Branch welcomes students
The Society's Aberdeen and North Eastern Scottish branch has succeeded in encouraging MPharm students from the Robert Gordon University to attend its branch meetings, leading to improved shared experiences.
The first meeting to which students were invited, in February, focused
on supplementary prescribing, attracting an audience of over 60. Supplementary
prescribers from primary care, hospital and community settings were among
the speakers.
Stephen-Andrew Whyte, who has now started his preregistration year at
Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, was one of the students who attended.
He said: “Not many students are aware that they are automatically
a member of their local branch so a group of us really only got involved
in the second year, when our tutor, Kim Munro, who is also the secretary
to the branch, explained what happens at the meetings and invited us
along. We found that the topics covered were all relevant to students
and the speakers were well balanced, covering all the major areas of
pharmacy. The supplementary prescribing meeting was particularly relevant
because, along with the new contract, this is probably the most important
issue facing pharmacists today.”
The students’ attendance at the branch meetings has led to two
of them, including Mr Whyte, being asked to committee meetings to help
devise the branch programme. Ms Munro, who is lecturer in clinical pharmacy
at the Robert Gordon University, said: “Over the past three years
the branch has encouraged pharmacy students to attend its meetings. The
numbers have steadily grown.
“When planning our 2006 programme we decided to host a joint event
with pharmacy students. We had already planned to hold a meeting based
on
supplementary prescribing and felt that the theme could be expanded to
give an insight into pharmacists’ differing roles within our profession.
This approach ensures that students are able to gain a better understanding
of what day-to-day pharmacy is all about and at the same time provide
topics of interest to our branch members.”
Mr Whyte found that the students were made to feel extremely welcome
and that their views and questions were actively encouraged. He said: “The
branch members all listened to us and really encouraged us to have our
say. It is vital that students are made to feel that they are not different
from anyone else in the branch. At the end of the day, we are all part
of the same branch with the common aim of learning more and improving
our day-to-day pharmacy practice. Although students can learn from practising
pharmacists, it is also true that practising pharmacists can learn a
lot from what the students have to say, too.”
For further information about how the branch encouraged student members
to get more involved, contact Kim Munro (tel 01224 262514; e-mail k.munro@rgu.ac.uk). |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal