Role: Pharmacist
Company: Gordons Chemists
Track Record: ‘Knowing you have been able to help someone along their life’s journey whether they are at the beginning of that journey or in their twilight years, is very satisfying,’ he says.
ME AND MY JOB
SEAN SEALEY,
PHARMACIST,
GORDONS CHEMISTS, DOWNPATRICK
‘Knowing you have been able to help someone along their life’s journey whether they are at the beginning of that journey or in their twilight years, is very satisfying,’ he says.
What does your job entail?
As a community pharmacist, my job mainly entails giving advice on common ailments, medicines that can be bought over the counter from the pharmacy and advice on prescription medicines that patients ask about or bring prescriptions for. Of course I manage the dispensing of medicines for prescriptions too.
I also advise GPs on what medications might be best suited to an individual’s needs and help patients manage their medicines in a way that is easy to understand, safe and practical.
Giving advice is a big part of my job, and advising people on treatments for common complaints like colds, flus and that kind of thing, is very useful in a community setting, because it can often mean the customer doesn’t need to see their doctor.
Is it 9-5?
I usually work from 9am to 6pm, but we also open on some Sundays and public holidays, so I take my turn to work those too.
Occasionally I would get an urgent call out from either a customer or a GP, who needs something after hours. When you get a telephone call after hours you know it’s a genuine medical emergency and I would not hesitate to help in those circumstances.
The Gordons Chemists ethos in relation to the pharmacy and professional services part of the business is based around us being a community health resource, embedded in local communities across Northern Ireland.
Very often the pharmacists are from the towns involved, or have lived there, so they know the customers and get a real feel for what the health and well-being needs of the community are.
How did you get into this line of work?
I was always interested in science at school and while working in my local pharmacy during the school holidays I decided that a career in pharmacy would be challenging, fulfilling and rewarding.
Outline your career to date?
I studied pharmacy at Queen’s University Belfast and after that I did my pre-registration year experience with a small pharmacy group in Antrim. At that stage I knew that I definitely wanted to work in community pharmacy. I liked the buzz, and the variety of the work.
After qualifying I worked in a number of pharmacies, before moving to Gordons Chemists in the early 1990s. I worked in a number of their branches, including Newry and Newcastle.
I then moved to a local pharmacy in Downpatrick, which is where I live, and then
got a job with Gordons Downpatrick branch. So, after nearly 20 years of work I am now back to where I started my career. But in those days there were only eight Gordons Chemists and now there are 60.
A lot of the people I knew 20 years ago are still employed by Gordons, which makes it very familiar.
Tell us about your qualifications/training.
I obtained an honours pharmacy degree from QUB, then went on to get my professional qualification from The Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland the year after that.
I qualified as a pharmacist supplementary prescriber, and then as an independent pharmacist prescriber.
I take part in ongoing professional development to keep up to date with current knowledge. I attend regular training days organised by the Northern Ireland Centre for Pharmacy Learning and Development (NICPLD) and keep up to date by reading the pharmacy professional journals and doing distance learning courses facilitated by NICPLD.
What qualities are required for your job – personal and professional?
You need to be a good communicator to be a pharmacist, definitely a good listener and have lots of empathy, as you are often dealing with people who are ill, under the weather, or who have concerns about a health issue.
You also need to have excellent organisational skills, to be able to manage the wide range of tasks that need done every day.
What are the biggest challenges and rewards of your work?
The biggest challenge is probably multi-tasking; being able to do lots of things at once. The rewards are wide-ranging, from being able to offer health checks to customers, which we do throughout the year, to raising awareness with local charity Action Cancer around breast cancer and sun safety.
Knowing you have been able to help someone along their life’s journey whether they are at the beginning of that journey or in their twilight years, is very satisfying. When someone you have helped gives you a genuine thanks, it means a lot and makes going the extra mile well worth it.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
My favourite thing to do in my spare time is to spend time with my family. During summer holidays we often caravan around France and that’s hard to beat.
Tell us an interesting fact about yourself.
I have paddled a canoe up the Dordogne River in France and camped along the banks of the River Seine in Paris and both were unforgettable experiences.
Who has inspired you most in your life?
My parents inspired me to work hard and be grateful for everything I have in life and to realise the importance of family, being honest and doing everything to your best ability.