February 10, 2014, by Olivia

Of Medicines & Late Nights

So here’s a little detour from my usually style of posting. You probably know from my posts and my profile that I study pharmacy. Although I’ve complained quite a bit about my course in several posts you may find it a little hard to believe when I tell you that I do love my course. Sure I grumble about the workload and want superpowers (see here) when it comes to revision, but which student doesn’t?

All jokes aside. I chose this degree myself. My parents did help me to make an informed decision but I decided to study pharmacy. The reason was my interest in science and healthcare. I always wanted to be part of the healthcare team but I didn’t want to be a doctor. After some research I decided this was the course for me especially because it would expand my knowledge of biology and chemistry and include new topics like drug design and pharmacology. I also chose to study University of Nottingham because it is a globally renowned university and it didn’t hurt that the School of Pharmacy was no. 1 in the country (and still is) when I was applying. Also the campus is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

I love my course because it covers such a wide range of material and how it is taught through lectures, practicals and case studies. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out there were quite a lot of hands-on sessions such as talking to real patients, role playing as the pharmacist during dispensing of medicines and getting to make medicines during lab sessions! In fact today I attended a blood glucose testing workshop. For those of you who don’t know, a blood glucose test is performed on patients with diabetes use to monitor their blood glucose levels. I have also had a few opportunities to go on placements organised by the school to both hospital and community pharmacies which I have enjoyed.

I thought that it was extremely important to me that I pick a course that I loved because at the end of it I wanted good career prospects. If I chose a degree that I didn’t like, it would have lead to a job I didn’t like and I would probably be miserable during both my degree and working life.

Remember: “Pick a job you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life” – Confucius.

I think this applies nicely to university, pick a course you love, study what you love! After all, you are going to be here for at least 3 years, you might as well pick something that makes you want to get out of bed in the morning, especially those pesky 9 am lectures!

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Google+
• Share on LinkedIn