Learn about unique opportunities for pharmacists at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) through an interview with Dr. Becca Racz
Name: Becca Racz, PharmD
Position Title: Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Fellow
Contact Information: becrac@umich.edu
Advice from Dr. Becca Racz
Pharmacists and other medical personnel in the government come from diverse backgrounds and perform a variety of duties. Pharmacists can be reviewers, researchers, and project managers, among many other things. When finding a government job to apply to, think outside the box – many times, your skills can be applied in new and creative ways to a job that wasn’t necessarily created a for a pharmacist, but a pharmacist is definitely qualified to perform.
My biggest job application tip from my first few months working in government would be to find your niche and sell it. Many of the pharmacists I work with specialize in an area, such as oncology or infectious disease, and the more unique the area the better. If you can earn a degree, certificate, or board certification in an area, that will make you stand out among other applicants. Networking is also key, as internal recommendations may boost your application. While it may be difficult to be patient for the right opportunity and gain experience in external areas if you know government is where you want to be, it will likely strengthen your application to wait and network.
Interview Summary
1. Tell us more about your role at the FDA
- Program through ORISE which sponsors internships and fellowships through government organizations
- Becca is specializing in informatics and medication safety
2. Walk us through the process of how you got this role.
- Started preparing as a sophomore in undergrad, working in an informatics lab
- Had an interest in medication safety that was born out of an internship with the US Pharmacopoeia (USP)
- A lab contact held a fellowship at the FDA through ORISE and reached out to Becca to apply for the position
3. What are your long-term goals that this position is helping you to achieve?
- Finding a position that integrates both informatics and medication safety
- The fellowship will be great preparation for both specialties, allowing either one to be a potential opportunity for the future
4. What information do you wish you had earlier in your pharmacy career?
- Knowing that it is OK to be a nontraditional pharmacist
- Discovered early that direct patient care wasn’t for her
- Looked past the heavy emphasis on residency and direct patient care routes in pharmacy school
- Seek out nontraditional career options indepenently
- A plethora of opportuniies await that are just a Google search away!
- Find something you have a passion in and look it up. There’s probably already someone doing it or someone looking for someone to do it
5. What 3 pieces of advice could you offer to someone else?
- Networking is key
- It only takes a little bit of effort
- Find someone who spoke at a presentation or you meet at a career fair and get their business card
- Send them an email and let them know you enjoyed what they had to say
- Treat networking like making new friends
- Get involved in an organization
- Can be in pharmacy school or a professional organization
- Interviews for post-graduate positions heavily focused on involvement in these groups, particularly leadership roles within these organizations
- Do some research
- There are many ways to find research positions
- Reach out! One strategy that worked for Becca was to mass email all of her professors, expressing her interest in research and inquiring about available positions
- Research positions are EXTREMELY important for pharmaceutical industry and other research-oriented roles
Dr. Racz’s role demonstrates the large impact an FDA pharmacist can have on the healthcare system as well as patients’ lives without direct patient contact.
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Resources Recommended by Dr. Rebecca Racz
ORISE Fellowships
Excellent website you have here but I was wanting to know
if you knew of any user discussion forums that cover the same topics talked about in this article?
I’d really love to be a part of online community where I can get suggestions from other knowledgeable people that share the same interest.
If you have any suggestions, please let me know.
Thank you!
Thanks for your comment! We are in the process of adjusting our platform for that exact capability. Please feel free to register, create a profile, and begin connecting with others to build your network! You will be able to send and receive messages with your connections.
Networking is key to pursuing a career in pharmaceuticals as it is in every other industry. I think by networking people are able to get into more research and learn which pathway is best for them. I’ll have to consider these tips if I ever pursue a career as a pharmacist.
I really liked how you talked about being a nontraditional pharmacist and taking different paths. I have been thinking about being a pharmacist for a long time, but I would rather avoid direct patient care and stick with FDA regulating. I’ll have to consider your pharmacy tips in the future.