Foundation Pharmacist in Oxford

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the country. It provides a wide range of clinical services and is a base for medical education, training and research. The Trust comprises four hospitals – the John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington and the Horton General Hospital in Banbury.

Our values, standards and behaviours define the quality of clinical care we offer and the professional relationships we make with our patients, colleagues and the wider community. We call this Delivering Compassionate Excellence and its focus is on our values of compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence.

Many of our recruitment programmes use Value Based Interviewing to identify those who have the skills we seek, who share our values and who are able to deliver compassionate excellence from the outset. We know that this makes a significant difference to your job satisfaction and above all the outcomes and experience of our patients and their families.

Do you want to take your first steps into a hospital pharmacy career in a vibrant, nurturing and supportive setting? This could be the post for you. The role offers the opportunity to apply your pharmaceutical knowledge across a variety of different specialties and to continuously build both your confidence and knowledge base through formal and informal learning. Typically, rotations are 6 months in duration, they span across our different sites and include both medical and surgical clinical specialties. Your role will include taking responsibility and using initiative in managing your own workload blended with being a team player and knowing your limitations, asking for help and support as needed. You will be encouraged and supported in undertaking leadership tasks and to be involved in quality improvement and service development.

Are you ready to bring your enthusiasm and commitment to patient care and join our friendly and diverse pharmacy team? We welcome applications from candidates due to sit the June 2026 registration assessment and join the register in August 2026.

Main duties of the job

• The delivery of clinical pharmacy services to patients across our hospitals, gaining experience of a wide variety of medical and surgical rotations.
• We also offer paediatric, cardiology, urology and ambulatory assessment unit rotations amongst others.
• The majority of the day will be spent on the wards working alongside the multidisciplinary team.
• There are commitments to a dispensary, weekend and late duty rota.
• You will be supported to complete a post-graduate diploma, with support from dedicated supervisors and tutors.
• After completing your post-graduate certificate and other development goals you will be eligible to apply for progression to a band 7 position.

Working for our organisation

OUH is a leading edge Trust and one of the Shelford group accredited Trusts. It has a well earned reputation for being a great place to work. It has a huge diversity of specialisms and a long history of academic and clinical excellence. As well as being patient centred it is also staff centred and they have an array of staff support services.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Complete a local induction programme including core training, and maintain core skills throughout employment.
• Act as a role model for pharmacy within the Trust, demonstrating Pharmacy Professional Standards and our Trust values.
• Deliver compassionate excellence via a patient focused clinical pharmacy service, in accordance with national medicines optimisation principles and local clinical pharmacy procedures.
• Analyse prescriptions, alongside technical resources, patient records and information from patient consults to form an opinion on the most appropriate course of action, communicate this in a way that supports shared decision making.
• Participate in and promote antimicrobial stewardship activities.
• Accurately and sensitively communicate medicines related information to a variety of healthcare professionals and patients including those with language difficulties, physical or mental disabilities.
• Plan and organise your own workload in alignment with professional and organisational priorities.
• Delegate and escalate appropriately.
• Support compliance with medicines related legislative and regulatory requirements, including maintaining the security and quality of medicines stock.
• Undertake Audits and Quality Improvement Projects to support our culture of continuous improvement.
• Report any unexpected or untoward events via the Trusts incident reporting system.
• Where relevant to a rotation complete training in clinical trials and support the supply of investigational medicinal products.
• Undertake a program of study leading to a Postgraduate Clinical Diploma.
• Support the training and mentoring of our trainee pharmacists and technicians, as well as colleagues who are new to the Trust.
• Participate in unsociable hours weekend and bank holiday working according to the service needs.
• Any other reasonable duties as requested by the Clinical Director of Pharmacy, or Associate Director of Pharmacy – Clinical Service.

Person specification

• Masters Degree (4 year MPharm or equivalent) in Pharmacy.
• Registered as a pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council (or anticipated to register by August 2025).
• Ability to travel to all sites including the use of public transport.
• Application pharmacy knowledge to benefit patient care.
• Working with other health care professionals.
• Patient consultations.
• Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Member of relevant professional group Such as UKCPA.
• Knowledge and experience in clinical pharmacy.
• Audit/Quality improvement.
• Electronic prescribing systems.

COVID-19: The COVID-19 vaccination remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and our patients from the virus when working in our healthcare settings. While vaccination is not a condition of employment, we encourage staff to get vaccinated.

Vacancy Closures: Please note, this vacancy may close early if a high volume of applications are received.

Probation Period: This post is subject to a 6 month probationary period. If you currently hold a contract of employment with OUH, this will not apply. This statement does not apply to Medical staff or Executive Appointments.

Referencing: When providing employment reference details please provide correct work related email addresses so references can be sought promptly. Your first referee should be your line manager, supervisor or clinical lead from your current or most recent post or place of study. If you have previously worked for the Trust we will require a reference from your last Manager.

Next Steps: Please read the job description and person specification, and ensure your supporting statement reflects these criteria. Candidates selected for interview will be contacted after short-listing, usually within 2 weeks. Shortlisting times vary when applying for Medical positions. Correspondence will be via the e-recruitment system; check emails regularly, including junk folders.

No unsolicited recruitment agency telephone calls or emails.

You must have appropriate UK professional registration. This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

If you have any questions or would like to hear more about the post, please contact Claire Waghorn, Lead Pharmacist E&T post registration training.