When Fiona Burns qualified as a pharmacist in 2004 she was full of excitement and hope about her career ahead. “I was sold the dream at university,” she says. “Everyone was talking about how the role of the pharmacist was set to radically change – becoming more clinical – and that community pharmacy was set to evolve.”
But that promised change came at a frustratingly slow pace for Fiona. That was until her pharmacy in Leeds invested in her clinical talents and freed her from days of seemingly endless dispensing.
Desperately seeking more
“I’d grown to hate my job. Nothing about managing a pharmacy felt enjoyable anymore.
“I’d reached the point where I’d had enough and that something needed to change. I desperately wanted to spend more time with patients and use my clinical skills.”
Keen to gain the job fulfilment she felt was lacking from pharmacy, in 2008 she trained to become an independent prescriber.
“I couldn’t use my skills as a prescriber in community pharmacy back then, so I took a second role with a surgery. I needed to be more clinical and I wanted to enjoy being a pharmacist again.”
Little did Fiona know then that becoming an independent prescriber would mark a huge turning point in her career.
“I didn’t think the career that I have today – that I absolutely love – was ever going to be possible in community pharmacy.”
From hate to love
Fast-forward and two things happened that contributed to Fiona’s career taking a huge U-turn. Firstly, the pandemic hit – something Fiona says felt like a sea-change in how patients viewed pharmacy and its clinical expertise.
And secondly, the pharmacy she worked for was bought by new owners.
“That’s when my career in community pharmacy really started to get exciting,” she says.
“The new owners had big plans. Their vision was that we would become truly clinical.
Dispensing would be automated through HubRx. The pharmacies would be kitted out with all the tools we needed to deliver the best patient care, and staff would be encouraged to develop through training.
“They wanted pharmacists to not just use the clinical skills they already had, they wanted them to expand what they could do too.”
After years of feeling her clinical skill – especially her training as an independent prescriber – were going to waste in community pharmacy, Fiona could clearly see a path to building the career she had always hoped for, and more.
“I never imagined I could take being an independent prescriber this far in community pharmacy.”
Taking the lead
Fiona is now the lead independent prescriber and designated prescribing practitioner at Pharmacy+Health.
Rather than being bored and bogged down in dispensing, her days deliver the variety and clinical focus she desperately wanted.
“I love being a pharmacist now. I’ve been given the time and the support I need to continue learning, growing and helping patients on a much deeper level.”
Fiona, from Pharmacy+Health in Alwoodley, was part of the NHS Independent Prescribing in Community Pharmacy Pathfinder Programme.
“By expanding my IP skills I can treat patients with more complicated conditions. It’s given me much more room to grow.
“There’s something special about prescribing in community pharmacy,” she adds. “We know our patients very well. The care we can deliver can be much more personal and because we’re so accessible, we’re able to take pressure off primary and secondary care.”
And for Fiona that also includes a close working relationship with the neighbouring GP practice, offering prescribing support and together training new prescribers.
Inspiring new talent
Fiona is not only building a career she feels passionate about. She’s also supporting the next generation of independent prescribers.
To date she’s trained around 30 independent prescribers both within the Pharmacy+Health business and in partnership with the GP practice.
“Being part of training independent prescribers is very rewarding. I want to spread the enthusiasm and the passion I now have for pharmacy.
“I was once so fed up and frustrated in pharmacy. It’s unbelievable how much that’s changed.”
