..Information to Pharmacists
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Your Monthly E-Magazine
SEPTEMBER, 2003

LACHLAN ROSE

Student Perspective
I Have a Dream….

Let me say that pharmacy student life has been heating up.
For many in my position, there is only 10 weeks separating student life from working life, as we prepare to complete the Bachelor of Pharmacy.
For some it's a dream come true.
For others it's a nerve wrecking concept.
I can't seem to make up my mind.

Looking at newspapers, notice boards, and listening to the grapevine, one can find a plethora of options for a graduate position.
And the choice can be guided by so many factors.
What pays the best?
What has scope for future gain?
What is the easiest to get to?
Community or hospital?
Superficially, the answers to these questions can seem all important.
But it wasn't until I started writing down what I wanted to gain from my graduate year that I realised the generic nature of my objectives.

1. I want a team environment that encourages hard work and supports initiative.

2. I want to be continually learning, especially through peer discussions with pharmacists and other healthcare professionals. I want to be exposed to different points of view.

3. I want to be involved in a variety of tasks that maintain interest and provide daily challenges.

4. I want to be involved in forward thinking, patient-orientated pharmacy care.

5. I want extensive patient contact, filled with counselling opportunities, so that I gain satisfaction that I have positively contributed to a patient's health.

Apart from sounding excessively demanding and possibly a little idealistic, I do believe that most pharmacies fare favourably when compared to my 'wishlist'.
Not every pharmacy will be on equal terms in every aspect, but each will attest to the importance of such objectives.

On the eve of the biggest ever pharmacy convention to reach Australian shores, namely the FIP/PAC Congress due to begin on September 4, there will be a lot of soul-searching and enthusiastic discussion on the future of pharmacy.
The student arena, via the IPSF (International Pharmaceutical Students Federation), will be equally animated.
It is healthy that pharmacy always looks ahead to the future, predicting changes and proposing counter-strategies.
Only today I was arguing the pharmacy line against the anticipated Woolworths/Coles push into pharmacy management.
"What could you offer that a supermarket pharmacy couldn't?" my opponent declared.
I had to pause.
Price?
No.
Range?
Probably not.
Service?
Maybe.
Patient Care?
Definitely!
Unfortunately for the big companies, when you focus on price, customer care can no longer be the priority.
And it won't take long before the realisation occurs - where health is involved service and professionalism is paramount.

So lets keep talking.
Lets get motivated.
But is there such a thing as worrying too much about where you're headed?
My future for pharmacy isn't complicated.
Its doing the simple things very well.
Its taking the wishlist and maximising its potential.
Being confident in the services you provide and aiming to continually improve.
If you aren't providing this type of experience for your graduates ask why not?
If you aren't providing this type of experience for your current employees ask why not?
If you aren't providing this type of experience for yourself ask why bother?

Now I'm sure….I am excited about being a pharmacist.