When I was notified that I’ve been accepted by Nottingham I was OVERJOYED. But little did I know the first year in M.Pharm would be so challenging. The first semester started off fun. Getting to know my classmates and getting used to the lecturers’ accents were all new experiences. Within 6 months, I conquered several ‘firsts’. First time staying away from home, first time cooking on campus, first time working on lab reports overnight.. Everything was new and exciting. But after awhile, waking up at 7am to attend lectures became more of a chore and falling asleep during lectures became a norm to me. Besides that, lab reports kept pouring in. Each week I hurry to get my reports done. And strangely, no matter when I start working on them, whether it’s the day I receive the task or the day before the due date, I would always complete them in the nick of time. And each time I hand in a report, there will be another report due few days later. There was no longer the excitement of a fresh start, everything became a routine. Nevertheless, there are upsides to the pass year in M.Pharm, for instance, visitation to hospital pharmacies was an eye-opener. In a hospital, there is an extended protocol on how prescribed medications are processed before being dispensed. A small error at any stages of this process may be life-threatening to the patients. Pharmacists do play a big role in the medical society. So at the end of the day, I’m happy to be studying this course, because, it is rewarding to know that one day I’ll be working alongside medicine practitioners in saving lives and making people feel more comfortable. This is ultimately what I would like to do. All the hard work now is for a noble cost. J
Lee Chow Ern
