Hospital Pharmacy Summer Placement - Interview

Hey all! I applied for a summer placement in a hospital pharmacy and have been offered an interview, which is this friday. I'm quite nervous though, 'cause I have absolutely no idea of what to expect of the interview, so I'm just wondering if anyone has had experience of anything similar and can offer any advice, or a general idea of what might be asked, or anything that might help at all! Thanks in advance! :smile:

Reply 1

pharmgirl

Well I've had a few hospital pharmacy interviews, and they seem to have a common theme. You'll need to show that (a) you are a good team player, and (b) that you can work well with the techs, assistants etc. It seems to really concern them that pharmacy students/pre reg's etc are going to go in and look down on the techs etc, which is silly I know but it does happen. Also read up on new drugs, especially clinical trial results as hospital interviews I find have more of an emphasis on clinical aspects. Also learn your buzzwords, like clinical governance, independent prescribing etc. The current topic in the journal is the split that's taking place in the society, and the future Royal College of Pharmacy. For student placements like pre-reg's and summer placements what they want is someone that they can get on with who isnt going to be any trouble, someone that picks things up easily and is enthusiastic when they are shown the wards. Therefore find something to talk about in the interview that you are enthusiastic about, like a sport, a hobby or something you've done at uni. This may even be more important than showing your pharmaceutical knowledge as they are not expecting you to be an H grade clinical pharmacist at this point! I remember talking about singing for most of my pre-reg interview and it totally broke the ice and distracted them from asking the hard questions. Good luck!

Edit. Go on www.clinicaltrials.gov or www.controlled-trials.com for some trials info. These are the trials underway so it'll impress them as they wont have heard of them.

Reply 2

Random.Girl

Which trust is it for?
Both the interviews I've had for summer placements were pretty similar.
They asked me questions such as what I thought the differences between hospital and community pharmacy were.
If I saw a patient prescribed x and y what I would think was wrong with them and tests should be carried out to monitor.
What I'd do if I answered the phone and it was a doctor asking from a ward if there was an interaction between 2 drugs and I was pretty sure I knew the answer.
Also where I saw myself in 10 years time.

Reply 3

Ama2007

how do you actually apply is there a certain website you could provide please

Reply 4

1512lee

Hi, where to apply for hospital pharmacy summer placement? Do you guys know which website to go to? Thank you somuch. :smile:

Reply 5

RocketAMG

There isn't a standard website to apply for hospital summer placements, best way in if you don't know anyone who worls there already is to just call the department and get hold of the "education and training pharmacist", who will generlly be the lead for pre-reg and MPharm students, they will usually tell you how they arrange for summer placement students. This will usually require a few attempts as the pharmacist may not be available to talk at the time, so just keep at it! :wink:

Reply 6

Caponester

1512lee

Hi, where to apply for hospital pharmacy summer placement? Do you guys know which website to go to? Thank you somuch. :smile:

http://www.pharmalife.co.uk/

Scottish hospitals have their own application and interview process that will begin in march of next year. Not all english hospitals do vacation placements but the major ones most certainly do.