Career Path: Geriatric Clinical Pharmacist – Council on Pharmacy Standards
CAREER SPOTLIGHT

Geriatric Clinical Pharmacist

Champion the health and quality of life for older adults by optimizing complex medication regimens and preventing adverse drug events.

Start Your Certification Pathway

The Guardian of Healthy Aging

A Geriatric Clinical Pharmacist is a specialized practitioner who focuses on the unique medication-related needs of older adults. They possess deep knowledge of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in the elderly, understanding how the aging body processes drugs differently. This expertise is critical for managing polypharmacy—the use of multiple medications—and preventing dangerous drug interactions, adverse effects, and prescribing cascades. They work in various settings, including ambulatory care clinics, long-term care facilities, and hospitals.

As a geriatric specialist, you are a crucial advocate for your patients. You perform comprehensive medication reviews, apply evidence-based guidelines like the Beers Criteria to identify potentially inappropriate medications, and work collaboratively with physicians and caregivers to simplify regimens. Your role is central to reducing fall risk, improving cognitive function, and preserving independence for seniors. You empower patients and their families with the education needed to manage complex therapies safely at home.

Core Responsibilities

  • Comprehensive Medication Review

    Conducting in-depth assessments of all medications, including prescriptions, OTCs, and supplements, to identify and resolve drug-related problems.

  • Polypharmacy & De-prescribing

    Developing and implementing strategies to reduce medication burden by safely discontinuing unnecessary or high-risk drugs.

  • Cognitive & Functional Assessment

    Evaluating the impact of medications on a patient’s cognitive status, fall risk, and overall ability to perform daily activities.

  • Patient & Caregiver Education

    Providing clear, actionable education to help older adults and their families manage complex medication schedules and recognize adverse effects.

Your Certification Pathway to a Geriatric Care Leader

Excellence in geriatric care requires validated skills in medication management for complex patients, including those with cognitive decline. These certifications demonstrate your specialized expertise.

CDP

Certified Deprescribing Pharmacist

A crucial certification that validates your expertise in the systematic process of identifying and discontinuing drugs when harm outweighs benefit.

View Details
CMTMS

Certified Medication Therapy Management Specialist

Demonstrates your core competency in the MTM process, a foundational skill for conducting comprehensive reviews in any clinical setting.

View Details
CCPP

Certified Collaborative Practice Pharmacist

Validates your ability to design and implement collaborative practice agreements with physicians, essential for autonomous patient care in clinics.

View Details

A Day in the Life

Your day is a blend of direct patient care, interdisciplinary collaboration, and detailed clinical problem-solving.

Morning: Rounds at a Skilled Nursing Facility

You participate in interdisciplinary rounds for long-term care residents. You flag a new antipsychotic order for a patient with dementia, citing the black box warning, and recommend a non-pharmacologic intervention first.

Mid-Day: Ambulatory Care Clinic Consultation

You meet with an 82-year-old patient and his daughter. The patient brings in a “brown bag” with 18 different prescription bottles. You spend an hour reconciling the list, identifying duplicates, and creating a simplified, once-daily dosing schedule using a pillbox.

Afternoon: Communicating Recommendations

Following your clinic visit, you draft a detailed note in the EHR to the patient’s primary care physician, outlining your findings and recommending the discontinuation of three medications based on the Beers Criteria and the patient’s current renal function.

Ready to Enhance the Golden Years for Your Patients?

This deeply rewarding career path allows you to have a profound and direct impact on the safety, health, and independence of the most vulnerable patients.

Explore All Clinical Pharmacy Certifications