Murphy’s Pharmacy in Midleton team member Mary Waters recently qualified as a Pharmacy Technician, graduating from the IPU Pharmacy Technicians course receiving an NVQ LEVEL 3 Pharmacy Technicians Diploma.
Jane Fleming, Supervising Pharmacist said, “We are hugely proud of Mary and what she has achieved. She is a key member of the pharmacy team here in Midleton and I am sure this is the only the start of a long and successful career for her within pharmacy.”
Mary told Irish Pharmacy News more about her time studying whilst working full time in a busy dispensary, and dealing with a global pandemic. For those of you considering a career as a pharmacy technician, this snapshot may provide a small insight into life on the frontline.
“Having worked for 7 years at the OTC counter I was always interested in the dispensary, how certain drugs worked and what diseases & ailments they were used for. I love engaging with patients, discussing their different medications and helping them if they are unsure about anything.
“I had the owner of the pharmacy, John Murphy as my tutor in year 1 and in year 2 I had our Supervising Pharmacist Jane Fleming. They were both informative, patient & helpful, and always encouraged me even when I hit a bump in the road to get me back on track!!! The whole team here in Murphys are absolutely amazing, and were so supportive of me in completing this course.
“The course itself is very hard work, but looking back now it was worth all the effort. Our first year we had actually training seminars to help us but unfortunately in Year 2 Covid struck and we had virtual training seminars. This was very daunting at the time but in fairness they were very informative, explaining everything, each submission at a time.
“As I work full-time in a very busy pharmacy I did a lot of my course work at home at the weekends and some evenings after work. A lot of the practical course work was actually done while working in the dispensary; things like accuracy checks, making up antibiotics and exempts as well as doing MCQ tests in the office whenever I could get the time.
“Covid definitely put extra pressure on. At the very start, back in March, we were split into 2 different teams in the pharmacy which meant we were down to half the staff on a daily basis & had to work tirelessly to get the same workload done. Those were the evenings that I really had to dig deep to complete any course work and meet my deadlines.
“Sheer determination and several months later I eventually got there, something that I have to say I am very proud of. Anyone thinking of doing the course should definitely give it a try. Though it is very hard work at times, it is also very rewarding.
I am extremely happy now working in our very busy dispensary and hopefully at the end of 2021 I might even get to Graduate properly in style. This will be a very proud moment for me!”
