Hospital pharmacy

in Scotland

What are the opportunities?

 Overview
• A hospital pharmacy department

• Roles of pharmacists

• Pre-registration year

• Career structure

• Summer placements
Who will you find in a hospital
pharmacy department?
Who will you find in a hospital
pharmacy department?
Pharmacists

Pre-registration pharmacists

Technicians

Student technicians

Pharmacy support workers

Administrators / secretarial staff

Porters

Students – undergraduate / MSc

 The different departments
within hospital pharmacy
• Clinical Pharmacy
• Dispensary
• Clinical Trials
• Medicines Information
• Preparative Services
• Procurement and Distribution
• Quality Assurance
• Research and Development
• Education and Training
 Clinical Pharmacy
• Renal medicine • Surgery
• Paediatrics • Mental Health
• Care of the older person • Gastrointestinal medicine
• Oncology • Haematology
• Critical care • Rheumatology
• Cardiology • Infectious Diseases
• Neurology (antibiotic pharmacists)
• Respiratory • Palliative care
Role of a clinical pharmacist
Medicines
reconciliation

Optimise
Person centred
pharmaceutical
care
care

Quality Multidisciplinary
improvement team

Medicines
Education &
management /
training
formulary
 Wee Jeanie
• 82 years old

• Admitted with
neutropenic sepsis
following last cycle of
chemotherapy
ADMISSIONS UNIT
Pharmacist:
Medicines reconciliation
• Confirm allergy status
• Confirm drug history (two sources)

Management of neutropenic sepsis

• Check antimicrobial guidelines
• Calculate creatinine clearance to determine renal
function
– advise doctor to reduce piperacillin /
tazobactam
• Gentamicin – therapeutic drug monitoring
• Monitor infection markers

Thromboprophylaxis
• Check weight, renal function and platelets to
ensure dalteparin dose correct/appropriate

Technician:
• Check patient’s own drugs
Gentamicin

ASEPTC PRODUCTION
Therapeutic drug
monitoring
Getting medicines to the patient
 INPATIENT WARD

I’ve read about Black Cohosh and

would like to try taking it. I’m just a bit I’ll consult Medicines
worried it might clash with my other Information and check for
medicines? herbal interactions

I need some advice…..

Jeanie’s gentamicin
level has come back
high and I’m not too
sure what to do …but first I’m going to check
when the gentamicin level
was taken and then think
about the pharmacokinetics
 DISCHARGE

 Discharge planning
 discharge letter, compliance aids,
medicine charts

 Patient education

 Communication with primary care and

community pharmacist
 Dispensary services

• Screen and check inpatient, outpatient and

discharge prescriptions
• Unlicensed medicines
• Extemporaneous dispensing
• Dispensing clinical trials
• Patient education
• Largely technician led
 Medicines Information and
Clinical Effectiveness
• Provide evidence based clinical advice
• Evaluate literature on new drug developments
• Produce formularies and prescribing advice publications
• Encourage and promote clinical and cost-effective use of
medicines via
– Audit
– Research
– Development of therapeutic guidelines
– Prescriber education
 Preparative Services

Parenteral nutrition

Intravenous products

Chemotherapy

Specials (manufacturer’s license)

 Radiopharmacy

99mTc-MDP bone images showing

bone metastases from prostate cancer
 Quality Assurance
• Audit pharmacy standards against nationally
agreed standards
• Medical gas testing
• Environmental and microbiological monitoring of
facilities
• Assess unlicensed medicines
 Research and Development/
Clinical Trials

• Provide specialist support to research study teams

on all medicines related aspects of research and
clinical trials in accordance with EC regulations
• Liaise with higher education institutions and
pharmaceutical companies
• Member of ethics committee
Research
 Education and Training
• Undergraduates
• Pre-registration
• Foundation training
• MSc
• Independent prescribing
• Further specialist study
• Leadership/ Management
• Pharmacy support staff
Pre-registration training in
hospital pharmacy
 Experiential
learning

Pre-reg
Pre-registration year

• Local / regional training programmes

• Dispensing services
• Clinical pharmacy services
• Medicines Information
• Preparative services
– Aseptic Dispensing
– Extemporaneous Dispensing
 Pre-registration year
• Experienced pharmacist as tutor
• Many other members of staff for support / mentoring
• Learning from other healthcare professionals
• Quality improvement project
• 4 week community pharmacy placement
Training / development opportunities
within hospital pharmacy
Summer placement

Pre-registration Pharmacist Scheme

Foundation training

MSc / Independent prescribing

Leadership & management

 Benefits of working in hospital
pharmacy……..
• Direct involvement in patient care
 influence treatment choices by being involved in
decision making at the point of prescribing
• Being part of the multidisciplinary team
 professional and social networks
• Support from pharmacy team
• Learn from lots of different pharmacists / role models
• Clearly defined career structure with training opportunities
• Generous annual leave entitlement / fewer weekends
Interested
Scottish Hospital Pharmacy Summer
Vacational Placement Scheme

What do I need to know?

 Summer placements
• All mainland NHS Boards in Scotland
• Information and application form will be made
available to 3rd years
• Apply if you are interested in finding out about a
career in hospital pharmacy
• Can lead to consideration for pre-registration
training
 Summer placements
• Paid or voluntary placements
• Dates of placements flexible- negotiated individually
• Centralised recruitment process in Aberdeen and
Glasgow end Feb 2017

• Closing date 5th January 2017 at 5pm

 Preferred location
You are asked to state your top three preferences.
Consider-
• What is the route into pre-registration training?
• What hospitals provide training?
• What size are the hospitals?
• Where could I stay?
 Application form
• Person specification
• Tailored application
• Demonstrates interest in the role
• Explains interest in the role
• Professional approach- complete each part of form
• Grammar and spelling
 Person specification
• Enthusiastic
• Motivated
• Team player
• Willing to learn
• Professional attitude
• Commitment to CPD
• Communication skills
• Forms and maintains good
working relationships
• Organised
• Plan and prioritise own
workload to meet
deadlines
• Works well on own
initiative
• Demonstrates interest in
hospital pharmacy
• Provides explanation of
interest in hospital
pharmacy
 Getting a place
• Application needs to demonstrate how you meet the
person specification
• Interview needs to demonstrate how you meet the
person specification
• Be professional
• Stick to the process
What if I don’t get a summer
placement?
 What if I don’t get a summer
placement?

• Small group visits

– Forth Valley, Highland, Lanarkshire, GGC, (Tayside?)
– Different approaches - follow instructions!

• Invited to visit
– Lothian

• Fife, Borders, D&G if local, contact directly

• Summer placement only

– Grampian, Ayrshire and Arran
Questions?