In the April issue, we spoke with the dispensary technician based in northern Sydney about her career highlights, challenges and tips for other pharmacy assistants and staff.
How long have you been working in retail pharmacy? What is your current position/role?
I’ve had the pleasure of working in retail pharmacy for the last eight years, and am lucky to be the dispensary technician, offering support to the pharmacists in a small but very busy community pharmacy near the northern beaches in Sydney.
Talk us through what a day in your life would look like.
Any given day in our pharmacy can include multiple vaccinations for flu or COVID boosters in the early mornings and afternoons, followed by consultations with concerned customers to assist with probiotic therapy, foot care assistance, blood pressure monitoring, and lice treatment best practices, for example. Throw in anywhere up to a couple of hundred scripts a day along with Webster packing/repacking and the day flies by in the blink of an eye, or maybe it’s the coffee that helps make it go so quickly!
How did you come to work within the industry? What drew you towards a profession in retail pharmacy?
I was grateful to be offered the opportunity by the previous wonderful dispensary technician who worked at our pharmacy prior to my becoming a pharmacy assistant. She sold me on all the enjoyable aspects of working for a community pharmacy, and she had confidence that I’d thrive in our fast-paced retail environment with the added requirement of being particularly diligent when it comes to patient confidentiality, speed/accuracy and efficacy, and helping to keep the pharmacy in smooth running order daily.
What have been some of the highlights in your career as a pharmacy assistant so far?
One of the highlights thus far for me has been working as part of such a cohesive energetic team of professionals who all genuinely enjoy working together. It’s not unusual to walk into our store and hear a gleeful cackle of laughter at any point of the day. Even through the stress of COVID, we still managed to keep our spirits high and we as a team banded tightly together to survive the extremes of the uncertainty that COVID tensions brought.
What has been the most challenging part of working as a retail pharmacy assistant?
Leading on from that last point, by far the most challenging part of working in retail pharmacy for me in the last eight years would most definitely have been the introduction of COVID-19. The behaviour of the general public became distressingly fearful and at times aggressively domineering in their attempts to find ways to protect themselves and their families. While completely understandable in the height of the panic, it was nonetheless a very tiring and trying time to be patient with the daily onslaught of increasingly anxious and hostile customers pouring through the door.
Is working in retail pharmacy something you think you’ll be doing in the long term?
I’m very grateful for the knowledge and connections that working in retail pharmacy has given me, and working within this part of the health sector has reignited my long-held aspiration to study psychology. Embarking on my Grad Dip of Psychological Science, my study neatly fits in with my full-time working schedule. Being in the fortunate position to witness how much additional ongoing support is required in the growing mental health division of our nation’s healthcare, I hope to continue on the very long, very enlightening, and ultimately fulfilling road to registration as a provisional psychologist. A girl’s gotta dream, right?
How important is ongoing professional development for retail pharmacy assistants?
I’d consider continually updating skills through professional development to be vital for all pharmacy assistants. Pharmacy staff are frontline workers who need to be up to date and often are the first point of contact when patients walk in the door. By having the appropriate knowledge, we’re able to effectively communicate and often assist the pharmacist on duty to provide the correct advice to all patients’ queries.
How would you describe working as a retail pharmacy assistant to anyone new to or considering the profession?
Working as a retail pharmacy assistant has both its ups and downs. To anyone considering the profession, I’d describe it as exciting and engaging, especially when you’re working in an environment where staff are consistently challenged to keep up to date with new and emerging medications, shelf products, treatments, and script procedures and/or legislation. However, this profession is also not for the faint-hearted. It can be challenging, varied, and at times even stressful, depending on the demeanour of the patient walking through the door. It’s always good to keep in mind that often the most difficult patients are the ones in pain and the most in need.
What is your advice to other retail pharmacy assistants in terms of achieving career goals and stepping up within the industry?
The most useful piece of advice that I could give any aspiring pharmacy assistant is to involve yourself in all opportunities offered to you, whether it be completing special training – for example, first aid/CPR – connecting with staff at events, or engaging with the relevant brands you stock … or enrolling in the easy-to-complete online modules on offer. Even better is the offer of prizes to win, along with the knowledge to be gained.
Retail pharmacy and the healthcare industry have faced some serious challenges over the past three years. What are some of the things that have helped you and your team members get through these difficult times? What’s your advice on overcoming challenges?
Complete honesty here! It was the ability to be able to talk with co-workers about all things related to fun – things like travel, good food, partying/entertaining and the eating of a little too much chocolate – that got our team, and definitely myself, through the most stressful of times that COVID public panic created. In the end, we juggled individual time off for mental health and made sure we stayed as sane as possible by taking the time to relax with family and friends, either in person or via video calls – and gardening … a whole lot of gardening. Hopefully, I might begin to enjoy gardening – or more truthfully, become good at it – by the time I reach retirement, as it’s all I ever hear the golden oldies in-store telling me they do all day.
Where do you see the industry headed in the next few years?
Ideally, the small-community pharmacy industry will continue to thrive and grow with the new implementation of increased prescribing abilities for pharmacists. Our power-packed little pharmacies contribute extensively to the health and well-being of our communities, and with these businesses helping to triage minor ailments of the general public, calm the fractured nerves of concerned parents, and provide the clinical recommendation of referral to practitioners for major concerning presentations. In a perfect world, pharmacists would be reimbursed for the healthcare consultations they provide, as they currently receive no remuneration for the often time-consuming consultations that provide valuable health advice. These consultations are invaluable to the local community and can in some cases prevent hospitalisations, thereby helping to reduce the burden on our hospital system.
If there was one thing you’d like to change and/or improve about the industry, what would it be?
I’d personally like to change the general public’s perception of how community pharmacy medication supply works – for example, it would be kinder not to treat us like a library. By that, I mean that just because you’ve had the medication once before doesn’t automatically entitle the patient/customer to another supply of it – sometimes up to five years later! Kindness in all areas of communication is always the best way forward.
This PA Profile was originally published in the April issue of Retail Pharmacy Assistants e-magazine.
