Opening up opportunities to shine
The Hope Winch Benevolence Fund provided much needed financial assistance to final year Pharmacy student Ashleigh Diamond.
Due to financial pressures, Ashleigh had to take up extra shifts at work in order to cover her rent and essential living requirements and this was having an impact on her studies.
Thanks to the Hope Winch Benevolence Fund Ashleigh was able to reduce her hours last summer which allowed her to take a voluntary two-week placement at Stanley Pharmacy.
She said: “During the placement I was given excellent opportunities such as working on the front desk where I was able to take in prescriptions and hand them out, advise patients on products for certain ailments, and observe and learn how the pharmacy took in orders for emergency supplies (or loans) for medication as well as the minor ailments service.”
She continued: “I learned the lay out of their pharmacy, for example where the GSL medications are kept, the Ps and the POMs and the CDs. The dispensary was different to the mock dispensary, in that they have a fast line of medications which we pick off the shelf but the rest are kept within a robot which then sends the medication to us down a chute.
“I also learned how to use their database so I could assemble a prescription which was excellent practice after learning how to dispense at the University all year long. I also got to fill in the CD register, and sit in on a warfarin clinic as well as smoking cessation sessions.”
For Ashleigh this experience proved invaluable and helped her to secure another placement opportunity in June with Lloyds pharmacy which has further led her to secure her pre-registration training with them post-graduation.
She concluded: “Financial support from the Fund was invaluable, particularly through exam season as I didn’t have to take up extra shifts, I only kept to my four hour contract, which meant I had more time to study. This had a really positive impact on my exams as I could prepare more thoroughly.”
