PL-UK The Pharmacy Recruitment Specialists » Pharmacy News

2010 LOCUM PHARMACIST PAY RATE SURVEY

Shaun — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:14:10 +0000

As we did in 2008 and 2009 PL-UK are inviting locum pharmacists to complete a locum pay rate survey. The survey is open to all active locum pharmacists and is super-quick to complete with only three questions and results to-date visable on completion of the survey.

2010 locum pharmacist pay rate survey

No pharmacy job. Why not relocate?

Shaun — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:40:13 +0000

We are contacted every day by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians from London, Manchester and Birmingham looking for work, both locum and permanent. The honest truth is that it is hard to find.

If you live in one of these area’s think about re-locating. We have regular work in some of the most beautiful parts of the country including the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and Moors and even in cities with buses, theatres and nightlife!

If you are fed-up with low rates, bad working conditions and/or monthly financial stress give PL-UK a ring – we’d be delighted to help.

Call 0800 881 8844 for more details

Hospital locum posts

Shaun — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:56:13 +0000

We were contacted today by a locum in a hospital trust who said that the trust had decided to finish all locums at the end on the month as part of their cost cutting measures.

The hospital pharmacy concerned is already running at very challenging staffing levels and it came as no shock when we were contacted by a pharmacy technician later in the day who had decided to hand her notice in due to the stress at work.

So does this mean their will be no locum work in hospital pharmacies in the near future? No, but i think it will get worse before it gets better. All trusts have to save money, the highest cost is always staff so the quickest and most effective way of saving money is to cut staff. Locums on temporary contracts are the easiest to cut so as the financial pressures get worse, locum numbers go down.

However, as the locum numbers drop so the number of permanent employees leaving position will rise as the stress levels increase. Trusts won’t fill these vacancies permanently but will look ironically look to plug the gaps with flexible workers i.e. locums!

This all applies to dispensary pharmacists, the trust have no option but to keep hold of specialists pharmacists.

So all you hospital locum out there, fear not! You time is coming…again!

PCT Prescribing advisors needed!

Shaun — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 08:43:42 +0000

Monday’s announcement about the closure of PCT’s and SHA’s have send shockwaves through the 150 PCT’s.

Although this is, on the surface, bad news for the prescribing advisors employed by the PCT’s, I think it is also a fantastic opportunity for these highly skilled pharmacists and I would like to speak to as many of them as possible.

So if you are effected by the changes, or know someone who is, please call me on 0800 881 8844 to discuss the opportunities available.

Newly registered pharmacists

Shaun — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 08:29:02 +0000

New Registrations – the end of the month will see an influx of pharmacists onto the RPSGB register and PL-UK are here to help all the one’s who are looking to locum post-registration. PL-UK know how to look after newly qualifieds as Shaun has been one himself (although a while ago now!) and the last seven years has enabled us to build up expertise in supporting pharmacists who are new to the register. We won’t throw you in the deep end, we’ll make sure you work in branches with good support, who pay on time and who we would be happy to work with ourselves.

To talk to a member of the PL-UK prior to getting your RPSGB registration number please call 0800 8818844 from a land line or 0333 123 3344 from a mobile and ask to speak to Linda or Lynne

Fantastic piece by US and UK registered pharmacist about 99% rule

Shaun — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 08:07:39 +0000

The 99% Rule

Having practiced now for 18years both in the U.K and in the USA, I have often found myself wondering what we really do to earn our salaries. In a time when the practice of pharmacy has become more and more automated and patient contact continues to diminish, it is easy to stand back from the counter and wonder what kind of a difference we are really making. The role of the pharmacist continues to evolve, albeit not at the rate we envisioned in our halcion days in pharmacy school. We have seen Nurse practitioners’ numbers triple, Physician Assistant schools multiply and various other allied health fields spring up and yet, it may feel as if we still spend most of our days folding paper, counting pills and scanning our lives away, especially in retail.
There are definitely many issues that I have with what the role of the pharmacist has become both in our own eyes and also in the eyes of our physician colleagues, nurses and the general public. It seems that there is a disconnect between their views of our roles in the healthcare field and what we are actually able to do with the current system. That is a lengthy discussion best saved for a future date.
However, I want you to think about this. All highly paid professionals that I can think of are reimbursed based on the 99% rule. Lets look at some examples to illustrate what I mean. A commercial pilot flies thousands of hours using a completely automated system. He does the same thing over and over again and works within industry established guidelines, rarely ever having to think independently about what a course of action should be. Then a man single handedly, losing both engines on initial ascent, turns the correct way and lands a plane in the Hudson river, saving hundreds of lives. A lawyer spends countless hours preparing routine paperwork over and over again and then, once in a while, a case comes along that makes a huge difference to someone who is a victim or even a huge group of victims. A family doctor sees hundreds of routine cases that could easily be treated using minimal training and knowledge and then, once in a while, he catches something that saves a life. How often does this happen. Maybe 1% of the time. Does it make the rest of the 99% of routine plodding worthwhile?
We are a golden example of this. We have all had that moment when we find something that is not correct. We have all caught mistakes, overdoses, interactions. We have all made a difference. No one else in the pharmacy could have done it. It required a specific training. The buzz that we felt made us feel whole again. It doesn’t happen every day, but it does happen.
We need to work together to create a practice that concentrates our talents and training. We need to be on the ball, stay away from complacency and build our skills to maximize these moments.

By: Darius Randeria, R.Ph ; M.R.P.S ; BPharm (London)
AHS PharmStat, Vice President, Staffing
dranderia@ahspharmstat.com