The Student Room Group
Uni students - Complete our survey >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>

Can I do pharmacy w/o work experience?

Hey guys, I want to apply to pharmacy (in uni) but I haven't really gotten any work experience in the field ( I was going to have one during summer holidays but I had surgery so I couldn't) :frown:
However, I had done these
Nursery Work Experience (2 weeks)
Nursing Home (elderly) work experience (1 month)
Hospital Work experience (specifically in nephrology) (1 week)
Hospital Work experience (cardiology) (1 week)
Volunteering and helping children with autism
Qualified 1st Aider
Duke of Edinburgh ( Bronze award) ( 2 years)
National Citizen Service ( 2 months)
Tutoring English for high school students
Sighted Guiding certificate
I have applied for pharmacy work experience in NHS and I will be re-apply to the boots pharmacy work experience next year (2017) during summer holidays

Any help will be much appreciated, Thank you ! :biggrin:
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 1
Avatar for Kia_72
Kia_72
2
Couldn't say for sure but I don't think you necessarily need work experience in a pharmacy to get a job. My friend works at Boots pharmacy in the holidays and she studies history so... They've actually sent her to do courses so she's ended up as one of the more qualified people there.
Didn't have any work experience before I applied (only got my first lot after my 1st year!) and got 5 offers. As long as you can show that you know what the job involves, a real interest in helping people and an enthusiasm for learning about drugs/how they work, you're good to go! :h:
The nephrology work experience sounds really interesting!
Original post by Pluto7
Hey guys, I want to apply to pharmacy (in uni) but I haven't really gotten any work experience in the field ( I was going to have one during summer holidays but I had surgery so I couldn't) :frown:
However, I had done these
Nursery Work Experience (2 weeks)
Nursing Home (elderly) work experience (1 month)
Hospital Work experience (specifically in nephrology) (1 week)
Hospital Work experience (cardiology) (1 week)
Volunteering and helping children with autism
Qualified 1st Aider
Duke of Edinburgh ( Bronze award) ( 2 years)
National Citizen Service ( 2 months)
Tutoring English for high school students
Sighted Guiding certificate
I have applied for pharmacy work experience in NHS and I will be re-apply to the boots pharmacy work experience next year (2017) during summer holidays

Any help will be much appreciated, Thank you ! :biggrin:


Yup, never stepped foot in a pharmacy when I was applying!
Reply 4
Avatar for Maple_Ph
Maple_Ph
You don't necessary need any experience. What you have there is a lot of external stuff which school's of pharmacy like. Tbh with you, pharmacy is not as competitive as you might think. When I started, 1/10 of people in my year came through clearing. If you have determination, good people skills and know a bit about science, that's all you need.

However, I would encourage you to look into pharmacy, and think whether it is the right course for you. See for yourself if you will like the job, a lot of people finishing University are having second thoughts about it. Visit your local pharmacy and ask if you can shadow a pharmacist there or ask what they do during the day. The job can get repetitive and stressful. Some pharmacies are really understaffed and recent government cuts have hit them even harder. Look into hospital pharmacy as well, It's an interesting career path. Pharmacy also opens a door for you to do a PhD and become a scientist if you wish to.

So, you don't need experience to get into pharmacy, but I think you need it to decide whether it's something you want to do for the rest of your life
It helps, especially if you want to go into hospital pharmacy, but isn't compulsory.

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you