Mxolisi Mkhwanazi

• Provided customer service during high volume periods and managing multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Worked as locum pharmacy student (post-basic pharmacist assistant) at a number of pharmacies, especially MediPost Pharmacy through the Immploy Recruitment Agency.
• I got oriented with the vastly used UNISOLV dispensing software.
• Actively assisted in the restock of pharmacy shelves with supplies and medicines and ordered new items to avoid shortages.
• Assisted pharmacist by filling prescriptions for customers and responding to patient questions regarding prescription and medication-specific issues.
• Assisted pharmacists in compounding specialized medications for individual patient needs as required.
• Communicated instructions to patients or caregivers about proper use and storage of medication.
• Developed strong relationships with patients and healthcare providers through clear communication and empathy.
• Assisted in patient counseling on medications, appropriate dosage and potential side effects.
• Collaborated with pharmacists to resolve medication discrepancies, ensuring patient safety and wellbeing.
• Assisted in preparing prescription orders accurately and efficiently.
• Performed safety checks when dispensing medications to optimize patient safety.
• I was involved in Implementation procedures to reduce errors, improving overall pharmacy operations safety standards.
• Maintained a clean and organized work environment, adhering to strict hygiene protocols for optimal patient care.
• Counted and labeled prescriptions with correct item and quantity.

• The main objectives of B. Pharm III was to enable me as a B. Pharmacy 3rd year student to fulfill the 400 experiential learning hours as stipulated by the South African Pharmacy Council.
• Hands-on experience in checking validity of prescription.
• Interpretation of prescriptions.
• Orientation on prescription records and medication profile systems, medical aid schemes, levies, and associated administrative functions.
• Stock control and merchandising.
• Customer relations, counseling on OTC products.
• Legislation affecting pharmacy practice.
• Advertising and marketing of pharmaceutical products and services.

The 2nd year externship programme main objective was to expose students to private sector community/ retail pharmacy, equating in total 30 hours towards the hour required by the South African Pharmacy Council tasks included but not limited to:

• Sourcing products and pharmacy operations (process) information on scheduling status, active ingredients, excipient, prices.
• Gain experience on methods of inventory control.
• Interpreting prescriptions.
• Recording fridge temperatures, and receiving demonstration of the functionalities of the dispensing software.

SLiP (Service-learning in Pharmacy) is an authentic learning experience in which i, as a student can link the relevance of academic content to real-life, real-world context. One of the main purposes of SLiP is to evoke from students discourses about citizenship, social responsibility and accountability, making it a highly effective character strengthening/ transformational learning tool. Some of the public facilities i was placed in during the experimental learning of SLiP was Valhalla Park Community Clinic, TC Newman Community Day Centre, and Helderberg Hospital where tasks and objectives included:

• Supervised dispensing.
• Examining social interactions in health/ pharmaceutical service delivery.
• An interprofessional collaboration (IPC) facility project.
• Developing a Care Plan.
• Developing an OSDE.
• Conduct TB screening and CV risk assessment.
• Maternal and child health care.
• Motivational interviewing of patients.