Wellington is a Pharmacist Support Ambassador and a recently qualified pharmacist, having sat and passed the assessment in June 2026. In this ACTNow story, he shares his reflections on the first few months of being a newly qualified pharmacist and what he’s learnt during this time.
I was drawn to the profession by a passion for biology and chemistry (mainly chemistry if we’re honest) and after years of studying and training, I finally became a registered pharmacist this year. My initial feeling was relief, followed by the realisation that this is the start of a whole new journey. Since passing, I’ve been working as a locum community pharmacist and fortunately, things are going great.
The point of time at which it sunk in that I’m really a pharmacist was actually during my training year.
On one busy day in particular, I was able to handle all the consultations and patient queries without consulting my designated supervisor. At the time, I was glad to be able to take some work off his hands allowing him to focus more effectively on safe clinical checking. It was only at the end of the day that I realised how much I had developed since the start of my training year. The whole day really felt surreal as scenarios from mock papers were presenting themselves in real life.
Since qualifying, one of the biggest adjustments I’ve had to make is realising that the last line of defence is me.
As a trainee pharmacist, I frequently queried oddities found in prescriptions and patient consultations with my supervisor. I learned quite early into my first locum shift that I can’t really do that anymore. Additionally, tasks like confirming unusual doses on prescriptions with patients or their GP surgeries over a phone call has proven to be more difficult as I am plagued by the constant pressure of the checking bench.
When it comes to making the final decision, I’ve tended to lean towards the safer option especially because I had a habit of second-guessing all my choices at first. Fortunately, that feeling has lessened quite quickly as I remind myself that I spent years working toward this current position. Additionally, aside from checking prescriptions I’m not doing anything entirely new, so it wasn’t a super hard adjustment to make.
An aspect of being the responsible pharmacist I didn’t fully appreciate until qualifying was the sheer volume of responsibility weighing on your shoulders.
Being liable for things I used to perceive as minor, like OTC sales, has made me quite particular on the counselling given before the sale and cases where we refuse sales or recommend alternative treatment.
During this time of transition, the thing that’s helped me most to look after my wellbeing has been ensuring that I properly wind down after every shift. For me, this can be anything ranging from intense exercise, spending time with friends or even simply just reading in the evenings. Any activity that allows me to psychologically separate myself from work. Being a pharmacist can be very mentally demanding, so it is important that you recharge by looking after yourself outside of work.
I’m excited to learn new things and to continue growing as a pharmacist in general.
Since qualifying, I’ve also become a Pharmacist Support volunteer Ambassador because I wanted to shape the future standards about mental health in our profession by promoting open conversations about it.
For people like me who’ve just qualified, my biggest tip for prioritising your wellbeing whilst working is remembering who you are outside of your career and doing things that align with that. For those reading this who are about to qualify, my biggest tip is to keep your head down, study hard and remember that the safer, evidence-backed options are usually the correct ones.
