Luke’s Pharmacy Career Journey

I was 17 and in my first year at college when I decided that I wanted a job. I went to the local retail park and enquired about Christmas vacancies within the Boots store and was advised to apply online, so, as soon as I got home I went online and filled in the application form. About three days later I received an email saying that I had been given an interview, which I went to later in the week. It was the first interview that I ever had so I was a little nervous but the lady I had the interview with was very friendly and made me feel at ease.

I remember getting home and receiving a phone call from the store manager, he told me that I had been successful and that I had been given a job as a Christmas Customer Assistant! I was so happy.

I really enjoyed my time working as a Christmas Customer Assistant and after Christmas I was offered the role working on a Saturday which I accepted and thoroughly enjoyed. I worked on Saturdays and evenings for just over a year where I learned a huge amount and developed my customer service skills.

I wanted to join the pharmacy team for quite a while as I love science and I was very interested in learning more about the field, so, I had a conversation with the store manager about possible future opportunities. About three weeks later she asked me to come into the office and explained that there was a position to become a ‘Pharmacy Advisor’ on a Saturday and Sunday at the store. I couldn’t believe it! I immediately said yes and was then enrolled onto the ‘Pharmacy Advisor Programme.’

In April 2017, I began my training; I was really excited to start my new role and was looking forward to learning all the skills needed to be a Pharmacy Advisor. Over the summer I started working on relief and I worked in other Boots pharmacies in my area.

The 12 weeks I spent on relief and the knowledge that I gained was fantastic. I passed my final exam in December 2017 and I am now a fully qualified Pharmacy Advisor.

Throughout my training I received support from everyone that I worked with whether that was a Healthcare Advisor, Pharmacy Advisor, Pharmacist or Store Manager. The support that I received from Kirsty, my Manager was genuinely key to me passing the course. I’m very grateful for all the help and guidance that she has continued to give me in my time at Boots. I was also amazed at how welcoming all the pharmacy teams were that I worked with and how everyone had time to help and teach me new things.

I would recommend joining Boots as a Christmas temp or in any job role as I know how supportive your team can be. There is also so much room to develop yourself and progress with your career and it’s just a great place to work.

I love working on the health care counter and in the dispensary, you really get to help people and make a difference to their lives. Through my experience and qualifications, I will now be able to go to university to study a pharmacy degree which I will be doing in September 2018.

In the future, I hope to be a Pharmacist Store Manager and use my position to encourage and develop my own pharmacy team to deliver legendary patient care, in the way that I have been supported and inspired.

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