In this month’s issue of Retail Pharmacy Assistants e-magazine we spoke with pharmacy assistant, Ellie Merrick from Amcal+ Salamander Bay in the Hunter region of NSW 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 worked in pharmacy for 13 months. My current role is dispensary technician.
Talk us through what a day in your life would look like.
A day in my life at work includes taking in and filling prescriptions, offering professional advice for over-the-counter medications and assisting our pharmacist in delivering an efficient and reliable service.
How did you come to work within the industry? What drew you towards a profession in retail pharmacy?
I’ve always had a keen interest in healthcare, which motivated me to begin my journey in community pharmacy. I thoroughly enjoy learning about medicines and having the ability to deliver meaningful health services to the community.
What have been some of the highlights in your career as a pharmacy assistant so far?
Some of my career highlights include being part of the Covid-19 vaccination rollout, creating new relationships with returning and new customers, and learning different ways to help improve patients’ health outcomes through Amcal’s training programs, such as LEAPP [leadership, engagement, analytics, physicals and professional services], which provides upskilling opportunities to better deliver advice and healthcare solutions during consultations.
What has been the most challenging part of working as a retail pharmacy assistant?
As I’m new to the industry, the most challenging part of my job is remembering all the drug and brand names. Since I started 13 months ago, my knowledge has already grown astronomically. I’m grateful to work with a team of experts at Amcal who guide and mentor me to be the best pharmacy assistant I can be.
Is working in retail pharmacy something you think you’ll be doing in the long term?
I really enjoy working as a pharmacy assistant and plan to further my career in health by studying paramedicine, which will complement the expertise I’m developing in dispensary.
You’ve recently undertaken some professional development. How important is ongoing professional development for retail pharmacy assistants?
Professional development is really important to ensure my team and I can deliver the most relevant and accurate information to all our customers. Amcal has taught me that innovation is key to pharmacy, particularly when it comes to adapting to your customers’ healthcare needs, and I’ve found the professional development programs here to be really valuable to my day-to-day role.
How would you describe working as a retail pharmacy assistant to anyone new/considering the profession?
Working in community pharmacy is a fun and fast-paced environment. As a pharmacy assistant, you learn a lot, very quickly, which is exciting for someone passionate about this industry like me! Providing healthcare services to your local community is a very fulfilling role.
What is your advice to other retail pharmacy assistants in terms of achieving career goals and stepping up within the industry?
My advice would be to remain committed by completing learning and training modules on a regular basis. Don’t be afraid to seek advice from senior staff and other pharmacists, and most importantly, be patient. It takes time to build knowledge and skills, and doing this will be really rewarding in the end.
Retail pharmacy and the healthcare industry have faced some serious challenges over the past 18-plus months with Covid. Where do you see the industry headed in the next few years?
Covid-19 presented a number of challenges to community pharmacy. However, it reaffirmed the importance of pharmacists to the local community. Our customers really relied on their pharmacists’ depth of knowledge and expert advice to guide them through the pandemic, and I don’t expect this to change moving forward. I’m looking forward to seeing how professional health services continue to evolve and how technology enhances the customer experience in the future.
If there was one thing you’d like to change/improve about the industry, what would it be?
I believe communications between doctors and pharmacists could be improved to allow for a smoother process for our patients. I would also like to see pharmacists have the ability to prescribe more urgent medicines for immediate use – for example, Alprim for urinary tract infections.
This interview was originally published in the May issue of Retail Pharmacy Assistants e-magazine.
