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Pharmacist looking for career options in Nutrition

I did a masters in Pharmaceutical Sciences but always had particular interest in Nutrition research.
I enrolled in my degree thinking it would make it possible for me to work in Nutrition, but most of the jobs available are only in community pharmacy.
Is there any course or degree that I can do now to finally be able to enter this area? Or any career suggestions that would make a pharmacist be able to work in the field of Nutrition? Thanks so much :) #science #pharmacist #research #nutrition

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Karina’s Answer

I think that having a blog or social account dedicated to bridging the gap between food as medicine and actual medicine is needed! good luck!
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Palak’s Answer

Hi Catarina,

This is a great question and as a pharmacist, I can say that the wonderful things about our career is the endless possibilities of impact you can have in various different settings. Directly related to your request, you can strive to become a nutrition support pharmacist. The most common route of becoming one is via a residency program post-graduation. It's typically a 2 year residency program, where the 2nd year is focused on nutrition care. You would be directly involved with patient care and compounded nutritional products for the patients. The typical setting would be in a hospital.

In addition - you can incorporate nutrition even in the community setting. As a frontline healthcare provider, there are many instances where you will have an opportunity to interact with the patient to offer nutritional advice (e.g., medication counseling).

I've included a few links below to assist you further.

Best of luck.

http://doctorly.org/how-to-become-a-nutrition-support-pharmacist/
https://www.nutritioncare.org/what-is-a-NSP/
Thank you comment icon Hello Palak, Thank you for your reply! I read the links you shared and I will definitely check what possibilities exist here in Portugal. Also, is there any possibility, from your experience, that a pharmacist could work in Nutrition Epidemiology? I am extremely interested in the way that food impacts our body biochemically, and the impact of diet/disease. Is there any way to combine my knowledge in pharmaceuticals with the science of food to contribute to a healthier balance of medication use with lifestyle/dietary changes? Therefore also help reducing the healthcare system's financial burden. I hope I don't sound too complicated/too specific, I'm still a bit lost trying to figure out a career path. Again, thank you for your help! Catarina
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Adina’s Answer

Hi Catarina,

There are different career paths depending on your location as well. There are countries where if you want a nutritionist job you may need to get another degree.

What I recently came across is The Institute of Functional Medicine and also Functional Nutrition. These are fields that were developed in more recent years and they are based on recent research and from my own experience of being a patient, I can say that I found them to be more meaningful and impactful than other programs.

I'm not sure about how likely it would be for you to find a job in Portugal with this degree, but if you are willing to go on the self employed route, you may end up getting more satisfaction from it.

Cheers,
Adina

I'm leaving the links below for you to assess:

https://www.ifm.org/functional-medicine/functional-medicine-in-practice/functional-medicine-for-residents-and-medical-students/resident-and-medical-student-tuition/

https://signup.fxnutrition.com/?s=Unbranded&country=UK&p=Google&skdi=Functional%20Nutrition%20Program&bkt=functional%20medicine&tier=1&ht=Functional%20Nutrition&mkwid=sizUZVylz_dc&pkw=functional%20nutrition&pcrid=311994125686&pmt=e&slid&skw=functional%20nutrition&gclid=CjwKCAiA-_L9BRBQEiwA-bm5fo8byL6IYzloB36Yc7-pXHVypkE0GkymF8BYwCMMyYALjMfYiVcVehoCeFAQAvD_BwE
Thank you comment icon Hello Adina, Thank you so much! I will read about Funtional Nutrition and Medicine and take a look at the links you sent me. Do you know if this would this be a type of field for Nutritionists or Doctors only? A type of medicine consultation in a private practice, for example? I am also not sure if this would be a possibility in Portugal, but it's definitely worth a try! It looks very appealing to me :) Thank you and regards, Catarina Catarina
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