Careers

Trainee pharmacists join the Royal Devon as a Band 5 pre-registration professional having completed a Masters of Pharmacy (MPharm) degree that is accredited by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).

Guided by senior members of your team and working alongside pharmacy technicians and pharmacy support colleagues, you’ll be using your theoretical knowledge and gaining hands-on experience as you undertake your year of professional registration training.

During this training, you will participate in a range of rotations that include time in technical services, clinical trials, the dispensary, medicines information and completing medicines reconciliation. Our rotational programme also includes time for example in acute medicine, surgery, frailty, gastroenterology, renal, respiratory, orthopaedics, general practice, mental health, the community and more.

Following successful completion of pre-registration training, you will need to register with the GPhC by completing the exam and registration requirements. Registered pharmacists progress to band 6 after registration and following a recruitment process.

Following successful completion of your foundation pharmacist training, you will register with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) to become a newly qualified pharmacist.

Each day will present new and exciting challenges, whether you are involved with the assembly of medication and carrying out checking protocols, or visiting acute wards to clinically screen charts and discuss the medical history of newly admitted patients. You could also be working within a community setting.

Alongside patient contact, you’ll work with many other professionals such as consultants, doctors, nurses, therapists and healthcare support workers. Your combined expertise will make a huge difference to the patients we care for, transforming their quality of life and ensuring they have the right medication for their condition.

When you are ready, we will support you in undertaking the post-graduate clinical pharmacy diploma.

As a Band 7 Senior Pharmacist, you will have a range of specialist responsibilities that include leadership roles and clinical rotations. Your experience could lead to opportunities for further courses, in-house training, and clinical pharmacy qualifications.

Your duties may involve leading on medicines management, providing senior-level counselling to patients, and preparing complex prescriptions that include additional medications for symptom relief.

Your work will make a significant impact on patients receiving care, whether you're supporting the provision of antiemetics to alleviate nausea from chemotherapy or delivering a prescription of analgesia to improve a patient's comfort as part of their end-of-life care plan.

If you're a Band 7 Senior Pharmacist, gaining valuable experience can pave the way towards achieving Band 8a status. You might have a keen interest in a specific medical field like cardiology, oncology, or diabetes, and building strong connections with our medical staff can prove to be highly beneficial.

You will be driving service delivery, embedding best value and innovation across all areas of your clinical specialty. This may involve contributing to diagnosis and treatment, supporting with high-cost medicine procurement, and shaping our scale of operation.

As for development, we will support you with opportunities to access the NHS Leadership Academy programmes and other exciting courses to further your career goals.

Taking on a pharmacy management role will empower you to make a significant impact on our operations. Your contribution will help us enhance the quality of our pharmacy services and improve the health outcomes of the patients and communities we serve.

As a Band 8b or 8c Pharmacist, you could consider exploring opportunities in clinical pharmacy management and medicines safety, ensuring the safe and effective use of medicines across the trust.

Your exceptional leadership skills will provide great scope for driving innovation, making our work more efficient and adaptable to the ever-changing healthcare environment. You will be working with leaders throughout the trust to develop pharmacy services, responding to demands and providing innovative solutions to improve patient care. You’ll contribute towards a team environment that nurtures and encourages training and development.

Achieving Band 8a, Band 8b, or Band 8c positions can open doors for further growth and development towards becoming a Band 9 Chief Pharmacist. Upon reaching this position, you would be responsible for overseeing accountability of our services and offering expert pharmaceutical management across all levels.

As the service lead, you will be responsible for meeting the pharmacy service needs at the regional and national levels. You will ensure that all safety and regulatory requirements are met while collaborating with others to increase accessibility to pharmacy services and influence policy makers to improve how we deliver our services for the benefit of our communities.

Additionally, you will be overseeing medication management, cost-effectiveness, aseptic manufacturing, research and development, and all pharmacy professionals working under the trust.