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Pharmacist (Community)

Pharmacists are at the frontline of healthcare ensuring that medicines and treatments safely and accurately reach the general public. However, the job isn’t just about dispensing prescriptions.

Pharmacist reaching for some medication

The modern Pharmacist, whether they work in the community or a hospital, do so much more including vaccinating people, providing drug addiction services, treating minor ailments, screening for diabetes, ensuring intravenous medicines are produced safely, managing medicine plans, providing education about public health and so much more.  

One of the most significant developments for Pharmacy will be the emergence of independent prescribers – the ability for Pharmacists to be able to prescribe appropriate medicines rather than having to refer to other healthcare professional and delaying treatment. By 2026 every newly qualified Pharmacist will be able to prescribe as the as soon as fully qualified. Independent prescribers in a community pharmacy, for example, would lead to a Pharmacist’s involvement in the all the steps of a patient’s journey.  

Pharmacists can be broadly split into two main categories- community based and hospital based. In the community, Pharmacists are found in large known high street pharmacy chains, supermarket pharmacies, small independent shops and increasingly in GP practices and other primary care networks. Hospital-based Pharmacists work mainly in the NHS, but also work in private healthcare providers and will also have responsibility in health centres, nursing homes, hospices and GP practices. 

Community based pharmacies, in particular, were a first point of contact for healthcare needs during the pandemic. With no appointment necessary, community pharmacists were on the frontline providing correct, up-to-date information about Covid-19. Their calm professionalism helped to ease fears, concerns and counter ‘fake news’. Pharmacists rose to the challenge whilst continuing to provide their ‘usual’ services as experts of medicine.

Responsibilities

Pharmacists working in the community and in hospitals share many responsibilities including: 

  • supporting patients to manage and optimise complex medication regimes 
  • promotion of the safe, effective, and appropriate use of medications 
  • checking prescriptions for errors, ensuring they’re appropriate and safe  
  • provide advice on the dosage of medicines and the most appropriate form of medication 
  • make sure medicines are stored appropriately and securely 
  • keep up to date with, and contribute to, research and development 
  • ensure that medicines are correctly and safely supplied and labelled  
  • supervise the preparation of any medicines (not all are supplied ready made-up by the manufacturer) 
  • keep a register of controlled drugs for legal and stock control purposes 
  • advise patients of any adverse side-effects of medicines or potential interactions with other medicines/treatments 
  • prepare dosette boxes, usually for the elderly, but also for those with memory/learning difficulties or those who have several combinations of tablets to take, where tablets are placed in compartments for specified days of the week 
  • manage, supervise and train pharmacy support staff 
  • keep up to date with current pharmacy practice, new drugs and their uses 

Specific responsibilities related to Community Pharmacists: 

  • dispense prescription medicines to the public 
  • liaise with doctors about prescriptions 
  • sell over-the-counter medicines 
  • advise the public on the treatment of minor ailments 
  • manage a needle and syringe exchange 
  • manage methadone clinics 
  • measure and fit compression hosiery 
  • offer specialist health checks, such as blood pressure and cholesterol monitoring and diabetes screening 
  • run stop-smoking clinics and weight-reduction programmes 
  • arrange the delivery of prescription medicines to patients 
  • manage finance and budgets  
  • administration of flu and COVID-19 vaccinations  
  • UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) test and treat services 
  • administering morning after contraception 

Skills

As a Pharmacist you will need to demonstrate: 

  • that you are thorough and pay attention to detail 
  • the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure 
  • sensitivity and understanding 
  • customer service skills 
  • patience and have the ability to remain calm in stressful situations 
  • good maths knowledge 
  • excellent verbal communication skills 
  • the ability to read English 
  • ability to use a computer and the main software packages competently 

Salary

£34,000 to £65,000 for qualified Pharmacists. 

Working hours

38 to 40 hours a week. Could include a rota to cover evenings, weekends and bank holidays depending on the employer. For example, work in a community pharmacy or GP practice will likely follow typical opening hours (9.00am-5.00pm)

Employers

  • Community Pharmacy 
  • Hospitals (NHS and private) 
  • GP practice 
  • Armed Forces 
  • Care Homes 
  • Hospices 
  • Prisons 

 

Work experience

  • The most straightforward route at any age to looking for pharmaceutical work experience is to approach your local pharmacy. Go in with your CV and explain that you are interested in a career as a pharmacy assistant, they may be able to show you the ropes or answer any questions you have about starting a career. 
  • Your local hospital will also support you but again best to approach directly or via Royal Voluntary service. 
  • Any experience in customer service roles and/or retail would support an application as the nature of the role is very customer service focused. 

What to expect

In a community pharmacy you may work within a small team consisting of the Pharmacist, perhaps a Locum Pharmacist, a Pharmacy Technician and a few Pharmacy Support staff and retail workers.

Career Progression

Newly qualified Community Pharmacists will usually undertake a 1 or 2 year ‘post-qualifying’ training programme covering core aspects of community pharmacy work. Larger companies such as Boots, Lloyds, the supermarket chains and Primary Care providers are likely to offer a structured programme for up to 2 years. For smaller companies and independents, the post-qualifying training tends to be online via providers such as the CPPE (Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education). 

A recent trend is towards the independent prescribing of medicines by Pharmacists. Level 7 Independent Prescribing courses are available which will mean some medicines will be able to be prescribed without the need for patients to access a local GP first. 

In community pharmacies, progression is available into management of staff including Pharmacy Assistants and Pharmacy Technicians. In larger companies, progression can be into Branch or Regional Management, although the latter will likely take you away from the clinical role of a Pharmacist. These larger employers are also able to offer moves into non-clinical roles such as business development or staff training. 

Increasingly, pharmacists are working in GP practices and health centres as part of Primary Care Networks. This has expanded the number of settings in which we see pharmacists. This means that there are more options for sideways progression e.g., a move from a small high street pharmacy to a large supermarket chain, or moving from a hospital to a community health centre. 

With lots of experience and access to significant funds, it is possible to buy your own community pharmacy and even open multiple branches in the future. 

It’s also possible to move into careers in scientific writing, research, publishing and consultancy, including recruitment and training. Complementary medicine and animal medicine are other options. 

MSc Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Sunderland

What's it like being a Pharmacist?

Routes to become a Pharmacist:

Currently the only route to become a qualified Pharmacist is through the Pharmacy degree (MPharm) approved by the General Pharmaceutical Council. The MPharm takes 4 years and this is then followed by the one year Pharmacist Foundation Training Scheme. You need to find a training placement with an employer, although there are a few Universities that now offer an Integrated Foundation Training year (University of Nottingham and University College London) 

 

University

  • MPharm (Pharmacy degree) 
  • MPharm with integrated Foundation Year for students who do not meet the entry requirements of the MPharm (University of East Anglia, University of Manchester, Keele University, University of Brighton, University of Lincoln, Swansea University, Medway School of Pharmacy) 
  • Pharmaceutical and Chemical Sciences Foundation Degree (Pre-Pharmacy) at Kingston University- 2 year foundation degree which can lead to entry onto the 2nd year of MPharm

Some experience of paid or unpaid work in a pharmacy setting would be beneficial. However, any experience of healthcare or dealing with the general public can demonstrate the right skills e.g. customer service.  

Entry Requirements:

  • MPharm- A-level requirements range from AAA to BBB. Level 3 Applied Science is accepted without an additional A-level by some Universities (as long as certain chemistry modules have been studied). Level 3 Applied Science is sometimes only accepted with an additional science A-level (usually Chemistry, sometimes Chemistry or Biology). Some Universities do no accept Level 3 Applied Science at all (only A-level) 
  • MPharm with Foundation Year- A-level grades range from BBB to DDD. Level 3 Applied Science is usually accepted 
  • Pharmaceutical and Chemical Sciences Foundation Degree (Pre-Pharmacy) at Kingston University- A-levels at BBC to CCC. Level 3 Applied Science from DMM to MMM 

 It is essential that you check with each institution for entry requirements as they are likely to change from year to year. Given the shortage of Pharmacists, it is possible that entry requirements for Pharmacy will become more flexible.

MPharm University of Sunderland NHS Health Careers

Apprenticeship

You could do a pharmacy technician advanced apprenticeship. 

You can also train to be a pharmacy technician through an apprenticeship in the armed forces. https://jobs.army.mod.uk/roles/army-medical-service/pharmacy-technician/ 

All of Buttercups’ pharmacy technician training courses can be studied online, and they include: 

  • Pharmacy Technician Training Programme 
  • Vaccination Training 
  • Accuracy Checking Pharmacy Technician Course 

The National Pharmacy Association also provide a variety of courses for people working at all levels of the profession. 

Entry requirements 

You’ll usually need: 

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship. 

 

Guide to Apprenticeships NHS Jobs Army Pharmacy Technican