I'm officially on holidays. Holidays from university that is, but not really considering we have to look for two placement sites to finish off the final chapter of this pharmacy course! We've also got to get started on the large amounts of assessment which we'll be drowning in if we don't get a started on them now.
But I'm enjoying this little free time I have at the moment. Coming off a whole month of work experience at two pharmacies, based around the Inala area, I'd have to admit, it's made me even more motivated in becoming a pharmacist; especially one who is involved with the Vietnamese community.
Being able to speak Vietnamese was definitely an important trait to have working in this area. I mean, how were the Vietnamese patients able haggle with you? Cheap bastards! These two blocks of placement have no doubt shown the real representation of Pharmacy life. I absolutely fell in love with the interaction pharmacy staff have with patients. The abilities we have to change a persons life through supplying medications and correct counselling, I feel is very satisfying. Regardless of the occasional grumpy old patient who I guess can be understandably upset (medical condition/ other reasons?), I feel fulfilled each and every time when I am able to help a patient, even if they didn't seem appreciative.
I met some of the most wonderful and inspiring people on my placement. Patients ranged from those who were done with life and it's negativities, to those who were content regardless of what life brought them. It was these patients which I reflect back on whenever I feel down. The pharmacy teams consisting of pharmacy assistances, dispense technicians, retail managers and not to mention, the pharmacists themselves, all had stories, present happenings, and future beginnings.
It was such a pleasure meeting every single one of these people, an experience that has changed me as a person. It's rare enough finding someone who can change your life, but a whole bunch of people, all of whom have changed the course of my life...I feel very blessed.
But maybe it wasn't the actual people who I met. Maybe it was something else within me, my mindset even, that changed the way I looked at the world. I remember a particular conversation with my missus which discussed an ultimatum. Realistically, I have never worked in a pharmacy and wouldn't know the first thing about working in one; apart from sorting scripts in ascending order and doing bin runs once in a while.
I promised myself that within this full month of placement, I would make myself employable through my hard work. I would learn as much as I could about pharmacy and work my ass off in the process.
TBC
I love winter! Something about the coldness brings calm to the mind and relaxes the bo body. Absolutely endless blue skies, so clear you could probably see the darkness of space if you really tried. Mood levels are high today even though being raped with 8 hour placement days on 5 hour work shift hasnt killed me yet, im down powered, seriously. Only two more weeks. Ive got to keep telling myself this. Ciao ciao
