Even within the Community Pharmacy setting, pharmacists work in a wide range of professional environments and operations.
If you are wanting to take on a Superintendent Pharmacist role what experience do you have? Have you had wide or narrow exposure to different ways of working? Do you need help to ensure you have considered all the aspects of the role? Is the pharmacy wholesaling and do you know your responsibilities?
Pharmacies owned by a corporate body will be under the control of a Superintendent Pharmacist. If the pharmacy is owned by a pharmacist sole trader or partnership that pharmacist will have the same responsibilities as a Superintendent Pharmacist.
Those responsibilities include GPhC standards for registered pharmacies and standards of conduct, ethics & performance for the pharmacists and technicians working within the pharmacy. If the pharmacy operates as a NHS contractor for NHS England, additional regulations and processes will be followed and be regulated.
Ways of working and standards can vary tremendously from pharmacy to pharmacy.
An independent pharmacy or small chain may have limited input from other pharmacists working in the pharmacy or organisation and so comparing standards with the wider profession can be limited.
In many cases within a group or chain of pharmacies the Superintendent Pharmacist may be remote to the pharmacies and may not even visit each of the pharmacies on an annual basis. To ensure the pharmacies are working safely and professionally large teams of specialist pharmacists will support and control the professional standards in each of the pharmacies. The pharmacies will be tightly controlled by the organisation with the provision of information updates, new Standard Operating Procedures, new policies. Additionally, the pharmacy be audited, have mock inspections conducted by this specialist team so the Superintendent Pharmacist is assured the pharmacy is working safely and professionally. The Responsible pharmacist will therefore be supported, but may not be fully aware of all the work taking place in the background.
So the independent pharmacy may have limited input from other pharmacists to aid process, decisions and policy. Gaps can occur. However, in a chain there may be extensive input into process and standards by specialist pharmacists, but the individual responsible pharmacist may only have limited input and this can affect background knowledge and confidence if they wish to take the next step to becoming a superintendent pharmacist. Both will operate in different ways but knowledge gaps can occur in both cases.
Written by Michael Spruzs