Staff pharmacist vs clinical pharmacist

The differences between staff pharmacists and clinical pharmacists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a staff pharmacist has an average salary of $118,844, which is higher than the $94,705 average annual salary of a clinical pharmacist.

The top three skills for a staff pharmacist include patients, patient care and customer service. The most important skills for a clinical pharmacist are patients, patient care, and pharmd.

Staff pharmacist vs clinical pharmacist overview

	Staff Pharmacist	Clinical Pharmacist
Yearly salary	$118,844	$94,705
Hourly rate	$57.14	$45.53
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	115,299	101,564
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Doctoral Degree, 45%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

What does a staff pharmacist do?

The job of staff pharmacists entails dispensing prescription drugs to patients and offering their expertise on how to safely use prescribed medicines. Their job responsibilities include overseeing the medications prescribed to patients, providing healthy lifestyle advice such as diet, stress management and exercise, providing immunizations, and conducting health and wellness screenings. They also supervise the work of pharmacists in training and pharmacy technicians, teach other health practitioners on the appropriate medication therapies for individual patients, and do certain administrative tasks.

What does a clinical pharmacist do?

A clinical pharmacist is responsible for offering high-quality health care services for the patients, especially on administering effective medications by evaluating the patient's health condition and checking medical history. Clinical pharmacists assist other medical professionals in developing treatment plans and pharmacy programs, educating the patients on appropriate medicine dosages, medicine intake instructions, and other activities that would help patients achieve their healthy lifestyle and wellness. They must have excellent knowledge of the medical industry, including appropriate treatments and procedures, to provide the best treatment options for the patients' needs and patiently respond to their inquiries and concerns.

Staff pharmacist vs clinical pharmacist salary

Staff pharmacists and clinical pharmacists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Staff Pharmacist	Clinical Pharmacist
Average salary	$118,844	$94,705
Salary range	Between $93,000 And $151,000	Between $58,000 And $152,000
Highest paying City	Richmond, CA	Los Angeles, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Safeway	East Tennessee Children's Hospital
Best paying industry	Retail	Health Care

Differences between staff pharmacist and clinical pharmacist education

There are a few differences between a staff pharmacist and a clinical pharmacist in terms of educational background:

	Staff Pharmacist	Clinical Pharmacist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Doctoral Degree, 45%
Most common major	Pharmacy	Pharmacy
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Staff pharmacist vs clinical pharmacist demographics

Here are the differences between staff pharmacists' and clinical pharmacists' demographics:

	Staff Pharmacist	Clinical Pharmacist
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 46.5% Female, 53.5%	Male, 39.0% Female, 61.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.1% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 5.6% Asian, 20.7% White, 62.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 5.8% Asian, 21.4% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between staff pharmacist and clinical pharmacist duties and responsibilities

Staff pharmacist example responsibilities.

Dose and manage all Vancomycin and Aminoglycoside antibiotics throughout the entire hospital including overseeing, evaluating, and ordering antibiotic labs.
Maintain excellent relationship with patients base on consultations, efficacy, and compassion.
Implement value-added customer service programs including individualize counseling, smoking cessation classes, and flu and pneumonia immunization clinics.
Coordinate prescription fulfillment and verification, including reviewing patient profiles for interactions, allergies, and compatibility prior to dispensation.
Train and coach new hires, interns and in turn ensure patient compassion.
Used PYXIS machine to fill control prescription and to retrieve information on particular orders.

Clinical pharmacist example responsibilities.

Train, manage and instruct pharmacy technicians, interns, and PharmD candidates on clinical rotations.
Dose and manage all Vancomycin and Aminoglycoside antibiotics throughout the entire hospital including overseeing, evaluating, and ordering antibiotic labs.
Receive and verify drug orders from physicians using computerize physician order entry system, including cancer chemotherapy orders.
Implement updated pediatric chemotherapy-induce nausea and vomiting (CINV) guidelines and policy for use in all pediatric patients receiving chemotherapy.
Provide clinical assistance to the RPh staff in addition to case processing.
Maintain sterile product manufacturing processes to comply with federal, state and local regulations and JCAHO standards.

Staff pharmacist vs clinical pharmacist skills

Common staff pharmacist skills

Patients, 21%
Patient Care, 18%
Customer Service, 17%
Patient Safety, 11%
Compassion, 9%
Immunization, 6%

Common clinical pharmacist skills

Patients, 20%
Patient Care, 11%
PharmD, 7%
Medication Orders, 5%
Pharmaceutical Care, 4%
Drug Therapy, 4%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Staff Pharmacist
Staff Pharmacist vs Clinical Pharmacist

Updated January 8, 2025

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