Volunteering Reflection
I have been volunteering in a pharmacy since the start of June, I work to help the dispensary staff, as well as the pharmacist do things such as filling the shelves, checking dates on medicines, packing the dispensed medicines to be delivered to those who need them, as well as manning the checkouts and helping customers find what they need or referring them to the pharmacist if needed. This has greatly helped me not only learn what a regular job is like, but also helped me to learn about teamwork, acting within your scope of competence and really helped me to develop my ability to interact with members of the public, specifically those who may be particularly vulnerable or in need of help.
Most importantly, however, I was able to observe the complex effects that socioeconomic factors can have on a community's health. The pharmacy was located in an area of great dichotomy, of both great wealth, but also much deprivation, and this meant that I saw people utilising the services of the pharmacy from both sides of the social spectrum.
I was able to meet people who used private hospitals for all of their healthcare (though sometimes the legitimacy of said healthcare was called into question by the pharmacist) and were otherwise in perfect health, as well as people who lived in extreme poverty, who would need more than just medicines to be able to live a healthier life. I also saw the effects of drug legislation on a grander scale than I have during my work experiences, as the daily experience of volunteering meant that I was able to observe the usage of the pharmacy through a much more precise lens. Most surprisingly, I found that the use of the opioid Co-Codamol (commonly known as solely codeine, though it is sold combined with paracetamol) was quite prevalent in the area, and seemingly across the UK. The UK is one of the few countries that allows certain opioids to be sold over the counter, and Co-Codamol is one of these. Though the box was labelled with advice telling users to use it for no longer than three days to prevent addiction, I interacted with tens of people over the course of my volunteering who came to the pharmacy (or another nearby pharmacy) to buy the drug. One of them confided in me that she had become addicted to the drug after a miscarriage she had had, and that she felt incredibly hopeless about her future - the pharmacist was able to give her the contact details of a charity that helps with addiction, and I hope that she now lives a much happier life.
Others shared with me their terrible fear of being bitten by a spider that they knew for sure lived somewhere in their home (though they knew where) while collecting their schizophrenia medication - they later came in a few weeks later terrified as they had woken up (they believed) with spider bites down their side. The Pharmacist was able to reassure them that they actually had shingles, and the process of explaining what shingles was, for me was my first time (supervised by the pharmacist) I had talked to someone so worried about what had happened to them, and the relief that they felt afterwards was an incredibly fulfilling thing to be able to take part in.
My Volunteering has also furthered my desire to pursue medicine - as I would love even more patient interaction, even more understanding of the science underpinning the diseases they present in, as well as more of a hand in their care, with less of the commercial burden and purely pharmacological understanding that being a pharmacist involves.