Mutterings and Musings

Pharmacy 101

PROMPT: Write about a community service or volunteer experience you’ve had in your life that made an impact on you.

In Year 10 (approx 15yrs old), UK kids often do a work-experience placement for a couple of weeks. I wanted to something in the medicine line, but didn't really know what. Ended up working in a pharmacy for my two weeks, and at the end of it I was offered a Saturday job to help cover one of the dispensers who was about to go on maternity leave.

I ended up working not just Saturdays, but school holidays, and - once I was in 6th Form and had a weird timetable on a Friday - some lunchtimes too. My only two subjects on the Friday were biology (first period) and chemistry (last period); home was a three mile walk away (and not on a bus route) and all my friends had other lessons. So what's a girl to do? And it felt great to get paid

Incidentally, my chemistry teacher took to collecting his prescription on Friday lunchtimes to "check you're gonna be there for my lesson later"....


That was 21 years ago. I'm now a pharmacist, rolling my eyes at teenage life choices