Mental health is just as important as physical health. I now make sure I put in boundaries to care for myself.
Amandeep Doll shares her experience of high-functioning anxiety and depression and shares her tips on how to manage the condition.
Rhys is a newly qualified pharmacist who completed his training at North Bristol NHS Trust and has been qualified for over a year. He now works at the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital and the Royal Liverpool Hospital. He is also an active Pharmacist Support ambassador. Rhys has shared his top tips for preparing for and sitting the trainee assessment and tips to remember during the transition from trainee pharmacist to being fully qualified.
Firstly, I’d like to wish all of you preparing for this June’s exam the very best of luck, be it your first, second or third sitting. The registration exam, and all the preparation that goes into it, is an emotional time, and managing your emotions is vital to enjoying your training and maximising your chance of getting the result your hard work deserves.
Registration
- Do as much revision as is normal, comfortable and realistic for you. Think about how you revised during school and university and apply the same principles to the registration exam. You’ve been passing exams for the last several years – treat this one no differently!
- Be familiar with the GPhC weightings by BNF chapter and prioritise those chapters which will make up more of the exam. These apply to both the calculations and the clinical exam.
- Practice with questions to help you find areas of strength and weakness (you’ll always have both, even when registered!) and even better if you add in the time requirements that the exams have. Once you get comfortable with the timings of both exams, you’ll be much more relaxed come June.
- Check in with your peers and friends – chances are they might be nervous too and talking about how you’re feeling is a good way to look out for those around you and get some support too.
- Remember to make time for enjoying your training year. Whether it’s with a team or a club you’re a part of, seeing friends and family, or just relaxing with a book or a film, protecting your mental wellbeing will help you perform at your best on the day.
- Exercise, eat well, get enough sleep and go into the exam as confident and composed as you can be.
- Once you’ve sat the exam enjoy your final months of training.
Good luck with your results!
Practise
- Congratulations, you’ve done it! First tip is to recognise what you’ve achieved and celebrate with those you care about.
- You’re never alone, there will always be somebody around you to give advice and support if you’re unsure – pharmacists, technicians, ATOs … lots of people have experience and will be able to help you gain confidence in your new role.
- Get the most out of rotations if you have them and seek learning opportunities; your career can be whatever you shape it into, and even things you think you aren’t interested in may surprise you!
- Consider finding and joining professional bodies that are in areas of interest to you. Attending events with people who share your interests and have experience is a great way to push yourself on into things that you enjoy.
- Don’t dwell on mistakes (we all make them!). Healthcare, like any industry, is imperfect and there will be occasions when you make an error – try your best to learn from it and help others by sharing the outcomes.
- Never stop learning! There are so many opportunities to broaden your knowledge and skills in and out of pharmacy, and CPD is central to revalidation every year. Make life easy for yourself and do things that you enjoy and want to pursue!
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