Job summary
STEP – Structured Training and Experience for Pharmacists
Post Registration Foundation Programme
A Joint Project Between:
* Guys’ and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT) including Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals (RBHH): http://www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk
* King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (KCH – Denmark Hill & Princess Royal University Hospital): http://www.kch.nhs.uk
* Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust (University Hospital Lewisham & Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich): www.lewishamandgreenwich.nhs.uk
A regional 3 year structured training programme in South East London and the Royal Brompton Hospital, fully integrated with the PostgraduateCertificate in GeneralPharmacy Practice at UCL or an equivalent Post Registration Foundation Pharmacist Development Programme.
Band 6 resident and non-resident posts available from August/September 2023.
We welcome applications from pharmacists registering in August 2023 with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and from registered pharmacists.
Online applications will only be accepted in relation to this post
For further details about the programme (including contact details for each Trust), enquiries and an online application form please visit NHS Jobs
Main duties of the job
Application Opening Date: Friday 6th January 2023Application Closing Date: 11.59 pm Sunday 22nd January 2023
Interviews will be held on Thursday 2nd March 2023. The interviews will be held online and you will be given a slot and necessary links closer to the time. Please note that we cannot offer any alternative interview dates.
Application
We advise you to submit your application as early as possible. We reserve the right to close the vacancy earlier should a sufficient number of applications be received.
Short-listing criteria will be applied primarily to the ‘supporting statement’ information completed. For those applicants who are invited to interview, the supporting statement will contribute towards their overall assessment hence to the final selection of successful candidates.As part of your application we ask that you list your base hospital choices, for your core clinical, in order of preference. We recommend that you research this carefully as there is some variation in working hours and out of hours services between the sites. There is 7 day working for STEP Pharmacists at all the hospitals. Therefore the 37.5 hours are scheduled over 7 days with time off scheduled in the rota. In addition at GSTT and KCH (Denmark Hill) on-call is provided through a residency service that involves a shift working system that includes staying in the hospital overnight.
About us
By applying to this post you are agreeing to share your information between the Human Resources teams within each partner Trust listed above.
This is a regional programme and all STEP Pharmacists are expected to work at any of our hospitals during the course of the programme if required. Therefore, if you are unable to travel or do not wish to travel to a particular hospital, please do not apply.
When applying to this post you are applying to the STEP programme and not specifically to Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust, who are the lead Trust for the recruitment process. If you are successful then you will be offered a position in one of the hospitals in the list of preferences you give.
STEP OPEN EVENING: If you would like to find out more about the STEP Post Registration Foundation Programme, the application process, the hospitals and to have an opportunity to meet those involved, come along to our online open evening on 10th January 2023 from 6.30-8.00 pm. Please click the following Eventbrite link https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/step-symposium-evening-tickets-469004594367 to register.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Title of Post: Registered Pharmacist
Grade: Band 6
Location/Base * : Pharmacy Department at one of the following:
Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust
Guys Hospital
St Thomas Hospital
Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Kings College Hospital
Princess Royal University Hospital
Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust
University Hospital Lewisham
Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospital
Royal Brompton Hospital
Accountable to: Chief Pharmacist in base hospital
Responsible to: Principal Pharmacist – Clinical Services or Training & Education/Development (depending on the base hospital)
Supervised by: Specialist Pharmacist (depending on rotation)
Liaison: Pharmacy Staff
Medical and Nursing Staff
*Throughout the STEP programme pharmacists are employed by one of the four Trusts named above, and will work from one of the seven hospitals henceforth referred to as the base hospital. STEP pharmacists gain experience by completing 6 month placements at different base sites and should anticipate travelling to work anywhere within the STEP region. Placements with other Trusts are managed through honorary contracts.
Job Summary:
To assist in the delivery of a comprehensive pharmacy service and to provide operational support to the department as agreed in the rotational programme.
To undertake the Postgraduate Certificate in General Practice Pharmacy at University College London (UCL) or equivalent Post Registration Foundation Pharmacist Development Programme, in order to meet the requirements of the NHS to be fit for practice and provide consistently high quality patient care. To work towards completion of The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Foundation Pharmacy Framework for pharmacists in their first 1000 days of practice. Meet all of our professional, fitness to practise and ethical standards as set out by the GPhC.
Detailed Duties:
- Dispensary services (where applicable)
- To follow procedures relating to good dispensing practice, and to maintain high standards and orderly methods of working.
- To be the Responsible Pharmacist.
- To comply with the formulary and dispensary policies.
- To dispense and check Outpatients and Inpatients scripts, including clinical trials and chemotherapy.
- To effectively clinically screen prescriptions and professionally resolve any problems or refer when appropriate.
- To effectively and efficiently counsel patients on the needs relating to their medicines.
- To deal with requests from members of staff and patients in a professional manner.
- To be aware of the overall dispensary workload, and by liaising with dispensary leads, to prioritise and effectively manage the workflow.
- To participate in dispensary audits and contribute to quality service assurance initiatives.
- To update dispensary protocols and standard operating procedures as required.
- Technical services (where applicable)
- To assist in the provision of a comprehensive preparative service to the Trust and external customers. This can include aseptic dispensing and manufacturing, TPN, CIVAS, clinical trial preparation, non-sterile and sterile manufacturing and QC / QA activities, according to the service at the base hospital. The post holder may work in the following areas on a rotational basis depending on base hospital working arrangements and rotas: aseptic services; the oncology suites or satellites; general manufacturing services (sterile and non-sterile production); quality assurance and control departments.
- To ensure that activities undertaken within the units meet current legislation such as GMP/GDP, GCP, Health and Safety, COSHH, and that all work is documented according to these procedures.
- To undertake when required preparation of all products following adequate training.
- To be aware of and follow standard operating procedures at all times.
- To be aware of and follow all quality assurance procedures and make the section manager aware of any deficiencies.
- To undertake, where relevant, clinical screening of prescriptions and to provide pharmaceutical advice on the use of medicines prepared during the rotation.
- To undertake the final check of dispensed and batch prepared products after appropriate training.
Additionally in some base hospitals:
- To record, cost and report the activities of the unit.
- To participate in education and training programs to develop skills as part of a commitment to CPD.
- Medicines Information (MI) services (where applicable)
- To participate in the medicines enquiry answering service by the provision of accurate, evaluated and impartial up to date and helpful information & advice about medicines to ensure safe, clinically effective and cost efficient use of medicines in patients.
- To assist Senior MI pharmacists in providing training in medicines information skills and knowledge to trainee pharmacists, visiting trainees and students, and in some base hospitals, pharmacy technicians.
- To participate in the maintenance and development of systems for the collection, storage retrieval and dissemination of information.
Additionally in some base hospitals:
- To be responsible for organising the educational drug lunches provided by Pharmaceutical Representatives for the pharmacy department.
- To participate in Journal Club meetings, this involves critically appraising trial data for discussion at the meeting.
- Ward based pharmacy services
- To participate in the medicines management programme / clinical pharmacy services involving any of the following: ensuring accurate drug histories are taken and documented; patients own drug are reconciled; dispensing for discharge is facilitated; dispensing of medicines on the ward for patients to take home; communicate effectively with patients to improve adherence.
- To identify patients with complex pharmaceutical problems, propose solutions and refer these to more senior staff.
- To identify drug interactions, prioritise and take appropriate action (which may include referral to a more senior member of staff) to ensure the safe and effective use of medicines.
- To monitor patients responses to drug treatments for efficacy and toxicity, prioritise these and take appropriate action (which may include referral to a more senior member of staff) to ensure the safe and effective use of medicines.
- To identify errors on clerking including medication histories and allergies documentation, TTOs or on prescriptions initiated during the patients admission. Appropriately prioritise these and take best course of action (which may include referral to a more senior member of staff) to ensure patient safety.
- To identify deviations from guidelines, prioritise these and take appropriate action (which may include referral to a more senior member of staff).
- To complete all documentation according to Trust and departmental policies.
- To work effectively as part of a team in a multi-disciplinary and pharmacy environment, and maintain rapport with medical and other colleagues.
- To undertake clinical audit and drug use evaluations (DUEs) in the clinical areas assigned.
- To undertake peer review (e.g. MRCF, mini-pat) to assess communication and decision making skills, obtain feedback and amend practice where necessary.
- Out of hours pharmacy services
- To participate in the resident or on-call pharmacists rota.
- To provide an out of hours pharmacy service to the base hospital(s), in accordance with local out of hours guidelines and policies.
- To participate in the weekend and Bank holiday rotas of the base hospital.
- To undertake dispensing duties as required and to the appropriate standard.
- To answer medicines information and other queries as required. (This may include production services if provided out of hours at the base site).
- To work within the limitations of ones own competence, referring more complex queries to appropriate pharmacists as required.
- To complete all documentation in line with department policy.
- Placements
- Each rotation will have specific criteria which will be available to the postholder when selecting the rotation.
- The postholder should consider these as part of the job description during the period of the placement
There is an expectation that at least one of these placements will be at a site other than the base hospital. STEP pharmacists must be able to travel to ALL of the base sites that participate in the STEP programme.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Title of Post: Registered Pharmacist
Grade: Band 6
Location/Base * : Pharmacy Department at one of the following:
Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust
Guys Hospital
St Thomas Hospital
Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Kings College Hospital
Princess Royal University Hospital
Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust
University Hospital Lewisham
Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospital
Royal Brompton Hospital
Accountable to: Chief Pharmacist in base hospital
Responsible to: Principal Pharmacist – Clinical Services or Training & Education/Development (depending on the base hospital)
Supervised by: Specialist Pharmacist (depending on rotation)
Liaison: Pharmacy Staff
Medical and Nursing Staff
*Throughout the STEP programme pharmacists are employed by one of the four Trusts named above, and will work from one of the seven hospitals henceforth referred to as the base hospital. STEP pharmacists gain experience by completing 6 month placements at different base sites and should anticipate travelling to work anywhere within the STEP region. Placements with other Trusts are managed through honorary contracts.
Job Summary:
To assist in the delivery of a comprehensive pharmacy service and to provide operational support to the department as agreed in the rotational programme.
To undertake the Postgraduate Certificate in General Practice Pharmacy at University College London (UCL) or equivalent Post Registration Foundation Pharmacist Development Programme, in order to meet the requirements of the NHS to be fit for practice and provide consistently high quality patient care. To work towards completion of The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Foundation Pharmacy Framework for pharmacists in their first 1000 days of practice. Meet all of our professional, fitness to practise and ethical standards as set out by the GPhC.
Detailed Duties:
- Dispensary services (where applicable)
- To follow procedures relating to good dispensing practice, and to maintain high standards and orderly methods of working.
- To be the Responsible Pharmacist.
- To comply with the formulary and dispensary policies.
- To dispense and check Outpatients and Inpatients scripts, including clinical trials and chemotherapy.
- To effectively clinically screen prescriptions and professionally resolve any problems or refer when appropriate.
- To effectively and efficiently counsel patients on the needs relating to their medicines.
- To deal with requests from members of staff and patients in a professional manner.
- To be aware of the overall dispensary workload, and by liaising with dispensary leads, to prioritise and effectively manage the workflow.
- To participate in dispensary audits and contribute to quality service assurance initiatives.
- To update dispensary protocols and standard operating procedures as required.
- Technical services (where applicable)
- To assist in the provision of a comprehensive preparative service to the Trust and external customers. This can include aseptic dispensing and manufacturing, TPN, CIVAS, clinical trial preparation, non-sterile and sterile manufacturing and QC / QA activities, according to the service at the base hospital. The post holder may work in the following areas on a rotational basis depending on base hospital working arrangements and rotas: aseptic services; the oncology suites or satellites; general manufacturing services (sterile and non-sterile production); quality assurance and control departments.
- To ensure that activities undertaken within the units meet current legislation such as GMP/GDP, GCP, Health and Safety, COSHH, and that all work is documented according to these procedures.
- To undertake when required preparation of all products following adequate training.
- To be aware of and follow standard operating procedures at all times.
- To be aware of and follow all quality assurance procedures and make the section manager aware of any deficiencies.
- To undertake, where relevant, clinical screening of prescriptions and to provide pharmaceutical advice on the use of medicines prepared during the rotation.
- To undertake the final check of dispensed and batch prepared products after appropriate training.
Additionally in some base hospitals:
- To record, cost and report the activities of the unit.
- To participate in education and training programs to develop skills as part of a commitment to CPD.
- Medicines Information (MI) services (where applicable)
- To participate in the medicines enquiry answering service by the provision of accurate, evaluated and impartial up to date and helpful information & advice about medicines to ensure safe, clinically effective and cost efficient use of medicines in patients.
- To assist Senior MI pharmacists in providing training in medicines information skills and knowledge to trainee pharmacists, visiting trainees and students, and in some base hospitals, pharmacy technicians.
- To participate in the maintenance and development of systems for the collection, storage retrieval and dissemination of information.
Additionally in some base hospitals:
- To be responsible for organising the educational drug lunches provided by Pharmaceutical Representatives for the pharmacy department.
- To participate in Journal Club meetings, this involves critically appraising trial data for discussion at the meeting.
- Ward based pharmacy services
- To participate in the medicines management programme / clinical pharmacy services involving any of the following: ensuring accurate drug histories are taken and documented; patients own drug are reconciled; dispensing for discharge is facilitated; dispensing of medicines on the ward for patients to take home; communicate effectively with patients to improve adherence.
- To identify patients with complex pharmaceutical problems, propose solutions and refer these to more senior staff.
- To identify drug interactions, prioritise and take appropriate action (which may include referral to a more senior member of staff) to ensure the safe and effective use of medicines.
- To monitor patients responses to drug treatments for efficacy and toxicity, prioritise these and take appropriate action (which may include referral to a more senior member of staff) to ensure the safe and effective use of medicines.
- To identify errors on clerking including medication histories and allergies documentation, TTOs or on prescriptions initiated during the patients admission. Appropriately prioritise these and take best course of action (which may include referral to a more senior member of staff) to ensure patient safety.
- To identify deviations from guidelines, prioritise these and take appropriate action (which may include referral to a more senior member of staff).
- To complete all documentation according to Trust and departmental policies.
- To work effectively as part of a team in a multi-disciplinary and pharmacy environment, and maintain rapport with medical and other colleagues.
- To undertake clinical audit and drug use evaluations (DUEs) in the clinical areas assigned.
- To undertake peer review (e.g. MRCF, mini-pat) to assess communication and decision making skills, obtain feedback and amend practice where necessary.
- Out of hours pharmacy services
- To participate in the resident or on-call pharmacists rota.
- To provide an out of hours pharmacy service to the base hospital(s), in accordance with local out of hours guidelines and policies.
- To participate in the weekend and Bank holiday rotas of the base hospital.
- To undertake dispensing duties as required and to the appropriate standard.
- To answer medicines information and other queries as required. (This may include production services if provided out of hours at the base site).
- To work within the limitations of ones own competence, referring more complex queries to appropriate pharmacists as required.
- To complete all documentation in line with department policy.
- Placements
- Each rotation will have specific criteria which will be available to the postholder when selecting the rotation.
- The postholder should consider these as part of the job description during the period of the placement
There is an expectation that at least one of these placements will be at a site other than the base hospital. STEP pharmacists must be able to travel to ALL of the base sites that participate in the STEP programme.
Person Specification
Qualifications & Training
Essential
- Masters degree MPharm (or equivalent to allow GPhC registration)
- Will be registered with the GPhC as a pharmacist by Mid-August 2022
- Mandatory CPD to maintain fitness to practice
Desirable
- Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
Communication Skills
Essential
- Ability to effectively communicate in both written and verbal formats to prescribers, clinicians, patients and their carers; overcoming any barriers to understanding e.g. language difficulties, physical or mental disabilities
- Ability to communicate effectively in difficult situations e.g. uncooperative staff/ patients, noisy environment or time pressures.
Desirable
- Ability to use presentation aids
Personal and people development
Essential
- Demonstrates commitment and ability to develop own knowledge, skills and quality of work in line with local and national standards.
- Self-motivated; regularly reviews and identifies own development needs and actively seeks training opportunities.
Desirable
- Facilitates the training and development needs of others (e.g. Pharmacy staff other healthcare professionals). Non-Pharmacy related examples also applicable.
Health, safety and security
Essential
- Assists in maintaining own and others health safety and security
Service improvement
Essential
- Reflects on own practice and makes changes as necessary.
- Has undertaken research/audit and recommended changes in practice according to the findings.
Desirable
- Contributes to the improvement of pharmacy services.
Equality and diversity
Essential
- Understands and supports equality and values diversity
Knowledge/skills/ability
Essential
- Ability to prioritise workload and to work accurately
Desirable
- Has used electronic prescribing software and other clinical software and databases
Person Specification
Qualifications & Training
Essential
- Masters degree MPharm (or equivalent to allow GPhC registration)
- Will be registered with the GPhC as a pharmacist by Mid-August 2022
- Mandatory CPD to maintain fitness to practice
Desirable
- Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
Communication Skills
Essential
- Ability to effectively communicate in both written and verbal formats to prescribers, clinicians, patients and their carers; overcoming any barriers to understanding e.g. language difficulties, physical or mental disabilities
- Ability to communicate effectively in difficult situations e.g. uncooperative staff/ patients, noisy environment or time pressures.
Desirable
- Ability to use presentation aids
Personal and people development
Essential
- Demonstrates commitment and ability to develop own knowledge, skills and quality of work in line with local and national standards.
- Self-motivated; regularly reviews and identifies own development needs and actively seeks training opportunities.
Desirable
- Facilitates the training and development needs of others (e.g. Pharmacy staff other healthcare professionals). Non-Pharmacy related examples also applicable.
Health, safety and security
Essential
- Assists in maintaining own and others health safety and security
Service improvement
Essential
- Reflects on own practice and makes changes as necessary.
- Has undertaken research/audit and recommended changes in practice according to the findings.
Desirable
- Contributes to the improvement of pharmacy services.
Equality and diversity
Essential
- Understands and supports equality and values diversity
Knowledge/skills/ability
Essential
- Ability to prioritise workload and to work accurately
Desirable
- Has used electronic prescribing software and other clinical software and databases
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab) .
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab) .
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab) .
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab) .
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
