It is no secret that pharmacist shortages are placing the pharmacy sector under severe pressure. As a result, the shortage of staff in pharmacies is causing reduced hours with some pharmacies even closing their doors. We spoke with our pharmacy division expert, Barbara Kelly, to shed some light on the situation.

Speaking on the issue, Barbara said: ‘Recruitment is an issue across the board for all my clients, and as much as we try to fill Pharmacist and Pharmacy Technicians jobs, it feels like we are going around in circles. As we enter into the winter months, we all know the difficulty of getting locum cover, let alone filling vacancies, along with the rising rate of locum pharmacists. However, here at Excel Healthcare, we are always looking at new solutions to help support our clients, and the chronic lack of qualified pharmacists available to work means the sector will be unable to keep up with demand and patient care will suffer.

This led us to not only search within Ireland to fill this talent shortfall but also to look to the EU for options for EU Pharmacists to enter our Pharmacy Technician and Pharmacist jobs. Qualified pharmacists based outside of the country, but within the EU, are eligible to register with the PSI (Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland) after they complete a language competency test. Any non-Irish qualified pharmacists who gained their qualifications within the EU need to provide copies of the following documents (along with certified translation, if applicable) to the PSI:

  • Birth certificate
  • Passport or ID card
  • Qualification certificate awarded by the University
  • Registration certificate (if applicable)
  • Language competence requirements

Subsequently, the regulator of pharmacists in the country the EU pharmacist is registered in will have to confirm and certify their professional status with the PSI. Meanwhile, non-EU applicants and qualifications are individually assessed by the PSI and once a non-EU qualified person is recognised by the PSI, they are then eligible to apply to register with the PSI’s Register of Pharmacists. There are two separate costs applicable to this process of registration with an application fee and first time registration fee to complete the submission. The Excel Pharmacy Team will work to support EU Pharmacists in relocating to our beautiful country by guiding them through the process and helping them get a job once they have completed the necessary steps to gain recognition by the PSI.

Barbara continued; ‘In our profession, we all know that a pharmacy can’t open without a registered pharmacist on the premises and it’s our job to help our clients to excel in their business by supporting their recruitment needs. This issue won’t go away overnight, but with an experienced recruitment partner who knows the industry as much as I do – we’ll do all we can to keep pharmacy staff shortages to a minimum and bridge the gap in this market.’

We’ll help the candidates by:

  • Providing one-to-one consultations with one of our experienced consultants.
  • Offering CV support to help you land your dream job.
  • Helping with interview preparation.
  • Providing feedback from all interviews.

And we’ll help our clients by:

  • Attracting, sourcing, and screening high-calibre candidates.
  • Finding solutions to getting top talent in a difficult market.
  • Providing updated knowledge of the industry.

If you’re an EU Pharmacist and you’re looking to make the move to Ireland for a Pharmacist job, please email your CV to barbara@excelrecruitment.com or visit www.excelhealthcare.com to view our latest positions. Similarly, if you’re a pharmacy looking for qualified talent – Barbara would be happy to have a private and confidential chat about your recruitment needs.

To all our existing and future clients, hang in there, we will work hard to keep finding solutions to this recruitment issue – you can rely on Excel Healthcare.