Your first locum shift: a pharmacist's checklist

Your first locum shift is equal parts exciting and nerve-wracking. You're walking into an unfamiliar dispensary, an unfamiliar team and an unfamiliar patient list — and you're the responsible pharmacist from the moment you step behind the bench. This is the checklist I wish I'd had.

Before you accept#

Nail these down in writing (email or message) so there's no ambiguity later:

• Rate, hours and breaks — the hourly rate, start and finish times, and whether the lunch break is paid or unpaid.
• Exact address and parking — the branch, not just the chain. Where to park and whether it's free.
• Who to ask for and a phone number for the morning, in case the shutters are down when you arrive.
• Contractor and payment details — who is actually engaging you (the pharmacy, a multiple, or an agency), and how and when you'll be paid.

Log the shift the moment it's confirmed — date, pharmacy, rate and hours — so it's ready to invoice and feeds your running tax estimate. It's much easier than reconstructing it three weeks later from memory.

The day before#

• Plan the journey and add 20 minutes of buffer. Being late to open a pharmacy is a bad start.
• Check your GPhC registration is current and that you have your indemnity in place.
• Skim the services the branch offers (Pharmacy First, flu, blood pressure checks) so nothing catches you cold.
• Pack the basics — photo ID, your own pen, a phone charger, and something to eat if the break is short.

When you arrive#

Give yourself 15–20 minutes before opening to orient:

• Introduce yourself and get to know the staff and their roles — the team will be your best friends all day.
• Print your RP notice from the GPhC website and display it, and start your RP log for the day.
• Find the SOPs and the controlled-drugs register, and get hold of the keys to the CD cabinet.
• Check for instalment (FP10MDA / 'blue') scripts — supervised-consumption patients, such as opioid substitution. First thing: make sure those medicines are dispensed and stored in the CD cabinet, every script is legally valid, and weekend or bank-holiday instalments are covered. If anything's wrong — an invalid script or a missing supply — call the prescriber and resolve it before the patient comes to collect.
• Log in early — the PMR, your smartcard, and the PharmOutcomes details (plus any other systems the pharmacy uses). Sort passwords before the first prescription, not mid-queue.
• Locate the fridge and check its temperature has been recorded for the day, along with the emergency contacts and the incident/near-miss log.

During the shift#

• Follow the pharmacy's SOPs for your clinical and accuracy checks — not the way your last shift did it; they differ between branches.
• If you're unsure about a clinical decision, document your reasoning. "I checked and decided X because Y" is worth its weight later.
• Keep a light record of anything notable — an intervention, a near miss, a supply issue — both for the branch and for your own CPD.
• Reflect on one thing you learned. A single sentence today is a ready-made revalidation entry later.

After the shift#

• Confirm your hours with the branch before you leave, including any overtime.
• Turn the shift into an invoice promptly and send it — the sooner it goes out, the sooner you're paid, and the easier it is to chase if it's late.
• Note anything for next time — parking, the team, quirks of the PMR — so a repeat booking is smoother.

The mindset#

You will not know where everything is, and that's completely normal — even seasoned locums spend the first hour hunting for the label printer. Be methodical, ask early, document as you go, and treat every branch's process as their process. Do that, and your first shift becomes your tenth without you noticing.

Pharmosphere is built to take the admin off your plate — log shifts, turn them into branded invoices, and watch your tax estimate update as you go — so you can focus on the patients in front of you.