Jobs for pharmacists without dispensing licences

[RichardGaywood]

Hi all,

Hoping to get some ideas on coping with a tricky situation. My girlfriend recently moved to the UK from her native US, where she worked as a pharmacist for 13 years - mostly retail, with a little consulting experience and quite a bit of close mentoring of students on work placements. To get a dispensing licence here though, she needs to do the OSPAP course, which is inconvenient (none of the universities that offer it are withing reach of our home in South Wales), expensive, and time-consuming.

So she's considering a slight change in career paths but finding it heavy going. Recruitment consultants don't seem to have anything you can do without being licenced. Local universities don't have any teaching roles that don't require PhDs. Training towards something like a QP role is rather hard to come by.

It seems to me there must be something she can do that uses her knowledge and experience bt doesn't require that critical dispensing licence. But if there is, we haven't found it yet, after a few months of searching.

Can anyone suggest any career paths or jobhunting avenues we have overlooked? Or is the situation hopeless (in which case we need to make plans to move back to the US together)?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

(Oh, and she has a Tier One visa, so employers don't have to do anything to hire her. In case that matters.)

[johnep]

Looking for a job when we are in the depths of recession? I know not as bad as US, but you have a double whammy in an employment blackspot.
However in the past I have suggested many jobs that a pharmacist training is suitable for, whether they exist in South Wales is problematical. Have a search of the forum. In the mean time, consider Science Teaching. She could easily cover Chemistry, Physics, Biology, and Maths at a school. I did in the 60s and 80s.

We have the American base at Mildenhall in the area and I met an American pharmacist working as a dispenser (not good pay I am afraid). If there is a US base somewhere near you, then employment in their Medical Centre possible.

I must point out that the US raises similar obstacles to any UK pharmacist wishing to work there. Last one I know who did it was Steve Curtis,(currently in California). The attraction of the US is that salaries double those in UK whereas houses are half the cost of UK.
Good Luck.
Johnep

[RichardGaywood]

Thanks for you reply Johndep. We are willing to relocate within the UK if necessary -- we'd probably go all the way to London if we did, I'm presuming that's where the jobs market is best. The idea of American bases is a good one. She's not sure how she feels about teaching younger kids, so the idea of doing a PGCE had a... lukewarm reception But it's something to think about.

She also can't even work as a dispenser -- well, she can right now, but not once the new legislation comes into power that requires the new NVQ thingywhatsit.

I'm a programmer, not a pharmacist, so my skills are pretty portable, but if I did move the US I'd have a lot of visa hassles and a big, big moving bill, so we're trying to avoid that. But moving within the UK is less of a big deal.

I'll look through your old posts, thanks for that. If anyone else has any ideas, anywhere within the UK, I'd love to hear them.

[johnep]

London OK for most jobs, but accommodation costs are horrendous and there is a surplus of pharmacists. I moved to East Anglia as an area where there is a shortage. Regarding teaching, a sixth form college could be the answer. Majority of dispensers in community have no qualifications so don't worry about NVQs at moment. If she is looking for a science based job other than teaching, try a specialised agency or put an ad in New Scientist and Manufacturing Chemist. Perhaps for a start she could advertise as as a tutor locally. Would be mainly evening work.
johnep