December 27, 2019, by Mei Kee Lee
Alumni Testimonial: Vivian Tan (2014)
I chose to do a Masters degree in Pharmacy mainly because I wanted a job that had the below criteria:
• Good job satisfaction: At that point, pharmacy was ranked within the top 10 jobs in the market.
• Versatility: I dislike routine and the pharmacy degree offers a vast variety of career paths.
• Job security: Pharmacy is a profession sought after all over the world, which means I could work in different parts of the world.
• Healthcare related profession: At the age of 17, I thought it was very ‘cool’ to save lives and wanted to work in a big hospital like in the TV series ‘Greys Anatomy’.
Not only does pharmacy fulfil all the above criteria, serendipitously, to enter the course, I had to be good at chemistry and mathematics, which were my favourite subjects!
I decided to study at UoN because it was ranked as one of the best schools of pharmacy. Furthermore, it had a 2+2 course, which meant I could experience studying as a local student in Malaysia and as an international student in the UK.
The academic and administrative staff in UoN are friendly and helpful. Some of our academics even have their own little band and sometimes perform for the students at events. I met so many people and made friends so close I consider them family! UoN also has a huge variety of clubs and societies. There will be something for everyone. I personally have been actively involved in Pharmacy Society activities. I worked as a British Pharmaceutical Student Association (BPSA) representative – hosting a variety of competitions and promoting student awareness of the BPSA as well as supporting student-run continuous professional development (CPD) activities.
As a pre-registration pharmacist, I had to work towards registration as a pharmacist which is determined by the competencies we achieve throughout the year and the professional registration exam at the end of the training year. Initially, I felt totally out of depth. I was constantly bombarded with new information and work procedures, and just when I familiarised myself with one hospital’s procedure, it was time to move on to another hospital. However, the year was also a rewarding one. As I did a split placement between a mental health specialist hospital and a teaching hospital, I was given the opportunity to learn how to deal with patients of very different profiles and how two very different trusts functioned. Not only did I learn a lot about hospital pharmacy, our roles and responsibilities; I also secured resident pharmacist position with Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH).
Indeed, over the last five years I had my own ups and downs but I believe it only made me a better person. If I had the choice to go back in time, I would do the exact same thing again.
Vivian completed her postgraduate pharmacy diploma (PGDip) whilst working as a resident pharmacist and a clinical rotational pharmacist
in Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (CUH). She is now working at Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (RMS), the world-leading specialist cancer hospital, as an oncology specialist pharmacist.
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