Hospital pharmacist

What is your job title?

Hospital pharmacist

What industry do you work in? 

Pharmaceuticals

How long have you been working in the industry?

1 year 

What qualifications do you have?

Master of Pharmacy (MPharm)

What is it that you do?

I work in a hospital as a pharmacist, reviewing current patient’s medications and treatments.

What are your day-to-day job responsibilities?

Day to day I mainly review medications and treatments on a variation of wards across hospitals. 

I’m currently working in paediatric surgery, where I oversee patient’s medications, checking they are appropriate and properly prescribed for each individual patient, and liaising with other team members such as doctors and nurses. 

I counsel patient’s on their medications, explaining what they are for, how to take them and other essential information such as potential side effects. I also work in the inpatient dispensary, where I check medications are picked and labelled correctly so they can be delivered to patients safely and on time.

How did you get into this role? 

I knew I wanted to work in healthcare from a young age, and pharmacy was mentioned as a good fit to be by a careers advisor at college. 

I had never heard about the hospital side of pharmacy and I thought it really suited what I wanted from a career.

What are you most proud of in your career?

As I am newly qualified, I am most proud to be registered to practice as a pharmacist, the process has been lengthy being 5 years in total, including my degree.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

Being in a hospital can be a challenging time for some patients, so I love being able to interact with patients and make their experience the best it can be.

Being able to help patients understand their medicines and feel like they are listened to and supported is important to me. Being involved in their own care is very rewarding.

Is there anything you find particularly frustrating or dislike about your role?

As I'm newly qualified, I haven’t really found anything frustrating in the job. 

I am having to adapt to a new role which can always be a little stressful, but I'm learning new things every day and I'm feeling more competent. I'm lucky to have a great team who support me everyday!

What qualities do you believe you need, to succeed in a job like yours?

As you need to establish good relationships with patients and the people you work with, it helps to be approachable and have good communication with others. 

Time management and organisational skills are also needed, as there are multiple tasks you need to carry out. You need to ensure you keep on top of things, whilst prioritizing urgent tasks. 

What advice would you give someone who is wanting to get into your industry?

To find out more about what opportunities are available as a pharmacist, experience would be useful if possible. I didn’t fully understand the role of a pharmacist until I gained some experience. It really cemented that it was what I wanted to do as a career. 

There’s a lot of avenues you can go down as a pharmacist, such as community or industry pharmacy, as well as hospital, so it's important you do your research on all available options. 

What is the strangest thing you have ever had to do in your working life?

Since we don’t have to wear masks in some areas any more, it’s been strange trying to recognise what my co-workers actually look like without them!

Does a career in pharmaceuticals sound like a good fit for you? Take a look at our latest pharmaceutical jobs!  

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