SuperIntendent Pharmacist Ronan Ward talks to us about his career progression
My name is Ronan Ward and I am a Superintendent Pharmacist with McGreals Pharmacy Group, a position I have held for the last 3 years.
What motivated you to pursue a career in Pharmacy?
I always had an interest in science and so always felt I would follow a career related to that. Occupations such as pharmacy, optometry, physiotherapy amongst others were all possibilities, but as a teenager that is a tough decision to make as I’m sure we all remember. The swinging vote was probably that my older brother had just qualified as a pharmacist and was already driving round in a nice car, going on nice holidays and I thought if he can have all that then heck so can I! I’m not sure that is really the best way to decide your future career but I did anyway and happily it all worked out for me.
Can you tell us about your career progression and what led you to become Superintendent Pharmacist at McGreals Group?
After qualifying, and working for a large multinational in the UK for a short while I decided that it was time to return to Ireland. I fortunately obtained a pharmacist position with a relatively large Irish owned pharmacy group and after a period of time progressed from relief pharmacist to Supervising Pharmacist and maintained that position for approximately 10 years. With thoughts of some kind of career progression, and the arrival of little feet to which long shifts and late nights do not necessarily suit, I decided that a move might be a good thing. Having explored different opportunities, a meeting with Kilian McGreal, CEO of the McGreals group, was the one that grabbed my attention. Immediately I got a different vibe from Kilian and the group, and was delighted to take up a Supervising pharmacist role. After a period of time the role of Superintendent Pharmacist was brought up, Kilian had been performing the role but with a full schedule as CEO of a developing company he was looking to relinquish it. This really felt like one of the few opportunities pharmacists have to progress so I applied and for better or worse took on the mantle. With a good few years experience behind me and having had a good role model in the form of the Superintendent from my previous group, I felt I was in a good place to take it on.
Admittedly it is a challenge and brings its own pressures but it can be rewarding and certainly adds a new dynamic to the working day, boredom is not something I have an issue with! I have to admit that the pharmacists, and support technicians, we have in the group are brilliant and they make my job a lot easier. Professional, great with their patients and able to use their own initiative all takes a lot of pressure off the Superintendent role. Sure, they don’t break into massive smiles every time I bring round a new suite of SOPs, but they perform their roles to the highest of standards.
Do you enjoy working as a Pharmacist and why?
As the most accessible healthcare professional out there, the role becomes integral to the communities that we serve, and this makes the job so rewarding. We get the opportunity to work with patients directly on a daily basis and make a significant difference to their lives. Sure no-one working regularly in community pharmacy will say that there isn’t an element of repetition and same old same old in the job and in reality that is the role which we have signed up for. However as the saying goes it is one of those jobs you get out of it what you put into it. There is rarely a day you don’t pick up something new and with the opportunity to engage with so many people on a day to day basis it’s a job that can be challenging, interesting and satisfying.
What would you say to a Pharmacist considering a career with McGreals Group?
When I started out as a pharmacist I, like many others, had aspirations of owning my own pharmacy but as time went by the challenge of capital and feasible opportunities made that increasingly difficult. After joining the McGreals group and having settled into the company it was made clear to me by Kilian that they valued me as a part of the group and would extend the offer of part ownership to me based on the right opportunity for both parties coming up. Several projects were looked at but when the pharmacy at Glenageary came up all parties felt that this was definitely a project that worked for everyone. Whilst for some full ownership of a business is what they really desire for me, personally, having the support of the group is invaluable. Whilst I don’t own the pharmacy outright it feels like the pharmacy, and all the related decisions and running is effectively mine. With that I have all the backing and support of the McGreals Group office including HR, finance, payroll, property services and a fantastic Marketing team. As an independent operator you would not have access to this level of support and expertise and this is why, for me anyway, the partnership is a great fit.
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