AboutMary E Scott, RPh, CGP Expertise I am a certified geriatric pharmacist with over 23 years experience as a long-term care consultant to nursing homes. I also do community-based consulting on an individual basis. My facility-based monthly newsletter on pharmacy topics is read by nurses in over 200 long-term care facilities in 5 states.
Experience I received a BS in Pharmacy in 1980 with post-graduate work in public health. I have had a Consultant Pharmacist license since 1984.
Organizations American Society of Consultant Pharmacists .I received certification in geriatric pharmacy in 1998.
Question Mary Scott,
Currently I am in my first year in Pharmacy school and I am trying to find out more about long-term care pharmacists.
What types of elective and/or rotations did you have to complete to become qualified to be a long-term care pharmacy consultant?
What activities do you do in a typical day?
What do you like best and least about being in long-term care?
Why did you choose to do long-term care?
I know I have a lot of question, but I'm having a hard time finding out more about this particular field of pharmacy. I also don't really want to go into retail (I already work at a retail store, so I know it is very stressful). Any and all help will be much appreciated!!
Thank you!
Answer Hi,Brittany!
When I was in pharmacy school, long-term care pharmacy was still in its infancy,so I didn't take any special electives. I did the typical retail route after graduation,but soon was burned out. I started working for a LTC pharmacy part-time while I kept my full-time job in order to get into it-basically on-the-job training.
I found that LTC uses aspects of retail and hospital pharmacy,so since you already work in a retail setting,if you can gain experience in a hospital setting while in school, it can really help with IV administration,TPNs, etc.Retail experience helps with customer service,knowing what OTC meds are out there, and billing (if that's part of your job-I don't do anything with billing,but it may be in other jobs)
The American Society of Consultant Pharmacists is an excellent organization (www.ascp.com) to join. They have a reduced rate for students and lots of info on their website. You really have to belong to this if you work in LTC.
When I go into the nursing facilities, I act as a liason between the dispensing pharmacy and the nursing staff. When they see me come in, most days I spend 10-15min answering questions, finding out why something wasn't sent,etc. Then I pull charts and look at resident's meds for inappropriate dosage,food-drug interactions, check blood pressures to see if meds are working, check lab values (HgA1c's in diabetics,etc). I also make sure they are in compliance with the state as far as pharmacy regulations are concerned. State surveys are conducted at least once a year,and it can be very stressful for the facility-they count on you knowing and implementing the regulations in order to avoid a citation,which could cost them a lot of money.
Depending on the size of the facility,it may take 1-2 days to look at everyone's charts. I attend quarterly meetings with the different professionals in the facility (medical director,director of nursing, social worker,dietition,etc).
Nursing inservices are done once or twice a year on new medications, pain management, controlled substances,etc
I love my job because the hours are flexible,I work alone most of the time (no office politics,etc). Long-distance driving can be a problem, especially in the winter. You have to have good communication skills,attention to detail.
I hope I've answered most of your questions-feel free to email me again. I will be happy to help a pharmacy student choose LTC as a career choice. Mary
