Hello, my name’s Tom and I’m a Maternity Pharmacist.
Tom Maternity Pharmacist
Pharmacists are a vital part of the healthcare team and being a pharmacist gives you a great chance to help patients get the most out of their medicines.
What made you decide on the role?
I originally chose to study pharmacy at university because I was interested in science and I wanted a job where I could help people.
After university I elected to do my pre-registration training in a hospital. This showed me what clinical pharmacy was, trying to help get the best out of medicines for patients and optimise their use.
I really enjoyed paediatrics, and this made me want to get into this area of clinical pharmacy. Later I had the opportunity to work on a neonatal unit and this was where I found my niche!
What qualifications did you need?
I went to university to study pharmacy, followed by a pre-registration year working and training in order to pass the exams to register as a pharmacist. After registration I completed a clinical diploma while rotating through different specialties within the hospital, giving me a good insight into lots of different areas.
I then went on to complete an independent prescribing qualification, allowing me to prescribe medicines.
Have there been any changes to Pharmacy training since you qualified?
There have been major changes to pharmacist training since I qualified.
Now the degree and pre-registration year are combined into one 5-year course with clinical placements across different sectors of pharmacy practice (community, hospital, primary care). Pharmacists will also be independent prescribers when they first qualify and not have to complete the extra course that I did.
What do you enjoy about your role?
I love being able to make sure that patients get the right medicines and get the best out of them. That can involve relatively straightforward things like ensuring the timely supply of medicines to the ward, or more clinical roles like being involved in guidelines to make sure we’re using the most up to date evidence when prescribers decide what medicines to give. Because some medicines used in neonates are outside the normal use of those medicines (they may be designed for adults) it requires specialist knowledge and the ability to innovatively solve problems to work out how to give them to neonates.
I am also involved in the technical aspect of making up some medicines and parenteral nutrition (feeds given into a vein) in our in-house manufacturing unit.
What key skills are needed to do your role well?
Ability to work well in a team, attention to detail and problem solving.
Why should you choose the role of a Maternity Pharmacist?
Pharmacy is a broad and varied profession, roles range from developing new drugs in the pharmaceutical industry, to dispensing and advising on those medicines in a community pharmacy, to seeing patients in GP surgeries and on hospital wards.