Pharmacy Placement

Pharmacy

During this placement I found out much about the role of a pharmacist and how they liaise with the Doctor’s Surgeries that they are affiliated with. I gained an intimate knowledge of the drug dispensing jobs and what role a pharmacist has within the medical system. Whilst working in the pharmacy, I learnt how to fulfil prescriptions by giving the patient the correct drug with the amount and quantity that was prescribed by the doctor. I viewed the highly organised system that they had within store shelves. This will give me a great advantage when working in a hospital as their system will be similarly arranged in order to make dispensary times quicker and easier for doctors to use.

I had to ask people for their address before allowing them to pick up their prescription for safety reasons. It is important that drugs get to the person they were prescribed to as another person taking them could have a reaction or a clash with other drugs and also the original person will not recover from their ailment. I had a duty of care to patients to give them the correct drugs, this was a highly responsible job that I found to be very important when in this placement.

We had to also communicate with the Doctor’s Surgery to give patients the correct advice for their scenario such as checking whether two different types of cough medicine could be taken at once and whether they would act similarly; causing an overdose. This showed me how each individual case needed high consideration and advice. Medical knowledge was needed for this placement and I learnt, more specifically, about drug interactions and prescriptions. This knowledge will be essential in my future role as a doctor.