Joanne Taylor opens up about starting her new job and the difficulties involved in accepting change

For those eagle-eyed readers who have noticed that my profile in this column has changed and guessed that I’ve started a new job – you’re correct!

I was in my last job for nearly eight years and although the role gave me a great deal of satisfaction, I missed the skills that I had learnt as a student pharmacy technician and I wanted to develop these ‘hands on’ skills once again, especially as community pharmacy develops its role within patient-centred care.

This has been no mean feat for me. As I’ve mentioned previously, I am not good with change, but I do acknowledge that it is a necessary part of career development. Whether the change is starting a new job or a significant change in your usual workplace, it impacts on how you feel about yourself and it’s important to have coping strategies that enable you to make the change positive, even if there are uncertainties and insecurities. 

What’s more, the funding cuts are causing a great deal of unpredictability and change, and businesses are under pressure from patients, competitors and the Government. So how do we cope with the changes ahead, and what can we do to make them less stressful?

Personally, my flaw with adapting to change is that I think about how good pharmacy used to be, but I am aware that this holds me back. I mustn’t think of how things used to be when I first qualified. As both pharmacy and the NHS have changed significantly over the years, we cannot expect things to be the same now. I also need to remember that some of my best opportunities have happened when I was able to open up to change.

We all need to accept that our workplace will have changes ahead. It may be that we are asked to go to a different location or department, or we may need to do work that we may not be trained for. But when we accept this, there is nothing to hold us back. Learning to accept a change means that we can begin to adapt more quickly. Acceptance gives our minds the certainty we often desire during times of upheaval and insecurity.

Sometimes, change can make a person feel overwhelmed and even a little misplaced, so it’s important to have a focus and to control our own actions. It can take time to adapt to a new way of working, new colleagues or different ways of doing things. But a positive attitude will always help. 

That said, there will be highs and lows which are out of our control. Uncertain situations can often cause anxiety because we feel as though we have no control. But the truth is, the only things we can control in a changing workplace are our own actions and mindset, and we need to accept that.

Have a think about how you adapt to and manage change. Is there somebody new in your workplace who needs a helping hand to fit in with the team and learn the processes? Ask your manager about a mentoring or buddy scheme to help colleagues adapt to change and remember – change is positive, so embrace it and take control.

Joanne is a registered pharmacy technician and ACPT. She is national secretary for the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK), and is a member of the Medicines Rebalancing Programme Board at the Department of Health as well as TM’s editorial advisory panel.