Pros
- Clear SOPs to refer to - Support numbers you can call for clinical queries - Structured career progression - Pays for IP -My manager was quite nice and understanding
Cons
- Workload is excessive and raises patient safety concerns. Alongside clinical duties, pharmacists are expected to cover the OTC counter, serve customers, dispense prescriptions, and complete other tasks typically carried out by dispensers or counter staff. Pharmacists may even be left with no dispensers, particularly at weekends or if staff illness/annual leave - Some long-serving dispensers can be difficult to work with and may resist carrying out routine duties, leaving pharmacists to pick up the workload. I even experienced a dispenser refusing to dispense a single-item prescription despite having around 20 minutes remaining in their shift - Dispensers may insist they should not be disturbed while performing their own tasks, yet pharmacists who request uninterrupted time to carry out e.g. AC can face complaints - Some dispensers undermine pharmacists' clinical judgement by discouraging GP queries and insisting prescriptions are "fine". And asking to serve front as the store is busy. - May be scheduled for shifts of up to 13 hours, including multiple such shifts within the same week