A few more insights

Simple is best:

'Introduce yourself (preferably in person) at your place of work - it will make the first day easier.'

'Get started on your student workbook as soon as possible (remember the week 5 completion deadline).'

'In order to get more out the experience you must be proactive. Go out of your way to help answer people's queries.'

'Answering the phone is a useful way to help you gain a grasp of all the ins and outs of how your pharmacy operates.'

'With the student workbook focus particularly on the calculations section. This is where most people trip up and will be advantageous for you when it comes to the calculations test.'

'Read and use the Counter-Intelligence book early on - it's an excellent resource.'

'Be active and involve yourself - volunteer for everything!'

'Never hesitate to give a hand when you are free, even throwing away the rubbish bin, this is how you get to interact with others, including the stock keeper, driver and others you might not get to see all the time.'

'Arrive at least 5 minutes before your start time to stock up the medicines because you know you will need more time for searching the right place to locate the medicine.'

Their best bits:

'My best feeling I got from working through the SPP was seeing some of the customers faces of gratitude when I went above what they expected from a retailer; I wish to quote one of my customers "You're always so friendly and helpful when I come to Boots."

'Feeling more confident about being in the pharmacy environment, working as part of a team and seeing the effort you put in pay off.'

'The best thing about my placement was the everyday communication with customers. It feels great when people leave the pharmacy satisfied.'

'The best bit was being able to participate and understand the role of the pharmacist. Working with a fantastic team in the dispensary helped you relax and settle in quickly'.

'The greatest bit for me was I when I knew I could really understand the dispensing procedure and could apply dispensing knowledge which I learnt at Uni.'

The end result:

'SSP most benefited me by allowing me to widen my knowledge on Over the Counter (OTC) medicines. I never came across the OTC medicines before. Therefore it was a valuable experience for me to prepare myself for next year's study.'

'During my first two years at university they did not teach me any of the OTC stuff required in order to work in community pharmacies. However, Boots provide extremely useful packages which teach you the knowledge you need to have. With the knowledge gained from the books and from the help of some of the healthcare staff, I was able to talk to customers giving them advice and recommending products.'

'Talking to customers for the first time can be quite daunting, but with time your confidence grows, which is an important quality a pharmacist should have. Therefore doing a placement not only taught me conditions and advice linked to OTC, but also how to act around customers and how to deliver excellent service.'

'At university it is all theory and the SPP gives you the opportunity to use all your knowledge to good use and apply it to real life community situations and deal with customers. What I gained from this experience is more knowledge, I obtained many skills, and I improved in many areas such as engaging with customers, communicating to a wide range of different people from different backgrounds but most of all I have seen how important the role of a pharmacist is within a community!'