UK hospital pharmacy jobs?

[TCDgrad]

Hi guys,
I am a 3rd year pharmacy student in Trinity College Dublin.
I am very interested in working as a hospital pharmacist in the uk after i graduate.Could someone tell me if there are many band 6 jobs available at the minute and will there be in a few years time?
Also,could someone tell me how hard it is to get to band 9 level in hospital pharmacy as iv heard the pay is a lot better and i intend on raising a family in the not so distant future.
Thanks so much

[johnep]

Search the forum and you will find you are not the only hopeful.
johnep

[TCDgrad]

Thanks johnep for your reply.Iv been reading the forums for a while now and the only thead of relevance seems to be from 09http://www.pharmacy-forum.co.uk/hospital-pharmacy-forum/3139-maybe-work-uk-need-some-help.html
It claims there are lots of jobs available.
Is this still the case 2 years later?
I also cant seem to find anything about getting to band 9 level.
Any advice/tips would be greatly appreciated
Thanks a lot

[Nik]

Could someone tell me if there are many band 6 jobs available at the minute and will there be in a few years time?
Also,could someone tell me how hard it is to get to band 9 level in hospital pharmacy.

The recent economic pressures and recruitment freezes haven't helped the cause of newly qualifieds wanting to create a career in hospital pharmacy - saying that however, some reports suggest reduced vacancy rates, hence more uptake of candidates. Going up to band 9 will take a long time. If you are lucky you could get to a band 8a position before you turn 30, but posts higher than that sacrifice the clinical roles for managerial roles, which many pharmacists (myself included) are not attracted to. The other problem is that there are fewer jobs for band 8 pharmacists and above compared to band 6 and 7. Most hospital pharmacists are either band 6 or 7, which creates a bottleneck situation with fewer band 8a positions, even fewer band 8b etc.

[TCDgrad]

The recent economic pressures and recruitment freezes haven't helped the cause of newly qualifieds wanting to create a career in hospital pharmacy - saying that however, some reports suggest reduced vacancy rates, hence more uptake of candidates. Going up to band 9 will take a long time. If you are lucky you could get to a band 8a position before you turn 30, but posts higher than that sacrifice the clinical roles for managerial roles, which many pharmacists (myself included) are not attracted to. The other problem is that there are fewer jobs for band 8 pharmacists and above compared to band 6 and 7. Most hospital pharmacists are either band 6 or 7, which creates a bottleneck situation with fewer band 8a positions, even fewer band 8b etc.

Thanks.
May i ask why most pharmacists are not attracted to managerial roles despite the financial rewards?
Also,may i ask do u enjoy a career in the NHS?
It seems that getting to the higher bands requires u to spend most of your career in the NHS,so id imagine it would want to be enjoyable if u are to spend a 30-40 year career with them?
Cheers

[Nik]

May i ask why most pharmacists are not attracted to managerial roles despite the financial rewards? Also,may i ask do u enjoy a career in the NHS?

Dealing with hospital beaurocracy is not my thing and many people I know went into the hospital environment to build a clinical career. Yes the pay is better but managing people is an incredibly stressful job. I've only been a band 6 for around 3 months now but I'm enjoying it a lot, and I already have a good idea of where I see myself in the next 5 years or so.

[Asterix]

after you finish your band 6 diploma, can you start to think of a clinical area to specialise into

[Nik]

Well that is the point of going up the bands - most people have a good idea from their diplomas about what areas take their fancy.

[crit care]

climbing to band 9 seems very ambitious! but it will take you a while.....there will always be band 6 jobs around..as for jobs higher up then they are few and far between!

as you climb higher in the NHS it becomes more political and less clinical, more managerial and more jumping through hoops pleasing the people higher up within the trust! most jobs post band 6 are still rotational and you can get a flavor of different clinical specialities before moving into a particular area

[TCDgrad]

Thanks everyone for your replies
Hospital pharmacy sounds v interesting.much more so than community.
Do people who stay in hospital pharmacy for 30 plus years usually not progress beyond band 7 then?
Thats a little disappointing.
I guess id like to get a feel for all aspects first.
Also,are all u guys satisfied in your careers?
Really loking forward to qualifying