locum vs perm

[imaginegenerous]

Originally Posted by Web Ferret

Sorry mate but you are seriously underpaid and overworked.
Thats a £50k minimum job.
Let me guess - Your area manager is not a pharmacist?

No, I'm afraid he isn't!

[imaginegenerous]

Originally Posted by JonF

guess you work for lloyds then...and for those hours/conditions i'd ask for a higher salary!

Yes, I do and I'm seriously thinking about making a move! At the moment it's not too bad as we're a little quieter since the school holidays have started but that's slightly offset that I've go at least one member of staff on holiday for about six weeks solid - at the moment I'm two dispensers down (they all work part time so I can get some cover) plus one off sick - madness.

There's two or three jobs that I've seen advertised recently that might be of interest though and I don't see any harm in at least enquiring. I've got one dispenser who's about two months away from completing her NVQ 3 so as long as I'm there to see her though that I'll be happy.

I do my best to make sure I do get some time for a sit down out the back at lunch time every day for patient's benfit as well as my own - I really don't want dispensing errors on my mind beacuse I've not had a decent break.

As Solly suggested, I wish I had a little more backbone and put my foot down and said I'm having a half hour break and that's it I'd be happy with half an hour as I only live round the corner (one perk at least!) so I could quite easily pop home for a cuppa and be back in half an hour.

I must say the job has been a massive shock to the system as the previous two pharmacies I worked in shut for lunch so guaranteed a break. Admittedly my first management job was in a much quieter branch but the shop I did my pre-reg in was similar to my current one.

Thanks for the tips on more money though - the pay review's due soon!

[Tony Schofield]

You owe it to yourself to put your foot down and demand to be treated as a professional.

The salient point is that there are alternative positions that are currently advertised which you could take up if your terms are not met. Some get nailed into jobs because the multiple in question is the only employer for miles.

If you slide off because you don't want a fight you will spend your life sliding off and your self esteem will suffer. Believe me there will be other issues in your life in which you will have to fight. Don't back down from a position of strength.

If you get any hassle whatsoever from pharmacist or non pharmacist management about taking breaks inform them that you will take up the matter with the RPSGB inspector as a governance issue.

They may call your bluff in which case threaten them with constructive dismissal and get the RPSGB in. You may have the added fun of seeing the RPSGB slither.........!!

[SolomonQ]

The thing with our representative society (RPSGB) is that they have advertised themselves (not) so well that, they are not seen as our representatives but as an organisation that keeps us in check. atleast with the new body we will be able to distinguish the two roles.

Alot of people dont know about what organisations like RPSGB and PDA can do for them, I at the moment am using the free indemnity insurance from PDA for newly qualified pharmacists, I wonder how many other people know about this.

hate to say this, and im in no way bigging my self up, but a supermarket pharmacy chain offered me 37.5k for 4 days or 36 hours as a pharmacy manager, works out as about £20/hr quite a decent offer i think, especially since ive got no experience in managing people or accounts, they know Ive no experience and tend to be willing to offer training, abviously with the long opening hours i will have another pharmacist and locums to manage , what should I do?

[Tony Schofield]

I think you should take the opportunities that come your way if they are what you are looking for. You will get valuable training and experience at someone else's expense but you will be giving up the relative insecurity and definite freedom of being a locum.

It's your call I'm afraid!

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by SolomonQ

T
hate to say this, and im in no way bigging my self up,

Makes a change

[/quote] but a supermarket pharmacy chain offered me 37.5k for 4 days or 36 hours as a pharmacy manager,[/quote]
There has been considerable growth in the number of supermarket pharmacies in the past year.

As pharmacy manager are you also responsible for arranging pharmacist cover for the other 60 hours a week i.e. if there isn't any are you expected to cover?

There is likely to be a degree of tension between the supermarket manager and the pharmacy manager.
The supermarket manager believes that all the staff are his (and in a way they are). You are equally certain that your counter assistant isn't replaceable by AN Other member of staff with no pharmacy specific training.

If you succeed in working together - the opportunities for health promotion are very good (you can bring the weight of the store behind the promotion rather than just the weight of the pharmacy)

Jeff

[SolomonQ]

i was told the other pharmacist is contracted to do about 38 hours I think, but ive also been told id be given like a days worth (~1o hours) of overlap time, meaning id be there while the other pharmacist is there so I can sort out non-pharmacy stuff, this means some locum cover would be needed. i'm not the one arranging locums etc... i dont think but even if I am, i can just get a good agency to do it for me.

[Tony Schofield]

Will your new employer be happy with you getting an agency to sort out locums? I suspect not! Agency fees are very high and why should they pay them when they have a manager working for them to do this sort of thing?

[JonF]

Don't most supermarkets have a locum co-ordinator that look after a certain area??
When i was at superdrug i had that unenviable job! I had about 9 stores to look after. If i couldn't find locums myself i just passed those days to the agency we used. As time went on and no extra pay ensued for being a co-ordinator i just passed all dates to the agency, unless locums called me and could fill dates i needed!!

[Sir_Dispensalot]

Originally Posted by SolomonQ

i was told the other pharmacist is contracted to do about 38 hours I think, but ive also been told id be given like a days worth (~1o hours) of overlap time, meaning id be there while the other pharmacist is there so I can sort out non-pharmacy stuff, this means some locum cover would be needed. i'm not the one arranging locums etc... i dont think but even if I am, i can just get a good agency to do it for me.

solly, if it's for the company i think it is then the overlap time rarely happens although business is quiet enough for you to do cpd etc in the quiet spells. You have to arrange your own locum cover (pretty easy as you have a list of 'approved' locums, web based access to these and agency contacts too for emergencies, as there is no rota team / locum board in place. The pharmacy is run more or less independently from the rest of the store but the stress levels are massively reduced. The free time lets you do more MURs (the trick is convincing people to do whilst they're out getting their bananas and sugar) and even pursue more advanced services or set up new clinics - the consultation room format is quite jazzy with plenty of elbow room.