How to hire a clinical staff pharmacist

How to hire a clinical staff pharmacist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step clinical staff pharmacist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a clinical staff pharmacist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new clinical staff pharmacist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a clinical staff pharmacist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the clinical staff pharmacist you need to hire. Certain clinical staff pharmacist roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A clinical staff pharmacist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, clinical staff pharmacists from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list shows salaries for various types of clinical staff pharmacists.

   Type of Clinical Staff Pharmacist	Description	Hourly rate
   Clinical Staff Pharmacist	Pharmacists dispense prescription medications to patients and offer expertise in the safe use of prescriptions. They also may conduct health and wellness screenings, provide immunizations, oversee the medications given to patients, and provide advice on healthy lifestyles.	$21-65
   Pharmacy Internship	When it comes to a pharmacy internship, one of the primary responsibilities is to observe pharmacy operations and develop efficient communication skills as most of the tasks will revolve around customer service, such as providing instructions on when to take medications and what could be the side effects. Moreover, working as a pharmacist requires excellent attention to detail, ensuring that all customers receive the correct type and amount according to their prescriptions... Show more	$21-66
   Pharmacist Consultant	A pharmacist consultant specializes in providing advice to patients regarding their medication, discussing benefits, and recommending other services as necessary. They usually work at pharmacies, where they are also in charge of tasks, such as conducting research and assessments, maintaining records, utilizing tools and software to develop organized reports and information databases, and generating sales forecasts for different medications... Show more	$21-67

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Patient Care
   • IV
   • PharmD
   • Pharmacokinetics
   • Pharmaceutical Care
   • Order Entry
   • Drug Therapy
   • Patient Education
   • Medication Reconciliation
   • Medication Therapy
   • Allergies
   • Pharmacy Services
   • Chemotherapy

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Dose and manage all Vancomycin and Aminoglycoside antibiotics throughout the entire hospital including overseeing, evaluating, and ordering antibiotic labs.
   • Determine appropriateness of medications and monitor drug-drug interactions, drug-disease interactions, and allergies.
   • Analyze every drug order for potential drug-relate medical problems and implementing corrective action to ensure that patients receive optimal drug therapy.
   • Verify daily proficiency reports generate by the PYXIS dispensing system.
   • Serve as the preceptor for PharmD students in a clinical in-hospital pharmacy rotation.
   • Check against drug interactions, allergies, contraindications, and monitor for core measure compliance.

   More clinical staff pharmacist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your clinical staff pharmacist job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A clinical staff pharmacist salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, clinical staff pharmacists' average salary in alaska is 60% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level clinical staff pharmacists earn 68% less than senior-level clinical staff pharmacists.
   • Certifications. A clinical staff pharmacist with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a clinical staff pharmacist's salary.

   Average clinical staff pharmacist salary

   $77,646yearly

   $37.33 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level clinical staff pharmacist salary

   $44,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average clinical staff pharmacist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$92,640	$45
   2	Oregon	$79,177	$38
   3	New Mexico	$78,586	$38
   4	Texas	$73,338	$35
   5	Florida	$70,665	$34
   6	Washington	$68,770	$33
   7	Pennsylvania	$58,904	$28
   8	District of Columbia	$57,261	$28
   9	Tennessee	$56,970	$27
   10	South Carolina	$55,123	$27
   11	Connecticut	$54,174	$26
   12	Kansas	$53,914	$26
   13	North Carolina	$51,942	$25
   14	Massachusetts	$51,343	$25
   15	Indiana	$49,814	$24
   16	Ohio	$47,145	$23
   17	Illinois	$46,732	$22
   18	Michigan	$45,932	$22

   Average clinical staff pharmacist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	University of California	$125,670	$60.42	42
   2	Hca Hospital Services Of San Diego	$122,750	$59.01
   3	UPMC	$120,351	$57.86	438
   4	Heritage Valley Health System	$119,415	$57.41	1
   5	Memorial Healthcare System	$119,055	$57.24	10
   6	The University of Chicago	$119,015	$57.22	122
   7	Beaumont Health	$117,745	$56.61	1
   8	UofL Hospital	$117,050	$56.27	6
   9	University of California-Berkeley	$117,012	$56.26
   10	Phelps Health Foundation	$116,987	$56.24
   11	Deaconess	$116,801	$56.15	42
   12	St. Joseph Regional Health Center	$113,632	$54.63
   13	University of Washington	$112,803	$54.23	39
   14	Carilion Clinic	$112,668	$54.17	2
   15	St. Jude Children's Research Hospital	$112,514	$54.09	35
   16	UC Health	$112,423	$54.05	56
   17	University of Texas System	$112,032	$53.86	54
   18	Atrium Health Floyd	$111,803	$53.75	120
   19	Parkland Hospital	$110,482	$53.12	11
   20	McLeod Health	$110,347	$53.05	49

4. Writing a clinical staff pharmacist job description

   A clinical staff pharmacist job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a clinical staff pharmacist job description:

   Clinical staff pharmacist job description example

   Provides Pharmaceutical Care to patients in an Emergency Department hospital setting. Compounds and dispenses medications upon receiving written (i.e. electronic) orders from physicians. Provides supervision of technical staff and confirms the quality and accuracy of dispensed products. Maintains inventory and records on narcotics and other forms of drugs. Reviews and interprets prescriptions and drug profiles to ensure appropriate drug therapy has been prescribed and ensures that drug interactions are considered. Contacts and confers with physicians and other practitioners to optimize drug therapy. This may include active participation on patient care rounds, review of patient profiles, provision of pharmacokinetics.
   
   The starting pay for this position was recently adjusted. The minimum salary for this position will now be $112,197/year. All pay rates will be based on candidate's experience.
   
   The University of Kentucky considers the health, safety and well-being of our entire community to be a top priority. In alignment with this priority, all new hires must provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or obtain an approved medical or religious exemption as a condition of employment. For areas that fall under the federal CMS mandate, start of employment cannot occur until two weeks after receiving the full COVID-19 vaccination series or upon obtaining an approved exemption. Only vaccines approved by the World Health Organization can be accepted.
   Skills / Knowledge / Abilities
   
   Strong clinical skills; knowledge of inpatient drug distribution and dispensing; ability to prioritize; excellent communication skills; team mentality; desire to teach; and motivation are required to excel in this position.
   
   Does this position have supervisory responsibilities? No Preferred Education/Experience
   
   PharmD degree, preferred. ASHP PGY1 and/or PGY2 residency preferred.
   
   Deadline to Apply 10/23/2022 University Community of Inclusion
   
   The University of Kentucky is committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce by ensuring all our students, faculty, and staff work in an environment of openness and acceptance. We strive to foster a community where people of all backgrounds, identities, and perspectives can feel secure and welcome. We also value the well-being of each of our employees and are dedicated to creating a healthy place to work, learn and live. In the interest of maintaining a safe and healthy environment for our students, employees, patients and visitors the University of Kentucky is a Tobacco & Drug Free campus.
   
   As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we strongly encourage veterans, individuals with disabilities, women, and all minorities to consider our employment opportunities.
   
   Any candidate offered a position may be required to pass pre-employment screenings as mandated by University of Kentucky Human Resources. These screenings may include a national background check and/or drug screen.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right clinical staff pharmacist for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your clinical staff pharmacist job on Zippia to find and recruit clinical staff pharmacist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit clinical staff pharmacists, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new clinical staff pharmacist

   Once you have selected a candidate for the clinical staff pharmacist position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new clinical staff pharmacist. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a clinical staff pharmacist?