When you are looking for staff for your Pharmacy, be it a Supervising Pharmacist or a part-time OTC Assistant, the process of writing a job specification is the single most important thing you can do to ensure success. In the world of Pharmacy advertising is commonly very minimalist, giving very basic information such as “Pharmacist req’d in Dublin. Call X on 087-1234567”

Your advert needs to attract interest, communicate clearly the essential points and provide a clear outline of the process; enabling job seekers to decide whether they are a possible match for the role.

Information to include:

Job title, employer & description of business, location of job, outline of the job role and purpose, job responsibility, outline of ideal candidate profile - qualifications & experience required, salary details, application instructions & contact details.

Writing:  

·         If the organization is well known then show the company information prominently

·         Use language that your reader would use

·         Give text some space, thus attracting the eye and ensuring you write efficiently

·         Use short sentences and/or bullet points

·         Get the reader involved. Refer to the reader as ‘you’ and use the second person; this helps people to picture themselves in the role, involving them

·         Stress what is unique- if a person is reading your advert they are already looking for a change and you need to highlight your job’s USP’s (Unique Selling Points): if the working hours are Monday to Friday, if the store has been recently refurbished or if the position offers career development etc.

·         Ensure the correct contact information is listed- include both an email address and phone number facilitating applicants who wish to ask questions

·         Assume the job will evolve over time and add a statement such as "and related tasks as needed as they arise"

·         Be specific; this will allow jobseekers to identify exactly what the job entails and decide if they are a match

By creating a complete job specification you identify exactly the job you have and the person you need to do it, allowing you to both recruit and retain staff for your Pharmacy successfully.

Should you have any comments/queries please contact Siobhan Ryan by e-mail: siobhananne.ryan@cplhealthcare.com or call 061-208648.

There would be something wrong if I didn’t start off this blog by mentioning the extreme changes in weather we’ve experienced in Ireland over the last 2 weeks.  Last week was gloriously sunny, and improved everyone’s moods.  Switch to this beginning of this week and we were thrust violently back into the cold, with snow and sleet falling yesterday – what is wrong with Mother Nature??? 

With the clocks having gone forward an hour meaning we wake up to brighter mornings like today, the season of Spring gives everyone hope, and we all begin looking forward to the Summer approaching.  Easter would be considered the official start of “looking forward” – baby chicks and ducklings, fluffy bunny rabbits, being able to gorge on delicious chocolate eggs without feeling overly guilty,  and the opportunity to spend more time with family and friends due to the long weekend off work, what could be nicer?

This period of the year also is associated with new beginnings – green buds appearing on the trees, shoots pushing their way through previously frozen ground to be warmed by the sun, the birthing of baby lambs, etc.  Here at Cpl Healthcare, we continually see a rise in applications after the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, as people begin thinking about new beginnings in their own lives, and decide they want to pursue alternative employment.

With permanent Nursing opportunities currently across Ireland, the UK and Channel Islands, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Australia, now is the time for you, as a Nurse, to start your new beginnings – don’t hesitate to contact me with any queries you may have re working in the above locations.

Have a “hoppy” Easter! J                         

Annmarie Gallacher NRF CertRP | Principal Team Lead Nursing Division | Cpl Healthcare

T: +353 1 4825354

E: annemarie.gallacher@cplhealthcare.com        
W: www.cplhealthcare.com

Athens…..it’s an extremely compact city; it has enough grit, weirdness and bustle to give it that urban vibe which you don’t seem to have in Dublin. But like many other visitors to Athens, I am travelling not knowing the full extent of the country’s economic problems.

My colleague and I are travelling to Athens with one goal…a mission you could call it, to find Doctors that are willing to come and work in Ireland.

In case you have been living under a rock in past few years you will know that Ireland has a severe shortage of NCHD’s (Junior Doctors), as a result of this we have had to source Doctors from countries all over Europe.

Most recently our European counterparts Greece have been through harsh economic times. So much so that the IMF came knocking on their door in early May, or should I say Greece knocked on the door of the IMF. A bailout package was agreed to the tune of €30 Billion, a figure would be beyond comprehension in third world countries. Unemployment is currently tethering around the 12% mark, a figure which is in actual fact lower than that of the Republic of Ireland but still dangerously high.

So what effect does the introduction of the IMF have on Doctors and the health system in Greece? Well the feeling I got by speaking to Greek Doctors is that they are extremely fed up, un-happy and vexed by the situation. This is a feeling that is present across the whole country which is evident in the protests that are constantly taking place in the capital and also the armed riot police that man every street corner prepared for the worst. In effect the country has temporarily given up its sovereignty and handed it to the IMF, they are now running the show and as a result the Health System is suffering. This is a route that Ireland must not look at going down but in the end the people may have no say in the matter.

As we spoke to more Doctors the real seriousness of the situation became apparent, Doctors aren’t getting paid on time and when they do they aren’t receiving the right amount.

One particular Doctor I spoke to had been working as a Junior Doctor in Cardiology within a public hospital in Athens. He proceeded to tell me how he had not been paid for nearly 4 weeks, his salary had been dramatically cut in the space of one year to roughly €400 per week and that the conditions within the hospital had deteriorated due to extreme cuts in public sector spending, the government passed a budget agreeing to €8 Billion worth of cuts in 14 months.

The consensus amongst all the Doctors we met in Greece was that they feared that hospitals would close down and there would be a mass exodus of Doctors from the country. The majority of Doctors we met wished to leave so that they could provide a better future for their family.

The question is can Ireland benefit from the current unrest amongst Medical Professionals in Greece?? What I’ve concluded is that as long as the IMF is running Greece we have a good chance.

With the shutdown of A&E and acute services in Navan general, shortly after the closure of acute services in Monaghan, what is happening to the North East? The question has to be asked, why is that region constantly in the press? Could it be similar to the Northside/ Southside bias that was in the IMT a fortnight ago, whereby Beaumont Hospital believes there is a “disparity” between the way the HSE allocates funding.  Does this carry through to other HSE regions as well?

Seemingly not; an article published recently in the Irish times suggests that regardless of the region, services are being cut and bed closures are occurring across the board.

Why is this do you reckon? Could it have anything to do with the hospitals decreased budget for the year; resulting in the closure of beds. Less beds equals less patients, it’s more like less beds equals more trolleys!

So while budget cuts have been made the number of admissions haven’t decreased. Services including GP’s and GP out of hour’s services are not being fully utilised. Are we using A&E departments as our own personal GP, considering there is a massive shortage for the next rotation which we are currently trying to fill in partnership with the HSE. Perhaps all of this is something one could consider before joining the Emergency Department queue.