Pharmacy Assistant Review

I enjoyed the insight to a very high extent, the staff were diligent & intuitive and were keen to teach me how the pharmacy operates; and what the roles of all the staff are. The entire experience was an incredible experience altogether, it really gave me a whole new level of inspiration to work even harder and pursue my dream.

To a high extent, I felt valued throughout the entire experience. The staff really treat you as if you're a permanent part of their team; they make you feel like you're right at home - they give you a lot of responsibility & make an exceptionally high effort to make you their priority if there is any issue at any time.

Most of the tasks I did through my experience required little assistance. But whenever I needed help, the staff were quick to tell me exactly what I was doing wrong, and how I can prevent making mistakes in the future. On day one, the staff were incredibly supportive; they provided me with enough attention, and offered a helping hand to things which I found to be more difficult. The staff provided an excellent piece of mind.

The skill-set which I gained through my experience; I value highly. Most of the information I received, and most of the knowledge I gained are definitely used within many different businesses; pharmacies included. I don't think that any other business provide you with the expertise you require to have a successful work placement experience. To a very large extent, the staff gave me excellent advice and customer service refinement tips; I will say, I definitely learnt a lot.

According to the pharmacy I used, they hadn't yet catered for those in work experience; however I found that they structured the whole experience very well and gave me an excellent view onto what it's like working in a pharmacy; and also what are the general roles of each member of staff.

Overall, I can say that the atmosphere was very positive & uplifting. The staff clearly wanted me to learn different things about them, their roles & the pharmacy. There was never a time where I thought that a difficult situation was about to begin, the staff are clearly very well educated about customer service. Every customer which left the pharmacy seemed to be incredibly satisfied; and there was never a time where I thought a customer was left uninformed. The atmosphere in the pharmacy was excellent, I couldn't fault it; and I don't believe they made it that way just for me, it seemed like they were always ready to make anyone feel at home.

Most of the first day, the staff at the pharmacy decided to give me a tour throughout the whole pharmacy, on top of that they did a walk through through their general errands & tasks during their working day at the pharmacy. And, any time when I didn't know what I had to do, the staff quickly showed me through; and they worked incredibly efficiently.

To a very large extent; the experience was incredibly intuitive. The time at the pharmacy allowed me to experience and learn about what it takes to run and work within a business. It also gave some exceptional, valuable skills in working in a team, and completing and setting day-to-day tasks.

To a high extent; I was able to learn and understand the fundamentals of running a business; and how to manage, and work for a business; including counting stock, checking dating, updating the systems with up-to-date information and general operation of the pharmacy, and other pharmacies for that matter. It also enabled me to get a sense of what my future may hold, if I choose to continue down this path.

Incredibly valuable. I believe that no matter what you wish to do within a career, the absolute beginning should focus on you getting a taste of the flavour of the job in mind. Work experience has definitely confirmed in my mind the career path which I am hoping to select; I do believe that working in a pharmacy is a difficult, yet extremely interesting experience; everything which I learnt can definitely give me a huge head start in my career; especially as there are many people in the UK and around the world who wish to become a pharmacist, or at least work within the pharmaceutical environment.

I was not paid or given any reimbursement throughout my work placement experience. I was happy to help out with any of the tasks within the pharmacy for free, after all it was not about the money at the time, it was a decision which I needed to make; whether or not I wanted to work within the pharmacy environment, and to get an understanding of all the roles at the pharmacy. I was not in any way paid or given anything in return for my commitment and effort given to the pharmacy. I was happy to essentially "volunteer" for the incredibly hard working staff at the pharmacy.

There were moments when customers came into the business, I had to talk to them and fill their request, whether it was to make a purchase or give advice on chatting to someone in the pharmacy who may have been in charge of particular jobs (e.g. Once a customer asked for their regular prescription, it was my task to report to the pharmacist, and make them aware for the waiting customer, so they could be served). But also I interacted with everyone within the pharmacy, and at no point did I think that there was a patch of unclear or unsuccessful communication between any of the colleagues or between myself and the members of staff at the pharmacy.

It was a learning curve, as I was able to adapt to a relatively public environment; where public interaction was almost constant. It definitely teaches you how to appropriately handle yourself, including how to approach customers. Most of the time, it teaches you how to converse between the staff members and on occasion with the customer(s) at the same time.

I did learn about some aspects of the staff's life outside work. They are clearly a very strong community team, and have close interaction with each-other, they treat each other as if they're family, which I think is a very important trait to have within a team, where multiple people want to make each other feel comfortable with each other. I learnt at how the staff often meet up for meals outside of their work to celebrate the time spent with each other, but also to recognize each other as friends; not just colleagues.

Absolutely, the insight was an incredible venture of my life, and it really did help me to foresee what a real day-to-day job is like. In many ways, working at a pharmacy is similar to many other careers where a lot of commitment is required at all times, including general awareness and attention; not only to customers, but also to staff. Anyone looking for such a career should absolutely take upon themselves to find such an opportunity where responsibility is given, and they're expected to act upon advice and criticism (just like in a real business!).