November 25, 2016, by Editor

November Blog on Pre-Registration

This blog has been written by Matthew Brown, one of our students who is in his pre-registration year.

The 21^st July seems like a long time ago however just 19 weeks ago I was tossing my mortarboard up in the air and what came down was the reality of pre-reg and a whole new way of life. Gone were those student days of seeing what Portland had on sale at lunch and what new burgers they were selling in Mooch, this was the life of a graduate.

Hopefully this blog is going to give you an idea of how to adjust to an alien world but also some friendly advice on keeping your head above water and getting the most out of what is an exciting year, full to the brim with opportunities!

I started this journey just across the road at Nottingham University Hospitals, Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC) in late July and recently started my 5^th rotation of the year. Moving around different clinical specialities definitely helps to keep you on your toes, provides new faces to meet at every turn and valuable transferable communication skills for both pharmacy and the wider world.

 

Having experienced a taste of hospital pharmacy through placements on the MPharm I believed I had an idea of what I was letting myself in for and luckily I was right. I feel that this was only because I aimed to get the most out of the half-day visits that are on offer to you as undergraduates. I would urge you all to sieze these opportunities with both hands, especially if hospital pharmacy is an area that interests you. I have seen a number of undergraduates on the wards and it is refreshing to see the enthusiasm shown by you all and hope to see a continued interest throughout the year for those of you who pass through the QMC.

Having completed my 13-week appraisal and been signed off on a few performance standards I am currently in what feels like a twilight zone as we approach Christmas. With no exams to revise for and having to organise when my own holidays will be, pre-reg still provides that step up from university but this time with regards to adulthood and increased responsibilities. Currently alongside just turning up every day to gain experience and help keep the cogs of this hospital moving, I am part of two audits looking at pharmacy endorsements and antibiotic usage within the Trust. Audit is a very important part of the year and provides you with a lot of technical skills but also provides you with an understanding of improvement and development.

At the heart of each audit there are aims, which we set ourselves to help better the Trust. The process by which we evaluate the data and implement changes can be applied to ourselves as individuals and we can put them into practice with the undergraduate degree we are all a part of.

No matter which year you are currently in at Nottingham, I would ask that you aim to find a time over the coming holidays to look at your current performance and find that vulnerable area at which you aren’t excelling. Assess the situation and look to find a realistic solution, not one which will be a quick fix but one that you can take into further studies and most importantly pre-registration.  The pre-reg year is a culmination of all skills, hard and soft, from the university and a great opportunity to develop and succeed!

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