A passion for training and helping parents manage their children’s health concerns made Sharon Edwards’ Awards entry stand out

A passion for training and helping parents manage their children’s health concerns made Sharon Edwards’s Awards entry stand out Sharon Edwards entered the world of pharmacy 18 years ago, when she saw an advert for a Saturday job. She says she hasn’t stopped learning since, working her way up the ladder to become an accuracy checking technician, and taking advantage of any training on offer. This doesn’t mean that Sharon has forgotten what to do on the counter: it’s quite the opposite in fact – she is so adept that she received a Highly Commended in the SMA Nutritions ponsored Infant Care Champion category.

In her entry, Sharon cited the case of a couple who asked to buy infant ibuprofen at her Rowlands Pharmacy in Flint, north Wales. Rather than just getting the product from the shelf and putting it through the till, Sharon asked what it was for. When they replied that their child needed it for chickenpox, she advised them that this wasn’t the best course of action and explained what they should do instead.

The judging panel felt that this was a prime example of the importance of CPD, particularly in a world where ill-judged health advice all too often circulates online. APTUK president Tess Fenn commented on Sharon’s “professional regard for patient safety” and commended her on being so up to date and able to apply this in everyday practice. Sharon says: “CPD can feel a bit of a bugbear sometimes, but then someone comes in and you remember something you can pass on because of something you read, and it all becomes worth it.”

Sharon is also the pharmacy’s first aider, health and safety officer and level 3 stop smoking advisor. And she takes her job seriously, not attending the Recognition of Excellence Awards ceremony because it would have left the pharmacy short-staffed. She is delighted at her success, however, saying: “You’re often so busy from the moment you walk in until the moment you leave that it’s easy to forget what you’ve done. So it is so nice to be recognised and feel like you make a difference.”