Natalie Burgin manages a highly successful weight management service at Pharmacy+Health’s Bridlington branch. Each month she gets to see patients reducing their waistlines, blood pressure and risk of diabetes, while improving their physical and mental health. But perhaps the biggest transformation for Natalie is the one she’s seen in her own career since the pharmacy switched to dispensing with HubRx…
“I enjoy what my job has turned into,” says Natalie whose career in pharmacy began as a teenage trainee more than 30 years ago.
During that time Natalie has taken up many roles across community pharmacy. From an owner running her own late night pharmacy business, to an area manager, an accuracy checking technician and now as a clinical service lead.
But she admits she hasn’t always been able to get the career satisfaction she’s wanted in every one of these roles.
No time for patients
“As an accuracy checking technician I was standing checking prescriptions all day. It was repetitive”, says Natalie.
“I was itching to spend more time with patients. I wanted to get out and about within the community. To be more involved in services. But I just never had the time,” she says.
That all changed when the pharmacy made the decision to automate it’s repeat dispensing through HubRx.
Career first
“I was nervous. I’d never worked in a pharmacy that had used a dispensing hub before,” adds Natalie.
But after visiting the hub and seeing just how much of her time could be freed up for patient care and personal career growth, Natalie says those nerves soon disappeared.
“I couldn’t go back to how it was before. I love services and spending time helping patients, and it’s allowed me to concentrate on that.”
Big transformations
Today, rather than carrying out repetitive tasks behind the counter Natalie spends time with patients, both in the pharmacy and out within the community.
Her weight management clinic which she runs under a PGD across three community pharmacies sees on average 30 to 35 patients each month – although sometimes that increases to as many as 50.
“It just made sense to train to offer the weight management service. Patients had been coming into our pharmacy for a while asking for the it, but we never had the time or resources to make it work before.”
Natalie adds that the service isn’t just about weight loss either. For her it’s about going further to help patients positively change their physical and mental health and make better lifestyle choices.
“We go that extra mile for patients. We see them every month – weekly if they want to. We provide advice on nutrition, exercise – you name it. And we run a WhatsApp group.
“We’ve had so many successes stories. The service’s popularity has really grown through word of mouth.”
Community spirit
A huge advocate for taking pharmacy into the community, Natalie also tries to run at least two pop-up events each month.
“Next month we’re going to a caravan club to offer health checks, and we’ve also got a slot at a charity drop-in café.
“Some patients will walk right into a pharmacy for care, but others you need to go to them – especially to raise awareness about the importance of blood pressure checks.”
Everyone wins
Since the branch began using HubRx, Natalie has also been able to train to provide the adult ear service and wax removal. Something which she admits can make people a touch squeamish when she tells them, but that she finds “weirdly satisfying”.She’s also recently successfully completed a course in phlebotomy and hopes to bring blood pressure tests to Bridlington soon.
What’s clear is that being able to develop her skills while helping her community achieve better health outcomes has made Natalie’s role not only more rewarding, but also more profitable for the pharmacy.
