How Pharmacists Can Use Their Pharmacy Degree to Become Health Journalists

A pharmacy degree does not have to lead only to community or hospital practice, industry, academia or regulatory work. It can also provide a foundation for a career in health journalism, particularly in specialist areas such as medicines, pharmacy, public health and health policy (International Pharmaceutical Federation [FIP], 2020).

Your pharmacy knowledge is an advantage

Pharmacists already work with complex health information and communicate it to patients, colleagues and other healthcare professionals. FIP identifies communication as an important professional competency for pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists, including written and verbal communication (FIP, 2020).

This subject knowledge can be particularly valuable in health publishing. The Pharmaceutical Journal has documented pharmacists moving into editorial, clinical writing, news and publishing roles. It reports that pharmacy qualifications and patient-facing experience can give pharmacists an advantage when applying to specialist pharmaceutical publications (Torjesen, 2016).

However, being a pharmacist does not automatically make someone a journalist. The pharmacy degree provides subject expertise; journalism requires an additional set of skills.

Learn to report, not just explain

Health journalism involves more than explaining medical information. Journalists must identify significant stories, question claims, gather information from multiple sources, assess evidence and provide context.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has emphasised the importance of accurate, evidence-based and ethical health reporting and has supported training programmes designed to strengthen journalists' ability to use health data, work with experts, fact-check and report responsibly (WHO, 2022, 2026).

For pharmacists entering journalism, this means developing skills in news writing, interviewing, source verification, fact-checking, research interpretation and editorial judgement.

Become strong at interpreting research

A pharmacy background can also be useful when reporting scientific research, but journalists must avoid treating every new study as definitive evidence.

Good health journalism puts research into context, examines the quality of evidence and helps readers understand what a finding actually means. The Reuters Institute has argued that effective health journalism should look beyond individual research findings and assess their significance within the wider body of evidence (Maksimainen, n.d.).

A pharmacist-journalist should therefore be comfortable asking:

• • What type of study was conducted?

• • What did the researchers actually find?

• • How large was the effect?

• • What are the limitations?

• • Does the evidence demonstrate causation or association?

• • Who funded the research?

• • Does other evidence support the finding?

These questions help prevent scientific findings from being exaggerated when they are translated into news.

Develop journalism skills deliberately

Pharmacists do not necessarily need another full degree before entering health journalism.

FIP's career-development toolkit encourages early-career pharmacists to explore diverse career pathways, develop transferable skills and consider career changes (FIP, 2020).

Experience can be equally important. The Pharmaceutical Journal has documented pharmacists who entered publishing through editorial jobs, workplace training, writing, editing and science-communication programmes. One pharmacist progressed from a pharmacy background into editorial work, while another moved into clinical writing for the British National Formulary (Torjesen, 2016).

For someone starting today, useful skills to develop include:

1. News writing — learn how to write strong leads, structure reports and identify the news angle.

2. Interviewing — learn how to ask precise questions and obtain useful, attributable information.

3. Evidence appraisal — strengthen your ability to interpret clinical studies, systematic reviews and health statistics.

4. Fact-checking — verify names, figures, claims, quotations and sources before publication.

5. Storytelling — learn to make complex health information understandable without sacrificing scientific accuracy.

6. Digital journalism — develop skills in online publishing, multimedia, data visualisation and social media distribution.

WHO's health-journalism resources similarly emphasise skills such as evidence-based reporting, fact-checking, working with health experts and communicating health information effectively (WHO, 2022).

Start with a specialist niche

A pharmacist does not have to become a general assignment reporter immediately.

A stronger starting point may be specialist health journalism, where pharmacy knowledge becomes a competitive advantage. Potential areas include medicines safety, pharmaceutical regulation, pharmacy practice, antimicrobial resistance, public health, clinical research, medicine shortages and health policy.

WHO's 2025 guide for journalists reporting on noncommunicable diseases, for example, encourages journalists to use data, investigate causes and identify meaningful reporting angles rather than simply repeating health announcements (WHO, 2025).

For a pharmacist, this creates an opportunity to combine professional knowledge with journalistic investigation.

Build a journalism portfolio

The most practical way to demonstrate that you can make the transition is to publish.

Start by producing well-researched stories on pharmacy and health issues. A portfolio could include a medicines explainer, a reported pharmacy story, an interview with a health expert, a research explainer and an investigation into a health-system or medicines-access issue.

The experience of pharmacists working in publishing shows that editorial competence can be developed through practical work, feedback and exposure to different forms of content (Torjesen, 2016).

The goal is therefore not simply to describe yourself as a “pharmacist and journalist”. Your published work should demonstrate that you can report as well as understand healthcare.

The pharmacist-journalist advantage

The strongest position may not be choosing between pharmacy and journalism.

It may be combining them.

A pharmacist understands medicines and healthcare. A journalist knows how to investigate, verify and communicate information to the public. When those capabilities are combined, the result can be specialised journalism that is scientifically informed without becoming inaccessible to non-specialists.

WHO has described the media as having an important role in informing the public, influencing decision-makers and holding institutions accountable on health issues (WHO, 2022).

For pharmacists willing to develop journalism skills, the pharmacy degree can therefore become more than a qualification for clinical practice.

It can become the specialist foundation for a career telling better health stories.

References

International Pharmaceutical Federation. (2020). Career development toolkit for early career pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists. FIP.

Maksimainen, H. (n.d.). Improving the quality of health journalism: When reliability meets engagement. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, University of Oxford.

Torjesen, I. (2016, October 17). What a career in publishing has to offer pharmacists. The Pharmaceutical Journal.

World Health Organization. (2022, February 22). Interview: Journalists need better support to interpret scientifically reliable evidence over other information.

World Health Organization. (2022, November 18). Media training for efficient health reporting and infodemic management in Brunei Darussalam.

World Health Organization. (2025, October 8). Reporting on the world's biggest killers: A journalist's guide to covering noncommunicable diseases.

World Health Organization. (2026, May 5). WHO and Ministry of Health partner with journalists to strengthen evidence-based health reporting.