First Day of Work

Only one word to describe it...TIRING.

The day began with the lightning streaking the sky and pitterpatter of raindrops hitting my windowpane. It was a perfect morning to sleep in. But of course, I was too nervous and I woke up almost 1 hour before my alarm went off. After the daily ritual of preening and grooming, I left for the headquarters.

They spent about 2 hours giving us lectures about the company and then a little tour around their office. It kind of dawned upon me that this is an early recruitment process! Already we are mingling with the top people in the management and getting ourselves acquainted with the who's who in the field. No wonder my lecturer kept saying that everyone will end up knowing everyone else. Nothing really interesting here, except that some of my classmates seemed to have transformed and looked so much more prefessional.

After lunch, a classmate and myself went down to the pharmacy and got ourselves acquainted with my pharmacist. We didn't really do much except to spend the next 3 hours getting to know the store layout as well as the products lined on the shelf. My first "test" came not-so-subtly, with my preceptor handing me a bottle of deodorant and paracetamol syrup. And I went up and down the aisle looking for the correct shelf despite having a rough idea of where the product should be located. I think I just passed this test quite mediocrely. This preceptor of mine have this innate ability to make you feel like a fool most of the time. But it's good training I reckon.

The place I work in has like almost 80% expatriates. And with my preceptor speaking with an American accent, I felt like I'm transported to US once again. Muahaha.

Well, the things I learnt today include:
1. Knowing how the products are shelved according to their categories.
2. How a pharmacist counsels a patient while dispensing.
3. How to ask pertinent and relevent (and not silly!) questions.
4. The hours of first shift and second shift.
5. Watching and observing patients with their prescriptions go to my pharmacist. Some of them are very knowledgable! So never underestimate patients! :)

And one last thing, I should remember to bring water bottle to work and try not to wear heels. My legs are aching like mad cos of the excessive standing. I need a portable chair too.