Being a locum pharmacist can be pretty difficult. Not that you’ll get much empathy from your employer (who thinks you are purely there for financial gain), or the patients (who wonder why you constantly look lost).
The first few locum shifts you do can be challenging, stressful and chaotic. This is not to put you off locuming. I pick up the odd locum shift as I enjoy the change of environment from my normal working environment in hospital pharmacy. Plus, the pay is half-decent.
I assume you have at least a vague idea of what a locum does. If not, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has a wealth of information on pharmacy services, NHS smartcards and the dispensing process.
I also assume you have done the ‘administration’ tasks — such as sorting out your smartcard and completing the mandatory CPPE modules. If not, complete those tasks first. You cannot locum without completing certain modules.
This advice applies only to UK community locum pharmacists, not hospital locums.
I’m here to provide pragmatic advice, not generic advice e.g. make sure to get…
