professionals should enquire from the relevant
Academy or Royal College whether they may
also sit this examination.
Beyond the diploma, the European Economic
Area (the European Union plus Iceland, Norway
and Liechtenstein) will probably soon recognize
pharmaceutical medicine as a medical specialty on
the official list and national medical registers.
Achieving the Certificate of Specialized Training
(CSST) will require completion of a modular, part-
time program of Higher Medical Training (HMT)
for which the diploma will be the matriculating
qualification. Whether or not holding the CSST, it
will also become possible to revalidate specifically
as a pharmaceutical physician.
International compatibility and recognition of
these qualifications would seem essential in a pro-
fession whose activities are being increasingly
globalized. Many employment opportunities in
pharmaceutical medicine are with companies that
have become international conglomerates. Intra-
company transfers and international job applica-
tions can only be facilitated by universally
recognized and accredited qualifications.
Many other qualifications are also of benefit in
pharmaceutical medicine, even if the holder was
already a physician, nurse or pharmacist. These
will be more or less specific to that long list given
above, many of which have their own diplomas and
university degrees. Human resources departments
have to be well informed about the diversity of
formal recognitions that may be held by those
who can contribute to the industry and its regula-
tion.
Lastly, is there any evidence for all this opti-
mism? In the year 2000, the American Academy of
Pharmaceutical Physicians (AAPP) polled its
members on their career choices and factors asso-
ciated with satisfaction. More than 90% of the
members indicated overall satisfaction with their
choice of pharmaceutical medicine. This propor-
tion was higher than any other that has been
reported by learned societies from similar surveys
in other medical sub-specialties in the United
States.Further reading
Fox AW. 2001. What is pharmaceutical medicine?Clin.
Res. 1 : 28–30.
Smethurst D. 2004. Pharmaceutical medicine: making
the leap.Student BMJ 12 : 45–58 (see also http://
http://www.studentbmj.com/issues/04/02/careers/66.php,
accessed 28 July 2005).
Stonier PD (ed.). 2003.Careers with the Pharmaceu-
tical Industry, 2nd edition. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd:
Chichester (ISBN 0-470-84328-4).
Useful web sites on careers and/or qualifications
(http://): http://www.fpm.org; http://www.acrp.org.FURTHER READING 5