The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has published an article to help pharmacists decide on whether working in industrial pharmacy might be a good fit for them….

The RPS says that working in the pharmaceutical industry can be completely different from working in a hospital or community pharmacy setting, and that if you are interested in working on a medicine and not a face to face contact with patients, this might be the right industry sector for you.

According to the RPS, there are a number of factors to consider when looking at industrial pharmacy.

1. Communication skills

• Essential as you will often be working in a multi-disciplinary team

2. Other required skills and credentials

• The ability to work with others, time management including meeting deadlines, creative thinking and problem solving skills
• A PhD is not essential unless you want to work in research
• It may not matter whether or not you have experience in other settings such as community or hospital pharmacy

3. Getting started with an internship, placement or work experience

• Doing an internship, placement or work experience in the industry to confirm that you are interested in this area is a good idea
• Be sure to check pharmaceutical company websites as they may have information about these programs
• You can send your CV via email, and be sure to address it to the Human Resources department, as well as pharmacists in the organisation

More articles from My Health Career:

• Becoming a medical writer (and no, you don’t have to be a doctor to do that)
• #EZDrugID petition aims to reduce drug errors in Australia
• Expansion of practice pharmacist role depends on remuneration

Image: epSos.de – flickr