So now you’re probably thinking what happened to “the plan”?
There was a time when “the plan” had taken a back seat when my focus has shifted towards the development of the store and in particular focusing on launching new services such as Flu jabs, NHS and the Minor Ailments Service.
After two years working in this store, the plan came back into focus. This was the point when I thought “what am I doing?” as being a community pharmacist working within a multiple felt quite unfulfilling. At this point I started my Clinical Pharmacy diploma.
So the plan included becoming an Independent Prescriber but mentioned nothing about completing a Clinical Pharmacy diploma… yes thats right… but although this was only a few years ago… back then having a completed a diploma was almost a pre-requisit for starting an Independent Prescribing course. Today the tables have turned, to an extent, with the recent report produced jointly by the RPS and RCGP, encouraging GPs to employ practice based Pharmacists, and as a result it has become easier to enrol onto the Independent Prescriber course.