Following Poor Locums

[grumpy]

I did relief work for a few months after I registered, have been managing a pharmacy since the start of the year and am going back to relief work soon. So I know both sides of the story by now. I guess there are just good pharmacists, bad pharmacists and lazy pharmacists. It is equally annoying when you are dealing with crap left by a regular locum in the pharmacy you manage, compared to going into a pharmacy with a useless manager.

I should say. I've locumed in many shops and walking in to a badly managed shop is extremely rare! But I have been told MANY bad locum stories! I have a friend who worked for Sainsbury's and calls locums, locusts! Just sit there all day and read a book and charge a fortune.
How true!!
I jest!
Locum opticians charge WAY more by the way!
Ahem.

[Jeff]

walking in to a badly managed shop is extremely rare!

I'll second that, however shops are managed differently, and differences in management style make them easier or more difficult to walk in to.
Shops with long term managers/owners can be a nightmare because so much information is kept in the managers head but can also be the most professionally rewarding because of the interaction with patients.
Shops that have defined themselves by what they can't do are a toddle - but in many ways frustrating.

Jeff

[johnep]

Main problem is lack of communication. Hunt the script most common problem.

In one pharmacy query scripts were kept in a drawer, on a Saturday, completely different staff so no one knew. Always leave a note and a contact nbr in case of queries.

Mediphase and Pharmacy manager have excellent notes facility. use it!
johnep

[Pharmanaut]

Main problem is lack of communication. Hunt the script most common problem.

In one pharmacy query scripts were kept in a drawer, on a Saturday, completely different staff so no one knew. Always leave a note and a contact nbr in case of queries.

Mediphase and Pharmacy manager have excellent notes facility. use it!
johnep

You can't beat having a 'day book'.
This used to be the diary that Rimmel gave us at christmas.

[johnep]

Diary should be mandatory, but often missing.
johnep

[Pharmanaut]

Diary should be mandatory, but often missing.
johnep

Linnear - put this one on the list for your commitee as one of the things to put in SOPs.

[Jeff]

Linnear - put this one on the list for your commitee as one of the things to put in SOPs.

Locums do not need to sign off on the Company SOPs so would not be obliged to write in the diaries (noted because of the thread title).
Lack of continuity among staff is a basic (mis)management issue - the idea of a diary to cover up the management faults doesn't go to the root cause of the root cause of the problem - the commitee should address staff continuity as well.

Jeff

[Droroin]

Being a manager, and having done some locum work in the past i can sympathise with all posts here. I have tried to work in a logical manner but have difficulties with staffing which makes the continuity problem an issue. I always endevour to leave any known problems resolved and my staff always have my contact numbers and are told to call ifthere are any problems. It is also dependent on the company ethos I have worked for a smaller multiple and had great difficulty because of poor standards and no systems accross the board which meant it was difficult when expected to work in different branches. Overall as a profession I feel that we owe it to our own respect to treat all shops as our own, afterall we are responsible for any shop we are in and it is in our interest to ensure we keep a good reputation.

[Pharmanaut]

Being a manager, and having done some locum work in the past i can sympathise with all posts here. I have tried to work in a logical manner but have difficulties with staffing which makes the continuity problem an issue. I always endevour to leave any known problems resolved and my staff always have my contact numbers and are told to call ifthere are any problems. It is also dependent on the company ethos I have worked for a smaller multiple and had great difficulty because of poor standards and no systems accross the board which meant it was difficult when expected to work in different branches. Overall as a profession I feel that we owe it to our own respect to treat all shops as our own, afterall we are responsible for any shop we are in and it is in our interest to ensure we keep a good reputation.

My thoughts exactly.
Having a 'day book' which is really a diary where you can write notes is a boom.
For example today 6/10/07 : ordered xyz for Mrs B, delivery 10th. On the page for 10/10/07 write another note expect delivery xyz ordered 6/10/07 for Mrs B.
Its surprising how easy it is to chase up queries stuff expected on deliveries etc.

[happy_bunny]

I've just come across this - I realise it is really old but I imagine the same problems still exist. Everyone's complaints about following bad/lazy pharmacists have made me worry that perhaps I am one of the bad ones (!) but my fantastic technician makes it less obvious coz she does pretty much everything and reminds me about everything else. I have been 'manager' for nearly 2 months but I still feel like I'm winging it when the technician isn't there coz she has been working there 20+ years and has hiding places for stuff that I don't know about because I spend most of my time checking scripts and trying to keep on top of the latest 'initiative' from HO (they thought it would be better to leave the patient questionnaires and practice audit until they had a permanent pharmacist to do them so I now have until the end of this month to get them both done ). How long did it take other people to feel like they had a handle on basic pharmacy management after qualifying? At the moment I don't know if I would sink or swim if, for example, everyone left and I got new staff who didn't know the routine or where stuff was kept