Niamh Collins

As a hospital pharmacy technician I liaise with a variety of other healthcare professionals, colleagues, patients and patients family members to ensure each patient is being provided with the best possible care. I speak one-to one with patients to ensure their medicine information is up to date; this includes ensuring that the medicines that have been prescribed are the correct dosage, strength and preparation and that they are being taken as instructed. When not working on the wards I work within the dispensary completing accuracy checks on prescriptions before they are finalised, checking chemotherapy drugs against prescriptions before authorising their release, ordering and maintaining drug stock levels, completing ward stock orders ensuring the correct items are being ordered and checking patients bloods results for specific medicines to ensure they are safe to supply.

As a trainee pharmacy technician I worked full-time whilst completing my studies via online learning outwith my set working hours. I worked on rotation through the three different healthcare sectors that pharmacy technicians work in; GP practice, community pharmacy and hospital pharmacy. Throughout my time completing my apprenticeship I was able to develop a knowledge of medicines and the different conditions they are used to treat. I developed my ability to speak competently with patients/customers regarding their medications and answer any queries they may have had. I was taught to operate a variety of different software applications which aided me in acquiring accurate data to any questions asked either in person or over the phone. In community pharmacy, one of my responsibilities was to serve customers wishing to buy products over the counter; for this I would handle cash and transactions and operate the till competently.

As a bar staff member my main responsibilities included: ensuring public safety by checking identification and by adhering to to standard drink measures, maintaining a clean and safe working environment, correctly operating tills and other machines/equipment, engaging with customers in a friendly and professional manner, serving customers in a fast-paced environment and memorising large orders.

My role as a cafe assistant required me to ensure consistent quality of the food/drinks provided, to greet and build a rapport with customers to enhance their experience and encourage return visits, maintain knowledge of menu products to answer any questions relating to ingredients, substitutes or dietary information, adhere to food safety rules to maintain a hygienic environment, operate coffee machines to create a variety of different hot drinks and monitor orders to ensure they are completed in a timely manner.

Working at Tesco Cafe I learned how to take accurate food orders, maintain a safe and clean environment complying with food safety regulations and managed food stock inventory/stock rotation to maintain appropriate stock levels and reduce wastage. My first role in a cafe environment also allowed me to develop my skills in cash handling, till operating and conflict resolution by handling customer complaints in an efficient and empathetic manner.

As an embroidery assistant I followed health and safety regulations in order to operate machinery safely and correctly, I trimmed embroidery in line with quality expectations and requirements, liaised with multiple departments to ensure continuity in production and learned how to effectively manage my time in order to surpass productivity expectations.

In my first part-time job as a cashier I was taught how to assist customers in an enthusiastic way, how to manage till transactions and how to issue refunds, change and receipts. I learned how to manage stock rotation for perishable items and how to set up gift items in a neat and appealing manner to encourage sales. I upheld my knowledge of the locations of all items on the shop floor and was happy to help assisting customers taking out/unloading their shopping when needed.