What Top Tips Do Locum Pharmacists Have? Insider Advice for Success in the Field
- Katie Alvers
- May 1
- 7 min read
You may be a Newly Qualified Pharmacist or seasoned Veteran with bags of experience under your belt. Either way, if you are new to the locum world, your question will remain the same; What do I need to know about being a successful locum pharmacist?
The best source of advice on navigating your career as a locum comes from your fellow locums. Here are the Top Tips for Locum Pharmacists that our experienced locums want their colleagues to know.
Logistics
Let's start with the basics; getting to your shift and finding parking. It seems like the simplest part of your day but it's easy for a curveball to derail even the easiest journeys. Our locums have offered some great tips relating to making arriving to your shift as seamless as possible.
"When working somewhere for the first time- find the store using a map/ street view. This will show you where you can park and sometimes a free side street (when a car park is suggested!). " Tariq A
"Use Google maps before going to a place not been before for parking!! Take care on how long journey will take for shift (use Google maps to work out expected time at correct date and time)" A H
"Plan your route couple of days before. Often I go on A roads rather than being stuck on motorways" Shirley T
"Check parking options on Google maps and parkopedia before the shift." Anon
Links to resources mentioned: Google Maps & Parkopedia
Engaging with branch staff
It would be nearly impossible to get through a working day in pharmacy without the hard work of support staff. Meaningful engagement with dispensary and support staff in each branch or facility is a sure-fire way improving your locum experience. These are the people who know the business, it's procedures and patients best; their knowledge and skills will be key to making your shift a success and enjoyable. Our locums also have some tips on engaging with staff to understand how they can enhance your experience.
"Engage and communicate with the support staff, understand their individual degrees of competency and to what levels each staff member is trained to." Julian
"As a former dispenser, nothing is better than a locum who gets involved! Learn the various PMR's, answer the phone, help with the counter etc. (depending on the volume of work, of course). The team will appreciate this and you will get more requests for future shifts" Tariq A
"Ask staff at the start of the day about how they work, best time to take a break, what they want you to do etc. If you all get on and work well together, it's their feedback that will probably land you more shifts there" Anon
"Engage with the staff and ask them what you can do to help" Michael J
"Ask staff where you should work and how to best help them" Mike B
"Always ask staff if unsure of anything, ie do cd prescriptions/invoices get filled separately, once medication bagged, do you want me to staple prescriptions to the bag or leave in basket, when checking blisters, are the splits going back in patients basket or in the splits box etc....If you get shifts at a regular branch, maybe take a pack of biscuits now and then 😁" Mo M
Stay Organized
Organization is essential for all pharmacists, but it becomes even more critical for locums.
Using scheduling apps, like Google Calendar can greatly assist in organizing bookings across various locations and help you avoid double bookings which can be really damaging to your locum relationships.
Organisation is also important during your shifts and after! Keeping on top of your duties during the day makes your experience much more enjoyable and keeping track of your invoices and claims after avoids the stress of chasing payments months after the fact. Here are some tips from our amazing locums.
"Familiarise yourself with the operational processes specific to the pharmacy in question and identify the specific tasks that need to be carried out by the pharmacist and arrange to complete those in order of priority. Also, ensure you access PharmaOutcomes on arrival at the pharmacy for a seamless process in the provision of the Advanced and Enhanced Pharmacy Services" Julian
"I personally don't use an accountant, but I do have all my shifts on a spreadsheet with hours, wage, mileage, etc and I mark the date its paid. Therefore I can keep an eye out for any missing fees to follow up. Also as its on excel, it makes it easy to add up earnings for tax purposes in January." Jayne D
"Use a spreadsheet to keep track of dates worked, pays pending or paid and petrol money received etc - good to ensure no payments are missed and useful for your tax return each April. Can also mark on it stores you have enjoyed - or not!" Lisa R
"Use the pharmaseekers diary to manage all your bookings it is very user friendly." Mohammed A
"Keep your home diary and online diary up to date so as not to miss out on shifts. Use your home diary to plan your weeks and tick off when you have been paid. It's all in one place then for accounting purposes." Amanda G
"Try to work with the dispensers as a team together, organise your time, arrive on time" Veronika
"Be organised! Planning your schedule and submitting invoices can get on top of you quickly when you’re also working full time so make sure you allow time and plan for this" Grace G
Service provision & CPD
The pharmacy field is always evolving, making CPD crucial in order to keep up with changes.
CPD feeds directly into your role as a locum pharmacist as community pharmacies are keen to book professionals who can provide the services their branch is contracted to deliver. So, CPD not only underpins your practice but it also maximises your booking opportunities.
Now is a particularly high demand period for service delivery. With community pharmacy feeling the pinch of limited funding, business owners are looking to capitalise on the funding service delivery provides. Our locums included service delivery as one of the points when considered tips to colleagues.
"Ask staff to open Pharmaoutcomes and keep on top of 111 referrals. I phone them myself think staff appreciate not having to bother. Also the company will be pleased if they're done." Shirley T
"Above all be prepared to provide services as this is what most companies using as KPIs for their teams" Michael J
"Ensure you are accredited to provide all the services you can to maximise your opportunities." John B
"Have all your pharmacy first & other services information either on your phone & available even when there is no internet or have a hard copy in your bag" Mohammed A
"Stay connected where possible - being a locum can be lonely and you feel out of touch quickly. Attending training, building relationships with other pharmacists and CPD all help" Grace G
Other Tips
We don't want you to miss out on these other great tips our locums wanted to share to colleagues.
"Book with a variety of branches, find your favourites and stick with them as much as possible" Chris T
"Make sure to use the CVS diary to look at available shifts, make sure to keep your diary updated if you have a set working pattern" Anon
"Make sure you are familiar with as many different PMR systems as possible because you may have to work with untrained staff sometimes." John B
"Plan ahead and avoid using your phone too much, it tends to annoy and management and could create a bad impression. Also, try lots of places! It will help you find a pharmacy that you enjoy going to." Mike B
"Always call a store you've never visited before at least a day before. Check parking. lunch arrangements, who will support in dispensary, blue scripts ready and codes for Pharmoutcomes available." Caroline M
Some final advice from Pharmaseekers
We hope you don't mind us sharing some of our own tips we think will help you make your locum career as successful as possible. We have been a locum agency for over 20 years now and we have dealt with thousands of branches and locums over the years.
We feel it's fair to say that we have a good understanding of the qualities which help locums thrive and generate a great reputation in this industry.
Reliability
Being locum who honours your confirmed bookings is one of the biggest selling points you can give yourself. If you establish a name for yourself as a pharmacist who very rarely cancels, you will likely become someone companies quickly trust and ask back.
Punctuality
Plan to arrive at least 10 minutes before opening time and also plan lots of contingency time for your journey to the branch. We know from speaking to our locums, arriving to the branch feeling stressed because you arrive late isn't a great way to start your shift. So, sav yourself that pressure and aim to arrive with plenty of time to spare.
Development
Like our locums advised, keeping up to date with new services and being accredited to deliver them is a real boost to your reputation as a locum. Our customers will always seek to book locums who can deliver the services their branches are contracted for.
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