I started my journey in pharmacy a few years ago, and as time has passed, I’ve come to realise that pharmacy is a unique profession at the intersection of many different fields. We're involved in healthcare, but we may end up running a business. We learn about the human body and how to manufacture medicines. We can be part of a big team, but we also need to work independently. We’re medicines experts with an encyclopaedic knowledge of drugs and how they work. And we are now taking on a growing array of new roles, including prescribing, as the profession continues to develop. It has been a very interesting and varied career! I believe that as Christians, we have a valuable contribution to make in this field.
Working for the wellbeing of creation
As pharmacy students who are Christians we see our studies from a unique perspective. We can speak clearly about the value of every person, made in God’s image. We can provide genuine care to patients who perhaps feel overlooked in an overstretched healthcare system, taking the time to listen to the people that we encounter, and agree the most effective treatment for them. Older people generally take more medicines, so pharmacists regularly engage with those who are at their weakest and most vulnerable, and often lonely. To be able to provide help and reassurance is valuable and very rewarding. This does not necessarily look different to the care provided by those around us, but as Christians we have a strong foundation for this in the Bible and in our Christian history. So much of the healthcare system in this country has its roots in our Christian heritage, as followers of Jesus sought to relieve the suffering and provide care to those in need.
Some people are accessing medicines because of poor choices that they've made in their lives. We often see patients who have become dependent upon substances and provide support for them. We can empathise with them as we know that we too are broken. We have also made many wrong choices, and it is only by God’s mercy that we now have hope in Christ.
It is a profession that is always changing as medicines develop and can treat more conditions. Christians can be part of the conversation to help provide balance and speak for the dignity of every person. New innovations may give greater capability, but sometimes there needs to be caution. We can engage with the ethical issues around the beginning and end of life and gender with love and compassion, knowing that each person is precious in the sight of God.
Worshipping the God we work for
We learn about the human body, and we see the intricacy and beauty of the creation that God has designed. We spend hours trying to learn and understand how the body works and how medicines can help when things go wrong.
As we do this, we see that even though medicine’s design is developing, human design is very clumsy in comparison to what our God has created. For several common drugs, the mode of action is still unclear. There is so much that we don't understand in the human body. We see the great contrast between human creativity and the design of our wonderful Creator.
In this profession we often engage with people who are suffering. The medicines we dispense may provide help and relief of pain, but we are restricted and often feel the limitations of what medicine can do. In experiencing these limitations we can worship the God who is unlimited and able to completely heal and transform. I have often spent time with people who have chronic or degenerative illnesses and take several medicines to try and manage their symptoms. It can be a struggle to optimise their medication and control their conditions and I am confronted by the inadequacy of the medicines that we have to resolve these issues. When we read of Jesus healing people by a word, a touch, the contrast is clear! We can turn in worship to our God, and in prayer for His help in our weakness
Witnessing to the world
In pharmacy, we are constantly reminded of our broken world. We are surrounded by people who are unwell, and we frequently encounter death. It is often in these times that I have had opportunities to share with colleagues about the hope that I have in Jesus that goes beyond death. I particularly remember working in a busy pharmacy one Easter Saturday. We had just been notified that one regular user of the pharmacy had died, and this led to my colleague sharing about the death of her husband a couple of years previously. The flow of customers had slowed down, so I was able to share what Christians celebrate at Easter and the hope in a Saviour who rose from the dead! She has since joined an event at my church and continues to ask questions about my faith.
The environment we work in is often stressful and patients can make unreasonable demands. As we seek to respond with grace and compassion, showing kindness even when we meet rudeness and anger, again we can show and speak of our Saviour, the one who does not treat us as we deserve, but instead forgives and died to save us. It is a profession that places a high value on correctness, and I don’t always get it right. But often it is in the open admission of my mistakes without defensiveness that I can share something of the freedom I have in Jesus. I am accepted in him, not because I get things right, but because of his grace.
Conclusion
Studying pharmacy isn’t always easy, there is a lot to learn and sometimes it can feel almost impossible that you’ll ever remember everything you need to! But as you study, take time to wonder and worship our amazing Creator, looking forward to a career where you can express a genuine care even for those that seem overlooked, and find opportunities to share about the one who alone can provide lasting hope and healing.
Reflect and discuss
Think: Think back over what you have studied so far in your degree. Where have you seen God's fingerprints? Where have ideas presented to you challenged what you believed to be true?
Live: What do you think your coursemates would know about what is important to you from the way you live? Is there anything you want to change here?
Speak: Are there topics in your subject that are closer to talking about your outlook on life, God or the gospel? Pray for people on your course and for opportunities to share about Jesus with them this term.
Taking it further
- Christian Medical Fellowship - https://www.cmf.org.uk/
- Christians in Pharmacy - https://www.christiansinpharmacy.co.uk/
- Christians in Science - https://www.cis.org.uk/