By Steph Allen

As the world looked towards preventative measures to tackle the pandemic, pharmacists were inundated with demand for masks, RATs, and vaccination appointments.

The choice to pursue a career as a pharmacist is one not only about developing trust with customers but also helping them find relief.

Blooms The Chemist Orange owner, Melanie Moses has been a pharmacist for 11 years and an owner for more than nine.

“I love that pharmacy enables me to help people every day, and I find learning about health and finding solutions really fascinating,” she said.

To become a pharmacist, one must graduate with a Year 12 HSC certificate, complete a four-year Bachelor of Pharmacy, and a one-year internship upon graduation, before undertaking registration exams to become fully registered.

As a career heavily involved in working with people, “empathy and compassion” are a must.

“Particularly as many people who come to see us may be feeling vulnerable or confused,” Melanie said.

“Being highly ‘detail-orientated’ is also an essential quality, to ensure you’re delivering to the highest professional industry standard.

“A love for problem-solving and great communication skills, will also ensure you’re successful as a pharmacist.”

As a community pharmacist, Melanie has developed trust with her customers after making connections with generations of families.

“It’s the best feeling, when you’re able to use your expertise to recommend a solution to someone and improve their situation,” she said.

“It’s so rewarding, when people come back to let you know it’s made a positive difference for them or that it meant a lot to them that you were available, even just to listen and be there for them.

“I also really love running a business and all that that entails, building the right team, developing our team culture, seeing their successes and accomplishments.

“We’ve also recently been announced as a ‘2022 Pharmacy of the Year’ Finalist; it’s really gratifying to be recognised in this way.”

However, the rewarding career is not without its challenges.

“At times it can be a very stressful profession. Pharmacists often put a lot of pressure on ourselves to ensure we’re meeting multiple priorities and strict professional regulations,” Melanie said.

“Because we do care about people and their outcomes, it can take a lot of emotional energy.

“You have to show up every day with a real ‘I’m here to serve’ mentality.”

During COVID, the importance of community pharmacy services was highlighted in regional and metropolitan areas.

“The initial surge in demand for certain products and being the first point-of-contact for a lot of people when they’re sick, when they need advice; it put a lot of pressure on pharmacy teams over the past two years,” Melanie said.

“But being asked to support the national COVID-19 vaccination program, really made it clear that pharmacists are one of the most accessible healthcare professionals, and are essential to the delivery of healthcare for individuals and the community.

“Pharmacy is such an incredibly rewarding career; it’s given me endless opportunities to combine my passions and really make a difference. I can’t imagine being anything other than a pharmacist,” Melanie concluded.