Maria is a Pharmacist Support ambassador who recently completed her trainee pharmacist year in the acute hospital sector in Scotland. She chose to become a pharmacist out of a deep curiosity about how medicines interact with the human body and a long-standing passion for healthcare. In this story, she shares her key moments of the trainee foundation year and how they taught her valuable lessons she’ll carry into her career.
Like many others, my training year came with its own unique set of challenges. About halfway through the year, I began to feel the effects of burnout. The constant juggle between working full-time in a hospital, doing portfolio work and trying to stay on top of learning became SO overwhelming. However, I realised that it’s perfectly okay to be overwhelmed, especially at the start and nearing the end and sometimes I just needed to pull away from work and studying and take time out for myself.
Lesson learnt: Wellbeing comes first … before everything. Look after your mental health by actively building in time to rest, reflect and recharge.
One of my biggest struggles was balancing work with studying and trying to maintain a social life. On some days, I would spend all evening out with friends and do no studying at all. On other days, I would be glued to my laptop catching up on written work, with no time for myself or effective revision. It wasn’t sustainable and I realised that I needed to make a change so that I wouldn’t feel guilty having a social life.
Lesson learnt: Make sure you create a balanced schedule that is realistic enough to stick to. Light, regular revision is better than burning out in a single session.
Another big challenge for me — right from the very start — was calculations. They were my weakest area. If you know what your weakness is, face it head-on. It’s easy to keep revising the things you’re already good at, but it’s much more important to focus on the areas you struggle with. I found the GPhC framework incredibly useful as it clearly breaks down topics by high, medium, and low weighting.
Lesson learnt: Put in the extra work early on – you’ll thank yourself later. I lived by the mantra: 10 questions a day keeps the fail away!
At the beginning of my training, I struggled to keep track of all the important dates; face-to-face sessions, deadlines, reviews, you name it. Eventually, I began using a diary to map out my entire year – from placement rotations and study schedules to deadlines and review meetings. It can also be difficult to remember things whilst you’re learning on the job. I even carried a small pocket diary in my scrubs to jot down anything I learnt, didn’t understand or wanted to look into later. This habit helped me to quickly improve my understanding of common terminology used by other healthcare professionals and was a great tool for planning what to write up for my portfolio.
Lesson learnt: Organisation is key. Using a diary or planner to keep track of all the important dates and key tasks for each week massively helps to reduce stress and keeps you on top of everything.
Some of the most valuable experiences I had during my training came simply because I expressed interest. One day, I mentioned that I’d love to observe a bronchoscopy – and I actually got the chance to see one! That’s an experience I’ll never forget. You get so much more out of your training year when you show willingness to learn, explore and put yourself forward. Whether it’s shadowing a procedure, being part of a ward round or asking to be part of a discussion – just ask. The worst someone can say is no, right? But more often than not, people are happy to support your learning.
Lesson learnt: Always ask to get involved! Your enthusiasm can open doors and deepen your learning.
