The Pharmacy Game Newsletter

Who are you?

Hi, my name is Shivam and I’m a recently qualified pre-registration pharmacist from the University of Bath! I am currently completing my pre-registration training year in a community pharmacy serving my local community in Greater London. I enjoy pharmacy as it gives me the chance to interact with patients on a daily basis and have meaningful impacts upon their health. Every day and every patient is different!

If you could choose between conventional education and the Pharmacy Game what would be your preference and why?

The University of Bath has a good mix of both lectures and practical work. The Pharmacy Game was by far the most interesting and effective method of practical teaching in my opinion. In contrast to other aspects of the course, GIMMICS stood out due to the amount of autonomy it gave us – as the Responsible Pharmacist, you really did feel responsible for every medicine that left your pharmacy.

What was most useful during the Pharmacy Game?

The level of realism was one of the most useful aspects of the Pharmacy Game. Being able to set the layout of your own store, choose which services to offer and having your own patient base with its own unique demographic added to the experience. As a result of this, you had to learn how to take these factors into account whenever you made a decision. Honing these complex decision-making skills is not something easily taught through conventional education and is something I feel the Pharmacy Game did well. Additionally, you could see the real-time consequences of any decisions made in a safe environment without the risk of patient harm. 

Which skills did you improve during the game?

Personally, the biggest skill I developed was my ability to lead and work within a team. Having to complete your days’ worth of prescriptions whilst also serving customers and completing specific daily assignments was a challenge (at first!). This required good teamwork between me and my peers as well as decisive leadership from the days’ elected Responsible Pharmacist. Interacting with patients also did wonders for my patient manner and confidence. Now working in the community, I can appreciate how useful and formative these experiences from the Pharmacy Game were. 

Would you like to share some interesting moments you remember while playing the game?

One of the most memorable moments from the Pharmacy Game was pitching a business proposal to our mock local government in order to receive funding for our proposed service. I found the concepts delt with such as generating a financial plan or marketing strategy very different from what I was used to before. Overall, I very much enjoyed my experience and it’s my hope to those reading this that you get the opportunity to complete this unique learning experience as well. 

-Shiv