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pharmacy job / experience / summer placement

Hi,

I was just wondering how importanat it is to get a pharmacy job / pharmacy experience while at uni. I've just finished my first year and my parents keep going on and on and on about I HAVE to work in a pharmacy for the summer. However, i want a break and want to get pharmacy job experience after my 2nd year. How much pharmacy experience do you think is neccesary while at uni??

Also i was wondering when applying for summer placements, how early do we have to apply? Do most people get a place in a summer placement if they have applied? What does the summer placement involve? Is it necessary?

Thanks!!!!!!!

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Reply 1

liverpool111

i did have a placement at boots in my first year.... but there were loads of peoplewho didnt have any sort of placement.
obviously the more experience you can get, the better it would be for you but i wouldnt say that its essential after the 1st year.
the applications for placements at places such as boots, lloyds have a deadline around november/december time, i think. the boots placement involves doing the healthcare assistance course in the first six weeks or so and then last 2 weeks do some work in dispensary, but it depends on the store you work at as well , i was in dispensary from day 1 due to staff shortages. however i was also required to cover on the tills a lot of the time due to the same reason which was quite annoying.

Reply 2

naheeda

I think you would be better of trying to get a part time job in a pharmacy - like one or two days a week, that way you get the experience- you'll do the healthcare assistants course and then by next summer you can look for a placement in a hospital where you'll get to do something completely different.

Hospitals are competitive and only accept 2nd and 3rd years anyway so it will look good that you are a trained healthcare assistant.

I havent even started uni yet but have worked in a pharmacy for the past year and have passed the healthcare course, and believe me its really not worth ruining your summer working 5 or 6 days a week, 7 hrs a day in a crappy boots or lloyds...you could do the same just 1 saturday a week, depending on the Pharmacist, once you have passed that course you can just asked to be trained in the dispensary....

so just chill out this summer, look for a part time job in a Boots or Lloyds -not necessarily for this summer, you can even start it in September, until next summer, and then do a placement in a hospital next summer.

Reply 3

Ama2007

im looking 4 a summer placement after ma 2nd year but do u think cz i got no exper in pharm jobs lloyds wont accept me

an one more thing ,,based on wat do u get the placement[

Reply 4

member9876

nothing usually. As it's been said they usually ask for 2nd and 3rd years for hospital. For retail, it's just pop in your cv.

Reply 5

Ama2007

HOW do you actually apply for hospitals?

Reply 6

TigerSwift

The hospitals may send out information through a lecturer at your university. Otherwise, i would write to the pharmacy department in October to enquire about a placement.

Reply 7

petrolhead

Apply early for hospital placements as mentioned above. I'm in my third of a five-week paid placement at the city hospital and I secured the placement last September. I'm one of just three undergraduates taken on this summer and the other two had only two week placements. Places are limited so get your foot in the door early.

Definitely try to get experience early so you can build up contacts which can come in handy in the future.

Reply 8

speedstacker

missmeanie

Im in the same situation. but my parents didnt moan at me about getting a placement tho. I thought it's hard for 1st year to get it as the deniors were given priority.

Iv applied to LLoyds. It's already open for 09 placement. Apply it online!!!

Reply 9

speedstacker

liverpool111

the boots placement involves doing the healthcare assistance course in the first six weeks or so and then last 2 weeks do some work in dispensary, but it depends on the store you work at as well , i was in dispensary from day 1 due to staff shortages.

naheeda

is the health care assistant course compulsary for all the staff in the pharmacy , even if ur a shop assistant? Or do u ask to be trained? And what position were u in the pharmacy? ie shop assistant, dispenser?

Sry to ask so many qustions. Might sound a bit rude, but i have no one els to ask about this, and my ifrend never answer my questions regarding summer placement when ever i asked her in text. she just never txt bck...

I been looking for a job in the pharmacy but becase i live in a small town there's not much job. And during term time the pharmacy wil be full of pharmacy students form my uni :frown:

It's just so hard to get a job there :frown:

Reply 10

TigerSwift

speedstacker

It's just so hard to get a job there :frown:

If you're doing a boots placement and havn't done the health care assistant training thing you have to do it while on your placement.

Reply 11

Ama2007

speedstacker

It's just so hard to get a job there :frown:

join da club :confused:

Reply 12

speedstacker

Ama2007

join da club :confused:

It's quite hard to get a placement dont u think? I have sent my CVs to the pharmacies in Aberden last week. Hope i'll have a pharmacy job when i get bck. But it's very unlikely i will get one TBH. :frown:

Reply 13

Ama2007

heheeheh this is the first time iv e pushed my self ,,im considering to apply for lloyds,boots,or hospital summer placement (which is very unlikely since i phoned da hospital and they have no clue)

im going into second year ,,is it essential since have no prev pharm exper,,have finished ur second year?

Reply 14

Danielle89

Does anyone have links for the boots and lloyds placement applications? Really need to get something sorted out for next summer, dont want to end up with no experience before trying to get a pre-reg (I know its a long way away but Boots prefer you to do a placement with them before taking you on for pre-reg apparently).

Reply 15

Gregorian IV

Danielle89

you need to register on the boots website. then when they open applications for summer placements, there will be job title of something like "Summer placement studen 2009." Apply for that job and follow the instructions. However, it's far too early for that since uni's haven't even started yet.

Reply 16

Kingspharm

It's not compulsory and I never did any summer placements while I was at university, but when it came to pre-reg and after registering, I did regret it - I feel it would have made things easier to understand whilst on the course IYSWIM. I feel I learned a lot more in my pre-reg than I did in years at university.