Selecting IHS Travel Assignments - Indian Health Service pharmacists

If you have been exposed to the Indian Health Service at some point in time in your pharmacy career, whether as a pharmacist or student completing a rotation, chances are that you will work with the IHS at another point in some capacity down the road.

For pharmacists who are waiting for their Commissioned Corps call to active duty right now, an option available to you is working temporary pharmacist assignments through a pharmacist staffing agency that offers Indian Health Service assignments. This allows you to work in the IHS setting without losing out on experience and pay, while waiting for your paperwork to come through.

If you are recently retired from the Indian Health Service and wanting to do some relief work, travel assignments can be a great way for you to stay connected with the IHS, make money to supplement your retirement, and work when you want to.

If you are currently working for a relief agency and working in the IHS setting, but want to have more desirable work environments and locations to choose from, do research on how you can get the opportunity to do IHS assignments in desirable settings.

If you have worked for the Indian Health Service at some point in time, whether as a pharmacist or had exposure as a JRCOSTEP or during a rotation, doing contract pharmacist work in between jobs or as a career can be options to consider. One IHS-experienced pharmacist, for example, was most recently working for the Veteran's Affairs as a full-time clinical pharmacist. In between transitioning from the VA to her next job, she explored different parts of the country such as Alaska and Arizona and covered for IHS/tribal pharmacies, before settling in a permanent position. It offered her time and flexibility to figure out her next career move, while allowing her to use her clinical knowledge in the meantime. Other pharmacists step into temp pharmacist work with the Indian Health Service as an interim plan, but then eventually continue contracting for the flexibility and rewarding practice opportunity it offers.

When selecting a relief agency to connect you with Indian Health Service travel assignments, see if the company specializes in Indian Health Service and in pharmacy. Some companies offer temporary pharmacist opportunities, but do not offer a variety of IHS assignments to choose from. This means that they may not have as good connections that will result in options to choose from.

Find out how they select the IHS sites they work with. Some agencies will send relief pharmacists to work at any site that has a need, whether or not the work environment is desirable.

Also, ask the temporary pharmacist staffing company whether they have minimum length assignment requirements. Some companies require minimum of 13-week assignments with no flexibility. Others are open to you completing variable length assignments, accomodating your schedule needs.

Find out what the staffing company does to address what's important to you and meet those needs of yours before, during, and after the assignment. This is where many relief agencies differ. Some make it a point to make you a priority. Others are focused on getting you to take any assignment they have an opening in, and may not give you the level of service you deserve.

The pharmacists who find the most joy working Indian Health Service travel assignments are ones who are adaptable, have an interest in Native American culture, and appreciate working in an ambulatory care setting in close collaboration with providers.

If you are either recently retired from Indian Health Service, are in the process of waiting for Commissioned Corps call to active duty, or have experience or interest working in the IHS setting as a relief pharmacist, do some research to find out options available to you.