Community pharmacist : Career development

Promotion in pharmacy will usually involve management of specific service areas, such as managing staff other than pharmacists, including accuracy checking technicians, pharmacy technicians and sales assistants.

It is possible to move between the different branches of pharmacy, so you may want to consider working in a hospital setting or as an industrial pharmacist.

An increasing number of pharmacists are working in GP surgeries and health centres. This will involve advising on the best use of medicines, working as part of a multidisciplinary healthcare team, becoming involved in the work of a primary healthcare trust (or the equivalent in Scotland or Wales) and a lot of patient contact. Clinical or practice pharmacy is one of the fastest-growing specialist areas in the profession.

Some pharmacists choose to set up their own business, preferring to make their own decisions and take control of their working life and environment. This requires a degree of business acumen and involves responsibility for:

• accounting procedures;
• staff recruitment and training;
• negotiating and influencing;
• marketing.

Community pharmacists can also move into careers in scientific writing, publishing and consultancy including recruitment and training. Complementary medicine and animal medicine are expanding areas in pharmacy.