Local pharmacists champion new jobs campaign

The opportunities, which will see vacancies filled as well as new roles created in response to the development of new pharmacy services, will include up to 560 community, hospital and general practice pharmacists and over 600 pharmacy technicians.

Niamh Martin from Newtownabbey graduated from Queen’s University Belfast and was awarded the Pharmacy Forum NI Gold Medal Prize 2020 for overall distinction in pharmacy. She works as a pre-registration hospital pharmacist.

She said: “As I prepare to complete my pre-registration year and become fully qualified, it’s brilliant to see an increase in recruitment of existing roles and also the emergence of new roles which I can apply for in the future.

“I decided to study in Northern Ireland as there are leading universities on our doorstep. The reason I chose to stay here to pursue my career is because the pharmacy sector is continually growing here and there are new roles emerging all the time.”

Having embedded herself within the pharmacy sector in Northern Ireland throughout her studies and now her career, Niamh expressed the benefits of the small and close-knit community here.

She added: “During my degree we undertook a lot of clinical placements. I was really grateful to discover welcoming senior colleagues who I could always ask for help. It has been easy to network and make contacts who are great for support and advice on future career progression.”

Niamh features on the campaign alongside mother and son Karen and Mark Briers, who work as pharmacists in GP practices in north Belfast and east Antrim. Karen previously spent 20 years working as a community pharmacist.

Karen said: “My role as a pharmacist across the last 30 years has changed beyond recognition, and it is exciting to see the development of new roles and the growing and evolving demand for pharmacists.

“Pharmacy has become so much busier over the years and pharmacy teams are now dispensing more medicines than ever, as well as providing a wide range of new services to benefit the health of their communities.”

Having been Vice Chair of the Pharmacy Forum NI, as well as Chair of its Policy and Practice Committee, Karen has seen first-hand how the forum has responded to the ever-evolving requirement of pharmacy services.

She explained: “There are more opportunities for careers in all sectors of pharmacy in Northern Ireland and each sector continues to work extremely hard to improve and align the delivery of a great service to every single patient requiring pharmacy input in Northern Ireland.

“The Pharmacy Futures NI campaign is particularly important so that we can continue to attract young pharmacists to a career in Northern Ireland, who will become our future pharmacy leaders and will continue to drive our profession forwards.”

Karen’s son Mark – who qualified in 2016 having opted to remain in Northern Ireland to study – credited his mother’s passion for her job in pushing him to follow in her footsteps.

He said: “The satisfaction my mum felt from being a pharmacist is what really inspired me to pursue a career in this field, and for me, it was an obvious choice to commit to studying and working in Northern Ireland.

“I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy a lot of travelling in the past, but the lifestyle in Northern Ireland is second to none.

“Pharmacy is expanding at such a rapid pace here as well, which is really exciting to be a part of, and with the current and upcoming opportunities available, I couldn’t imagine myself living or working anywhere else.

“Working as a pharmacist in a GP surgery gives me the opportunity to further develop my clinical skills. I am currently undertaking a prescribing qualification and training to run various clinics including those for asthma and diabetes.

“The recent announcement means that I will be able to continue this focus on expanding my clinical knowledge. I find working within a multidisciplinary team with other clinicians such as GPs and nurses fascinating.”

For more information about the Pharmacy Futures NI campaign, visit www.pharmacyfuturesni.com

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