Retail pharmacist: job description
Retail pharmacists provide general healthcare advice and supply prescription and non-prescription medication to the public.

Relevant experience gained in any retail area involving contact with customers or the general public can be beneficial.
What does a retail pharmacist do? Typical employers | Qualifications and training | Key skills
Retail pharmacist work in a retail setting rather than in a hospital or GP surgery (see our pharmacist job description ). They are responsible for dispensing and controlling both prescription and non-prescription medicine, advising customers on general healthcare and must work to legal and ethical guidelines.
Employment as a retail pharmacist involves:
- providing advice about health issues, symptoms and medications in response to customer enquiries
- recruiting, training and managing staff
- processing prescriptions and dispensing medication
- ordering and selling medicines and other stock
- meeting medical representatives
- managing budgets
- keeping statistical and financial records
- preparing publicity materials and displays
- marketing services
Some evening and weekend work may be required.
Typical employers of retail pharmacists
- Independent pharmacies
- Supermarket pharmacies
- Pharmacy chains
Vacancies are advertised by careers services and specialist online publications including Chemist and Druggist and The Pharmaceutical Journal and their online equivalents. Pre-registration training placements are advertised in the annually published Pre-Reg Manual .
Qualifications and training required
It takes five years to qualify as a pharmacist. This includes a four-year degree course (an MPharm), one year’s work experience in a clinical setting and a registration exam, set by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). In order to practice pharmacists must be registered with the GPhC.
For a pharmacy masters course, the entry requirements are typically three A levels at grades A or B in chemistry and biology, maths or physics, along with five GCSEs at grade 4 (C) or above – including English language, maths and a science.
Relevant experience gained in any retail area involving contact with customers or the general public can be beneficial.
Key skills for retail pharmacists
- Maturity
- Attentiveness
- Responsibility
- Excellent interpersonal skills
- Organisational skills
- Verbal communication skills
- Confidence
- Commercial awareness
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