FAQ Category: FAQ by Students

If you make an effort to always act in a professional, friendly and helpful manner, you should get along well with staff, patients and customers. Discuss with your Supervisor or contact your Practice Educator if you have any questions or concerns.

You can gain valuable information from all members of the team, so questions may be asked of anyone. Keep in mind that you should pick suitable times to ask questions.

You should take direction from your Supervisor regarding all interactions with customers/patients. Be respectful, courteous and empathetic at all times. Take care not to treat patients as “case studies”. If a patient does not want to engage with you or feels uncomfortable continuing to engage with you, then you should respect their feelings and ensure that the pharmacist can follow-up with the patient.

Answer questions put to you by the pharmacy staff as best you can, but don’t pretend to know more than you do. The Training Establishment will be briefed that you are at an early stage in your training. APPEL will also provide some high-level information to the Training Establishment regarding what areas your coursework has covered, and therefore your Supervisor will be aware of what stage you are at in your pharmacy course.

APPEL will endeavour to arrange a placement close to your stated location preference. Please remember that it may not be possible to arrange a placement to suit everyone’s location preference. You will be provided with a choice of possible placements for your longer 4th and 5th-year placements, but this is not feasible for these short 2nd-year placements. Changes to this placement are only possible in exceptional circumstances and no changes can be made without the prior approval of your Practice Educator.

You are allowed to undertake your 4th-year or 5th-year placement (but not both) in the same pharmacy where you attended the 2nd-year placement.  However, APPEL cannot guarantee that such an arrangement can be made.  You may engage in part-time, holiday and/or summer work experience with the 2nd-year Training Establishment, but such arrangements are between you and the Training Establishment.

If you have any concerns about your placement, please contact your Practice Educator.

You are on this placement to learn and are required to be supervised. You should alert your Supervisor immediately if you believe that you have made a mistake.  Do not be afraid to admit that you have made a mistake, or that you think you may have made a mistake.

Remember to discuss and to plan your learning activities with your Supervisor. If your Supervisor does not allow you to engage in the activities right away, make the most of your time and be patient.  You will still gain important experience by observing the pharmacy’s operations and engaging with the team. If the situation persists after several days, discuss the issue with your Practice Educator.