First locum pharmacist shift checklist: what to take and what to check

Your first shift at a new pharmacy is when things go wrong: the smartcard that does not work, the controlled drugs keys nobody can find, the lunch break that turns out to be unpaid. Most of it can be sorted before you arrive or in the first ten minutes.

Before the day

• Confirm the booking in writing: date, times, rate, whether the break is paid, and travel
• Get the full address and postcode, parking arrangements and how to get in if you are first there
• Ask who else will be working: the number of staff, whether there is a second pharmacist or an ACT
• Ask which services are expected (vaccinations, clinical services) and check you are trained for them
• Ask about the PMR system if you have not used it before
• Plan the journey, with time to spare the first time

What to take

• Your NHS smartcard, and its passcode in your head
• Photo ID and proof of GPhC registration, in case you are asked
• Your own copy of the BNF, or access to it on your phone
• Training certificates and declarations of competence for the services you will provide
• Pens, a calculator, and a lanyard or name badge
• Lunch and water: you may not be able to leave the premises
• A way to note the shift times for your invoice

In the first ten minutes

• Display your Responsible Pharmacist notice, with your name and registration number
• Sign in on the Responsible Pharmacist record with the time you became RP
• Find the standard operating procedures, and read the ones for this pharmacy's quirks
• Find the controlled drugs keys and register, and check who holds the keys
• Log in with your smartcard and check the PMR and EPS work
• Meet the team, learn names, and ask who to go to if something comes up
• Check what is waiting: owings, deliveries, care home trays, anything left from yesterday

Before you leave

• Sign off the Responsible Pharmacist record with your finishing time
• Hand over anything outstanding to the team, in writing if it matters
• Note the actual start, finish and break times, and anything that changes the invoice
• Log the shift and your mileage the same day, while you remember them

Then invoice promptly: see how to invoice a pharmacy.