[Pharmanaut]

Welcome to the 'crunch'. It happens to us all.
Community pharmacy is getting like this as it becomes more "corporatised", and "Head Office" marketing graduates who would sh*t themselves if they had to cope with the workload in a pharmacy are the only ones on the planet capable of original thought.

There are various ways of coping with this, and it depends on your personality. Sometimes being a pharmacist can make you feel like the bloke at the back of the orchestra whose job is to play one 'tink' on the triangle in the whole symphony. (Listening to radio 3 at the moment!)

OK here's some advice from a not so old timer (registered 1981)
1. Find an interest outside of work that gives you something to plan for and look forward to. It gives you an outlet where you make the decisions.
2. Find out what area of oncology is 'high risk' and become the expert on that. Hazard mitigation is big these days. It can save the patient a lot of suffering, and the NHS a load of money in legal fees.

Career moves...
What about moving into Health Informatics.
There should be loads of opportunities. Try looking around under SNOMED-CT, DM+D etc.
Patient Safety : Check out the NPSA for opportunities

I've dried up now..