent communication skills are needed by an infectious diseases pharmacist as they will have to exchange information both with the infectious diseases treatment team and the patient and his or her family.
Some antibiotics have formularies, which are lists of both prescribed medications and dosages that insurance companies cover with their policies. The infectious diseases pharmacist must try to work within the patient’s insurance coverage policy or formulary when deciding on what antibiotics are most effective working with the particular infectious disease.
Excellent record keeping and data management is essential for an infectious diseases pharmacist. While the pharmacist may not work directly with the patient they still will rely on input from the treatment team to record the progress being made and make necessary adjustments in dosage. In addition the infectious diseases pharmacist needs to be aware of any side effects, adverse effects or possible conflicts between drugs being prescribed by various doctors to the same patient.
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Career RequirementsAn infectious diseases pharmacist is a licensed pharmacist in the state or region that they work. He or she will be required to have a Doctor of Pharmacy or Pharm-D degree or equivalent combinations of education and training. They will have completed and passed the NAPLEX and MPJE exams if both are required for licensing.
Most infectious diseases pharmacists also have a strong medical background usually obtained in a one or two year residency program. Some infectious diseases pharmacists may have also worked previously as clinical or ambulatory pharmacists where they worked with infectious diseases and patients.
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Job OutlookThere is a constant demand for trained infectious diseases pharmacists in most major centers and hospitals and healthcare facilities. Since the infectious diseases pharmacist is very specialized and is familiar with all applicable insurance restrictions the demand for qualified infectious diseases pharmacists is expected to stay steady for the next several years, at least until the year 2014.
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Career TrackAn infectious diseases pharmacist may choose to move into virtually any area of pharmacy from community based pharmacy to clinical or hospital pharmacy. Infectious diseases pharmacists may also return to colleges and teach this specialized area to students. Some infectious diseases pharmacists move into research work in private pharmaceutical companies.
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CompensationAn infectious diseases pharmacist working in a medium to large general hospital can anticipate a yearly salary of $83,000 to $87,000. There will be little overtime or weekend work however this may very from facility to facility.
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