Pre-Reg: Day Uno
04 Jul . 4 min read.
Hey guys, so my name is Zain and this is my first blog with the Pharmacist co-operative (so cut me a bit of slack…) hopefully you guys will be hearing more from me with tips for the year ahead as it will be an extremely tasking year. I will be talking about: my experiences and what you guys should aim to do while on your pre-registration year, revision tips, as well as how to tackle those dreaded competencies and many more things. Plus, if you guys want to me to talk about something in particular then get in touch and I will be more than happy to help.
So the title of this blog is pretty self-explanatory, day one of pre-reg.
Although it is quite daunting, not only the fact that you have an exam to do in 12 months’ time (which will fly by……trust me) but you are basically starting a new job, with new people and new processes. Which can be hard to grasp at first especially as you have literally just come through final year at university and the highs of graduation, and a month later….. reality hits.
In this blog I will look at 3 things you should all do when you first walk through that pharmacy door, or hospital ward for that matter.
Introduce yourself!
Now you’re probably thinking, that seems totally obvious, and in all fairness it is. But… one thing people fail to understand is that YOU have to make the first move here; you should be the one who introduces yourself to your colleagues, as these will be your peers and most of them will end up being your friends as the year progresses.
Get to know your colleagues, it is so important! Of course, this takes time as you will learn about them throughout the year but also them you. This will be the team you will be a part of and having that relationship early will allow you to be a more confident pre-reg student. But if you take the time to learn about your colleagues and what they like to do, places they’ve visited, their dogs name or whatever it might be. Not only will they appreciate it but being able to communicate effectively with your team is an asset of a skill to have as a qualified pharmacist. So be confident and open minded as you step into your new role.
Look at where things are!
Now I did my training year in a community setting, and I remember walking into the pharmacy with a smile on my face, rearing to go. Then a 7 litre sharps bin almost falls on my head (I caught it by the way…). But I remember looking up and thinking well at least I know where that thing goes.
Getting to know where certain items are in your pharmacy is very important as not all pharmacies follow the same order. Some may have the top 50 drugs on the shelves, or some might have medications arranged in alphabetical order, it really does depend.
On day one getting a rough idea of where everything is will help in the long run, as the last thing you want to do is be spending 10 minutes looking for Duac gel in the shelves with the rest of the creams (it’s kept in the fridge by the way). This applies to hospital students as well, get to know where everything is on your wards, get to know your bearings. It will take time to get to know where everything is but starting early is the right move.
Ask your tutor for 10 minutes towards the end of the day!
One of the keys to a successful pre-registration year is having a good, working relationship with your tutor. He or she will be the one who will be doing your regular reviews and they are the ones who will be signing you off towards the end so it’s essential to have that rapport.
Most likely your tutor will be there on your first day, and they will probably call you in first thing and give you a structure for the day or week (if you have any questions or concerns raise them when you first speak to your tutor). What you should also do towards the end of the day is ask your tutor for a bit of time towards the end of the day. The point of this is so that you can go over your day, maybe ask your tutor how he or she felt about your performance on your first day. You need to have an open relationship with your tutor as you want a platform where they can give you structured criticism, as it’s the only way you can improve and succeed as a day one qualified pharmacist. If you have in place such a relationship with your tutor early, then you will learn more and pick up on small things that will help you to become a successful pre-registration student and eventually day one pharmacist.
Hope you guys enjoyed that read, it really was my first blog. If there is anything more, you would like for me to cover then drop the co-operative a message. Hope to speak to you guys soon.
Zain Ahmed
Instagram- @pharmacist_coop