Medicines counter assistant Sharon Evans from Knights pharmacy in Rubery, Worcestershire, was named winner of the Counter Intelligence Award, thanks to the staggering amount of knowledge she has accrued in just two years in the job

Sharon’s impressive training credentials to date include becoming a healthy living champion, completing courses on alcohol awareness, healthy eating and active living and qualifying to carry out NHS health checks. In addition, she has recently become a stop smoking advisor, as well as a Dementia Friend. She says that she enjoys every aspect of her role, including “working on the counter and meeting the public” and adds that even though “there’s quite a lot of pressure, I think I thrive on it”.

Sharon was encouraged to enter the award by her pharmacist, who is very pleased by everything she has achieved in just two years. Her colleague Myra Gauntlett was also recognised at the event, being highly commended in the Technician of the Year Award category, and the pair were recently featured in two local newspapers.

Sharon stumbled across a career in pharmacy after being made redundant from her job as the manager of a shoe shop, and applied for her current position online. Although she was initially unaware of the amount of training she would eventually complete, Sharon chose to embrace the challenge and credits the support of her colleagues for her success. “It’s a great team and I’ve always had them as a back-up,” she says. “I really love my job. I would never go back into any other area of retail.”

Recently, Sharon had the opportunity to put her training into practice when a longsuffering customer asked her to recommend a treatment for his hay fever. Thanks to her extensive training, she was able to recommend an appropriate product, as well as offer advice on how to use it to effectively manage his symptoms.

Leyla Hannbeck, head of pharmacy services at the NPA, was impressed by the way in which Sharon discussed the range of products available to “allow the patient to make an informed choice and also give him extra information about his condition.” 

As for the future, Sharon has every intention of undertaking further training so that she is “able to help more people,” insisting that “healthy living training is ongoing and there are many different aspects.”

Commenting on Sharon’s success, Helen Darracott, director of legal & regulatory affairs at the PAGB, added: “Sharon has achieved a lot in only two years. She clearly loves her job and is willing not only to undertake training but also to put it into practice to become a true self care champion.”