Working life: Eimear McGuinness, pharmacist

7am

Sat, 26 Mar, 2016 - 00:00

I’m not really a morning person so you won’t find me going for a run or heading to the gym before work.

8.30am

We open early and I spend the first half hour or so following up queries with GPs from the previous day, from clarifying doses to checking interactions between current and new medications.

It’s a key time of day to prepare for customers — we launched an online appointments diary a couple of months ago, going live on www.Boots.ie this week, so we can plan ahead for those who will be coming in to avail of our different services.

9.30am

A customer comes in concerned about a throat infection so we offer him our new Sore Throat Test and Treat Service.

We assess him first to rule out any symptoms requiring immediate referral to a GP.

If eligible I carry out a quick throat swab which tests for Strep A, the most common cause of bacterial throat infections.

There’s no Strep A present, so there’s no need for an antibiotic and I recommend an over-the-counter remedy.

11am

A woman comes in by appointment for a food intolerance test and we take a small blood sample which is sent for analysis to the Fitzwilliam Food Clinic in Dublin.

12 noon

There has been big demand for our winter flu vaccine service over the past few months and today is no exception. It’s not just elderly people, we’ve had a lot of pregnant women in too.

12.30pm

I take lunch — it’s a quiet time.

2pm

We got a lot of walk-in prescriptions throughout the day. We also have a repeat prescription service where we notify customers in advance, via text if requested, that their prescription is due for renewal and it is ready for them to collect.

3pm

There are requests for other services throughout the afternoon. We offer a diabetes risk assessment where we measure BMI and waist circumference and estimate the customer’s risk of diabetes. We make a GP referral where appropriate.

5.30pm

I head home where a lot of my spare time is devoted to studying for a masters in clinical pharmacy. I’m from Northern Ireland so when I get a chance, I go home.

* Eimear McGuinness is a pharmacist with Boots, Cork