Shining Star: Ms Sandra Xu Jialun
by PSS Community Chapter
Shining Star is a PSS initiative that features individuals who embody the exceptional qualities of a community pharmacist. In this issue, we shine the spotlight on Ms Sandra Xu from National Healthcare Group Pharmacy.
“Hello! I am Sandra Xu, a senior clinical pharmacist from National Healthcare Group Pharmacy
as well as a member of the National Medication Information Leaflet workgroup.
Read on to find out more about me.
What important skills should a community pharmacist be equipped with?
Empathy is a big part of the job, especially in the community where I think we frequently see our patients again and again.
Understanding what makes your patients tick, often helps to get the job done better and make it more enjoyable for both yourself and the patient.
What is the most memorable moment in your pharmacy career?
Working in the community setting means that I frequently see some repeated patients and I remember that when I had my first encounter with this particular patient, he proved to be quite a challenge and was often quite rowdy in the clinic.
Through the years of interacting with him, I finally achieved a breakthrough one day with him and he was really appreciative of how my pharmacy team and I helped him manage his complicated medication regime. I think that was the moment I felt where the many years of trying to understand him finally worked!
What motivated you to stay in your practice? How do you harmonise work and family?
There are some patients that share their appreciation for our role in the health management and thank us for our time, advice and expertise. Though they don’t come along very often, but I find that these are the small ways that motivate me to carry on in my practice. When patients whom I regularly see come in for minor ailment advice, they often share with me their life stories and whether certain conditions have improved with our help and this gives me some positive energy to carry on!
Balancing work, social life and family is sometimes a challenge, but I think proper planning and decompressing often, even planning relaxation time in, will help one to focus better on the job. Which eventually would mean, less spilling over of work into rest time.
What is one misconception about community pharmacists that you hope to correct?
We are not vending machines!
Some patients expect us to dish out certain medications without proper evaluation and it does go against our professionalism.
Final Advice:
“As the most accessible healthcare professional to the public, we have our very niche role to play in the healthcare system. This profession may seem a tad unappreciated sometimes, but it doesn’t take the whole world to understand the worth. What’s important is you understand why you need to do what you need to do. As someone once told me, if we don’t ask about the patient’s medications, who will?”
