Community Pharmacy Careers

Community pharmacists work at the front line of healthcare in cities, towns and villages across Great Britain. They work from their own pharmacies or out of local healthcare centres and doctor’s surgeries. 

As a community pharmacist your job would be all about helping patients and the public, assessing their conditions and making decisions about which medicines they should take. 

You’ll be involved in dispensing medicines and offering your patients advice and practical help on keeping healthy. It is a very responsible job and community pharmacists tend to be highly respected members of their communities. 

Community pharmacists are also taking on more of the clinical roles that have traditionally been undertaken by doctors, such as the management and monitoring of long term conditions, for example asthma and diabetes, as well as delivering flu vaccinations, and conducting medicines reviews. They also help people give up smoking, alter their diets to make them healthier and advise on sexual health matters. 

Some community pharmacists own their own businesses and enjoy the challenges of management and having responsibility for staff, stock and premises that this brings. Others work for large pharmacy chains and have the opportunity to move around and/or progress onto more senior roles within an established company structure.

Case study

Janice Perkins - 200Janice Perkins
Pharmacy Superintendent at Well

Over my 17 year career with Boots opportunities arose to try different roles including Pharmacy Manager, Branch Manager, District Manager and Professional Development Manager. One of the great things about pharmacy is the wide range of roles you can undertake all which support patient care in slightly different ways. Starting as a community pharmacist working in a branch provided a great foundation for my future career choices and whatever role I’ve had I’ve made sure the patient/customer is at the centre of my decision making process.

I joined the Co-operative Pharmacy (now Well) in 2000 as a Business Development Manager and four years later I became Pharmacy Superintendent.

Being a Pharmacy Superintendent is a challenging but rewarding role. I have the opportunity to influence within the business and as the 3rd largest multiple and employer of over 1000 pharmacists I’m asked to contribute to discussions on a number of topics.