Many pharmacists want to work in GP land but with the plethora of options available for employment, which is best suited to you?

1. NHS jobs will list all vacancies for practice pharmacists in any given area. Having a search in your area is what most people do and there are most likely jobs available. The practice will have gone through the process of deciding whether to add pharmacist support to their clinical team and will be clear what they want from a potential candidate. Jobs are usually NHS banded - high band 7 to low band 8 FTE.
2. Working for an intermediary. There are a number of growing intermediaries out there which recruit practices and then subcontract the work out to pharmacists who work for them (either in an employed or self employed capacity). Their training programmes can vary, some excellent and some not so much, and sometimes things are promised to surgeries which are ultimately undeliverable to secure contracts. Conversely, some providers have good track records. The intermediary will typically take a quarter to a third of the hourly wage paid out by the practice for their service.
3. NHS England pilot. These jobs are advertised on NHS and should over the course of 2017-2020 become more so as practices/federations bid for the money. The pilot has certain criteria such as placing one WTE pharmacist per 30000 patient population and one senior clinical pharmacist (5 years experience and IP/working towards IP status) per five junior clinical pharmacists. The training is funded by HEE and its educational partners. Again this is NHS banded.
4. Individual pharmacists working directly for practices. Not all practices have had the realisation about the impact a pharmacist can have to their workload. There's a growing number of pharmacists who are directly approaching practices and securing work, often at higher rates of pay, no deductions by an intermediary and making valuable contributions to their workplace. 

Which one is right for you will depend on your circumstances.

Our preferred option is number 4, as it allows you to secure work that you have prospected for yourself, you will have done your research as to where their biggest pain points are (QOF, repeat prescription management, capacity issues, under doctored area etc) and go in with a proposal they cannot refuse.

There's no shortage of overworked GPs out there!

If you would like further information drop us an email at [email protected] for next event dates.