Hello everyone!
After a short break welcome back to the monthly blog posts in which we will discuss some interesting pharmacy careers, the latest progress in health and science research as well as give you some useful advice around your studies at university and future careers. With the summer in full swing and people having bit more time on their hands, in this month’s blog post we wanted to explore some of the things that you could get involved in.
We have carefully selected five opportunities that we think could be enjoyable but at the same time educational, by putting our knowledge into practice. Not only could these experiences be used to boost your CV but also help you to find your passion and give you some useful pointers in terms of your future career.
EPSA Summer University
Do you enjoy travelling and meeting new people? If so, join other pharmacy students from all around the world for one week in Portoroz, Slovenia. It is a relaxed as well as highly educational experience, filled with lectures, workshops and social activities. However, if you are not able to make it this summer, there are more events coming up soon, so why not try the Autumn Assembly in Croatia?
See more:
Developing student materials
This summer the RPS is offering a paid summer internship as part of the new Educational Directorate to help develop useful teaching materials for current students as well as pre-reg students in order to support their early pharmacy careers. It is a great opportunity to develop your soft skills, gain confidence as well as perfect your current CV!
Hospital placement/day visits
Although, most hospital placements require a bit more organization with the application deadline usually being December-March, it provides a great learning experience and a taste of the real world. These placements tend to be 2-4 weeks long during which you would shadow a senior pharmacist and observe their everyday tasks as well as spend some time at the hospital pharmacy. It is also a good opportunity to speak to other healthcare professionals and the current pre-registration students working at the hospital and ask about their experiences. However, if you didn’t manage to secure a summer placement at one of the hospitals but you would still like to look around, it might be worth contacting the pharmacy department as most hospitals are happy to organise day visits for the pharmacy students applying for their pre-registration programme.
Experience at your local community pharmacy
Working at a community pharmacy over the summer provides a great opportunity to familiarize yourself with the common drugs as well as practice your responding to symptoms when offering the most appropriate advice to a patient. Additionally, you will be working in a team and therefore a chance to practice your team working skills and communication skills. Although, larger pharmacy chains like Boots or Lloyds have their own application process, other smaller chains or independent pharmacies in your local area might be willing to offer you a work experience just based on your CV.
Any other experiences
There is no rule that says that only completing a summer hospital placement will enable you to become a competent pharmacy professional. Any experiences that you may have gained outside of your university, whether that is working in a local supermarket or volunteering at a nursing home will come in use in life as they would have taught you basic principles of trust, respect and effective communication with others.
We hope that this blog post has given you a slight idea of some of the opportunities that you could get involved in during this summer and motivate you to try new things which might make you stand out from others.
Keep an eye out for our next blog post and keep following our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts (@altpharmcareers) for regular updates on new and exciting events we’re planning for next year!
Comments