Pharmacy Job & Medicine

So on here I saw that someone applying to medicine had a saturday job in a pharmacy. I've had a look and all of them I can find require a level 2 qualification in medicine dispensing, you can do an online course in this and its about £50 and I would assume its fairly easy to get, but do you think it's worth it, if i got the qualification and a pharmacy job would it help me get into med school? And also would I actually be able to get the job? Because i live in a fairly small town, there's only like 4 pharmacists in the town, I could get a bus to another town but I have other commitments on a saturday too... I realise this makes no sense and is probably a stupid idea... but there we go.
Thanks :smile:

Reply 1

Bow Tie

14

Original post by jenni:)

So on here I saw that someone applying to medicine had a saturday job in a pharmacy. I've had a look and all of them I can find require a level 2 qualification in medicine dispensing, you can do an online course in this and its about £50 and I would assume its fairly easy to get, but do you think it's worth it, if i got the qualification and a pharmacy job would it help me get into med school? And also would I actually be able to get the job? Because i live in a fairly small town, there's only like 4 pharmacists in the town, I could get a bus to another town but I have other commitments on a saturday too... I realise this makes no sense and is probably a stupid idea... but there we go.
Thanks :smile:

Frankly, it isn't a make or break situation. If you got it, it isn't going to hinder your application, if you didn't get it, you'll find something to fill the gap in the personal statement and no one will be the wiser so don't let it bother you too much!

Your best bet is contacting the pharmacies/dispensaries to see if it is at all possible before you shell out the money.

Reply 2

Star Light

14

A pharmacy job sounds good for Medicine, but is it really? You may gain a limited familiarity with some drugs and what they are used for, if you bothered to, but even that information would not even scratch the surface of the drug studies you do for Medicine, and doesn't make you a stronger applicant. The type of work you'd be doing at this level would probably consist of tidying, finding things and cleaning things.

Of course, like any job, working in a pharmacy would hopefully develop some skills like teamwork, organisation, awareness of relevant legislation and speaking to customers, but don't go too far out of your way to get this from a pharmacy. I put in my PS that I worked as a lifeguard and I milked cows... They spent a good 5 minutes at one of my successful interviews asking me about milking cows. So, if it's not too much bother, go for the pharmacy, it will benefit your application if you use it well. However, anything else would work just as well.

Reply 3

thegodofgod

19

Original post by jenni:)

So on here I saw that someone applying to medicine had a saturday job in a pharmacy. I've had a look and all of them I can find require a level 2 qualification in medicine dispensing, you can do an online course in this and its about £50 and I would assume its fairly easy to get, but do you think it's worth it, if i got the qualification and a pharmacy job would it help me get into med school? And also would I actually be able to get the job? Because i live in a fairly small town, there's only like 4 pharmacists in the town, I could get a bus to another town but I have other commitments on a saturday too... I realise this makes no sense and is probably a stupid idea... but there we go.
Thanks :smile:

It might be worth considering this - you'll get paid, it's a job that's somewhat relevant to the career you want to pursue, and it'll give you something interesting to talk about in interviews, with regards to transferable skills, but also unique skills that you'll gain from working as a dispenser, e.g. counselling patients on medicines use, as well as learning about the cost of various medicines to the NHS.

A nice little bonus will be to learn a bit about certain medicines too! :smile:

Reply 4

jenni:)

OP

11

Thankyou everyone :smile:

Pharmacy Job & Medicine

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