Heartbeat: Work experience in pharmacy proves huge success

March 30, 2023

Gavin Moore started his work experience placement in our pharmacy department in June 2021 and at the back of end of 2022, was successfully appointed as a pharmacy dispenser at SWB.

During his pharmacy work experience placement, Gavin worked across various parts of the department which gave him invaluable experience and expertise.

“I was shown many things during my placement such as how a drug history is taken and how the ward-based pharmacy teams operate,” said Gavin.

“I was also shown how the clinical trials team works and had the opportunity to rotate through the aseptic unit, where I was given the chance to dispense using the software under supervision.”

Zoe Finch, Dispensary Co-Ordinator has played an important mentoring role in Gavin’s development and believes he has thrived and flourished at SWB.

She said: “From when I first met Gavin at his interview, I could see he had a passion for healthcare. I feel strongly about creating a culture for an equal and diverse workplace. The fact that Gavin was 17 when he joined us here is not only a massive achievement for him but for us as a Trust too, as we are able to nurture Gavin with his enthusiasm to learn.

“I feel Gavin has a prosperous future ahead of him at SWB and is a credit to the organisation.”

The placement, beginning during June 2021 within the pharmacy team, has enabled Gavin to obtain a permanent role at SWB which will ultimately allow him to progress in his pharmacy career.

When asked if he would recommend work experience at the Trust, Gavin said: “It’s a great way to gain experience in something you are interested and passionate about whilst learning skills required for the job role. I would tell anyone who is undecided to just go for it because you don’t know until you try.”

He added: “If I had to give one message to younger people in a similar position to myself, I would say be resilient and open minded. As someone who didn’t want to go down the traditional university route of education, I was left wondering what route I could take. I then became aware of work experience opportunities available at SWB by contacting Nikki Smith and quickly learnt that this was something I wanted to undertake.

“I believe that you should follow what you want to do. I left school at 16 with the idea of going into healthcare but didn’t know how to achieve that until I did work experience at the Trust.”