Education and Training of Today's Clinical Pharmacist
ABSTRACT Today's clinical pharmacists have graduated from a doctor of pharmacy professional degree program, completed residency training, and obtained board certification. Their foundational education consists of an extensive didactic and experiential curriculum with a strong focus on pharmacology and pharmacotherapeutics. The credit hours devoted to pharmacology and pharmacotherapeutics are substantially greater than those of other health care professional degree programs. When combined with the clinical learning acquired through formal, postgraduate residency training, clinical pharmacists are well prepared to address medication therapy problems and serve as essential members of interprofessional health care teams. This commentary details the education and training of clinical pharmacists and how these compare with other members of the health care team and concludes that clinical pharmacists are uniquely positioned to optimize medication outcomes.
Authors
- Lauren M. Hynicka (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2932-3327)
- Kyle J. Schmidt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8745-3616)
- Branden D. Nemecek (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6117-9329)
- Susan Hamblin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-5400-9752)
- Sheila M. Allen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3049-8519)
- Shubha Bhat (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7023-9506)
- Wesley D. Kufel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7703-096X)
- Sarah McBane (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6251-0581)
- Dianne May (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4012-6308)
- Michelle A. Fravel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0697-2957)
- Milap C. Nahata (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1936-0666)
- Chasity M. Shelton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9141-3617)
- Jodi Taylor
- Eliza A. Dy‐Boarman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3463-4522)
- Nicholas B. Norgard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4612-0107)
- Kristi W. Kelley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8677-3287)
- Sharon See (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4192-3894)
- Evan Williams (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0851-3727)
- Caitlin Schanz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-7889-4520)
- Raegan T. Willoughby (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8322-3757)
- Ijeoma Agada
Institutions
- Binghamton University (US)
- University of Iowa (US)
- University of Maryland, Baltimore (US)
- Boston Medical Center (US)
- Cleveland Clinic (US)
- St. John's University (US)
- Nevada State University (US)
- University of Tennessee Health Science Center (US)
- Duquesne University (US)
- University of Georgia (US)
- Ferris State University (US)
- Lipscomb University (US)
- American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (US)
- University of California, Irvine (US)
- Roseman University of Health Sciences (US)
- Augusta University (US)
- Cleveland Foundation (US)
- Baptist Health System (US)
- University of Illinois Chicago (US)
- The Ohio State University (US)
- University of Missouri–Kansas City (US)
- Auburn University (US)
- Drake University (US)
- Florida College (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- JACCP JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CLINICAL PHARMACY
- Published
- 2025-08-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/jac5.70094
- Primary Topic
- Pharmaceutical Practices and Patient Outcomes
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00