Knowing the roles and functions of pharmacy staff is something that may interest you. If you are an active professional, you may be interested in knowing the different positions that you can hold. If you plan to buy a pharmacy , knowing what profiles you will need and, if you are a future professional, knowing all the profiles that are in a pharmacy can help you to choose which steps to take in your training.
For these reasons, in the following lines we are going to show you who the pharmacy staff is and what functions they have.
Who is the pharmacy staff and what functions do they perform?
For many people, those who work in a pharmacy are limited to being in front of the counter and dispatching the different products and medicines that are for sale. As well as being able to give some medical advice. But the truth is that his work goes much further.
This work has different nuances. The Labor Ordinance for Pharmacy offices, approved in 1975, is the law that regulates all the work carried out in pharmacies and the organization of the personnel.
Thus, following what is established in this regulation. You must take into account that within a pharmacy there are three differentiated professional roles, taking into account the functions they perform and the preparation they have, these are: medical staff, technical staff and auxiliary staff .
Optional Staff
When we talk about medical staff, we always refer to those who have at least a degree in Pharmacy. They are pharmacists by profession and as such they can perform different tasks in the pharmacy. Below, we detail the positions available for medical or pharmacist staff:
Senior Pharmacist
It is the professional who has been authorized to open a pharmacy and to carry out its management. Of course, it is essential that to occupy this position he has a degree in Pharmacy.
Joint pharmacist
In some cases the pharmacy belongs to more than one pharmacy graduate. To be considered co-owner, you must have a participation that corresponds to at least 20% of the total value of the pharmacy.
Regent Pharmacist
In some very special cases, it is necessary to appoint a managing pharmacist. It may be because the owner has died, because he is legally incapacitated by means of a judicial sentence or because the absence of the owner of the pharmacy has been legally declared. In this way, the regent pharmacist assumes the position temporarily.
Substitute pharmacist
This is a pharmacist who is appointed on a temporary basis and who has to assume all the functions, responsibilities and also incompatibilities that are assigned to the pharmacist in charge.
Assistant Pharmacist
He is appointed to work as a collaborator of the regular pharmacist, manager or substitute. He must also have a degree in Pharmacy, like all of the above, but it is not necessary for him to have an ownership interest in the pharmacy.
At least one of these profiles must be present in the pharmacy during the minimum opening period of the same and is a requirement to be able to dispense the medicines. In charge of these positions, he is responsible for the dispensing, acquisition and custody of medicines, as well as the elaboration of magisterial formulas and officinal preparations, that is, the medicines that are prepared on purpose for specific patients who need certain prescriptions.
Can there be an owner of the pharmacy who is not licensed in Pharmacy ? That is, can you buy a pharmacy without being a pharmacist ? The answer is yes, and for those cases there are joint account contracts. Although, the non-qualified owner will never be able to work as regular pharmacy staff.
Technical staff
Now that you know the medical staff of the pharmacy, we introduce you to the technical staff . They must have the appropriate qualifications and their main job is to dispense medicines, organize the work of the pharmacy, inform patients about some characteristics of the drug and control the warehouse. These are the positions:
Certified Senior Assistant .
They are also known as pharmacy assistants. They are in charge of organizing the work of the rest of the staff and their position must always be supervised by a doctor.
Certified assistant.
In this case, he is also in charge of dispensing medicines and making magisterial formulas, yes, he must be supervised by a doctor.
Pharmacy and para-pharmacy technician .
These professionals also have the main function of selling pharmaceutical products and also those of the para-pharmacy. They can be drugs, but also cosmetics or food-related products. To exercise this position it is necessary for the professional to have an intermediate degree. As it cannot be otherwise, their work will be supervised by the certified senior assistant and also by the doctor.
Auxiliary Staff
Last but not least, in pharmacies we find auxiliary personnel . They are those who complete the template of the business. His work is very important, both in front of the public and behind the scenes. They can even collaborate when preparing the master formulas.
It is very important that pharmacy support staff be supervised by other professionals working in the business .
As you will see, there are many jobs that exist in pharmacies. In addition, the Law determines that it is necessary for the pharmacy to have medical personnel to be able to dispense medicines to the public. The number of pharmacists will depend on the activity of the pharmacy itself and its turnover. Yes, not having medical professionals is considered a very serious infraction and can be a reason for sanction.
And you, what role do you play in your pharmacy? Did you know all these positions and their requirements?
Executive Search, specializing in the health sector. In this new growth scenario, where the commitment to new professionals is reaffirmed, these are the most demanded jobs:
Product Managers or product managers:
This is marketing positions for which the market generates a greater number of opportunities. A high scientific knowledge is required, although the differential value of these professionals is the competence part. Possessing a good analytical and strategic capacity, as well as communication skills to transfer the strategy to their sales networks, are the key to successful development. With the new technologies, they are also required to have high levels of innovation, initiative and to be able to provide a vision and innovative solutions to difficulties. As for salaries, primary or prescription Product Managers can be between €40,000 and €60,000 fixed plus variables, and those of intra-hospital products between €60,000 and €85,000 fixed plus variables.
Sales representatives:
This is the position most in demand by volume, since sales networks make up around 70% of the total workforce of companies in the sector, and it is also the figure with the highest turnover rates in the market. However, it is important to differentiate the type of target to which they are directed (pharmacies, health centers or hospitals). It is precisely the latter, the hospital delegates with hospital dispensing products (oncological, infectious, immunological, etc.) who have the most complete profiles and are in demand due to the complexity of the products, as well as the strategic capacity and knowledge of all the stakeholders. of the sales process that they must have. The intra-hospital sales representative is situated in a salary band between €55,000 and €65,000 fixed plus variable.
Medical Science Liaisons (MSL) :
These are the figures that have grown the most in recent times. About 4 years ago there was a great demand for this type of profile and the industry incorporated professionals without experience in the function. But with scientific training (graduates in Health Sciences, although not necessarily in Medicine), with doctorates and with a high level of English. It continues to be a figure in high demand and with a very rapid revaluation in the market since the difficulty lies in reaching an MSL position without previous experience, but once achieved, the window of opportunities that opens is enormous. Salaries are positions that are between €45,000 and €65,000 plus variable.
Market Access (Tender Manager):
In general, all the figures within this department (Kam, Ram, Heor, Patient) are in high demand, but if we had to highlight a growing position it would be that of Tender Manager. The new models of public contracting and sales systems, as well as the growth of bio similars, make this profile more important and that it is evolving faster than others in the market. The current Tender Manager is focused on defining the approach strategy to the tenders and being able to design it and transfer it to the field teams. It is no longer a mere administrative and bureaucratic figure, but a global and strategic vision must be added to it, which allows the company to win the contests to which it is presented. As for the salary part, it is growing and is expected to continue to increase, but currently it stands at 55.
Medical Advisors or Medical Managers :
This is a key figure in working with the multifunctional teams of MSL, Product Managers and commercial departments. This figure has a salary of between €55,000 and €85,000 plus variable. Companies in the sector are frequently demanding that these profiles be graduates in Medicine, especially specialized in oncology, hematology, immunology… who are completing the MIR and have one or two years of experience, with the difficulty that this entails given the shortage of doctors in the pharmaceutical industry.
The absence of medical professionals in the sector is due, on the one hand, to the lack of knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry on the part of this group and, on the other, to the clinical vocation of many of these professionals, which means that they do not want to lose contact with the patient, especially in surgical specialties. “ With this scenario, we see that there is currently a clear mismatch between these new profiles and the candidates who are aware of these opportunities and willing to apply for these positions. The industry faces an important challenge to attract doctors in the coming years
