2. Where did you work?
Volunteered with the Sheffield Teaching
Hospitals
-Pharmacy Messenger at Northern general
Hospital (in the pharmacy department and
around the hospital)
- Dementia Brearly Ward at Northern General
Hospital
-Cancer chemotherapy Day Case ward at Western
Park Hospital
3. What was my role?
Pharmacy Messenger
Collected medication placed in pigeonholes, some in the fridge, filled out form
and delivered them to wards around hospital.
I would find a nurse, healthcare assistant or doctor to communicate with to sign
for the medication in order to receive it for those patients.
Dementia- Brearly Ward
Did activities with patients such as painting, talk to patients and ask them if they
would like to participate in the activities for the day.
Cancer chemotherapy day case
Served food and drinks and had conversations with patients
4. Skills that were used and develop
Pharmacy Messenger
I learned on the go – the way around the hospital
Critically think which wards to deliver medication to first and the best route around Northern
General Hospital
Improved my communication skills having to approach many members of staff each rotation when
going to wards
Precision when filling out forms
Worked in a busy fast paced environment
Dementia Brearly Ward and Cancer Chemotherapy day case ward
- Strengthened my ability to work with well with other volunteers (over 50s volunteers)
-Improved my communication skills by talking to lots of different patients in the cancer and
dementia ward
-Learned more about how to communicate with dementia patients and about the condition
through training
5. Skills that will be useful to my career
Good Communication Skills
Ability to work well with other members of staff
in multidisciplinary teams- SBAR structure is used to communicate
information about a patient's condition - important for clear
communication by physician associates to other healthcare staff to be
precise and avoid mistakes
Critical thinker when discussing patient cases for diagnosis and
treatment
Work well under pressure
Friendly and caring – understanding of the patients condition
A good listener to patients
