LloydsPharmacy Colleague Catch Up with Stephen Forsythe

We talk to Stephen Forsythe, Supervising Pharmacist at LloydsPharmacy to learn more about her experiences as a member of the team for the last 15 years.

How long have you worked in LloydsPharmacy?

15 years

What’s your role?

Supervising Pharmacist

What do you like about working in LloydsPharmacy?

The people, the colleagues I work with are great.

Why did you choose Pharmacy?

Pharmacy is a vocation which offers a diverse range of opportunities. I choose the community pharmacy path as I enjoy helping and interacting with patients. I like being around people.

Why choose LloydsPharmacy over other pharmacies?

I sort of fell into working for LloydsPharmacy. I was a locum and the position came up and it suited me to have regular work and a stable income, and hey 15 years later I'm still with LloydsPharmacy.

What areas of Pharmacy interest you?

The area that is most interesting to me is counselling of patients. I feel I can impact the health and safety of the patient strongly by engaging with them and discussing their medication and their medical conditions. Sometimes the feedback I get from the patient can allow me to address how I can treat other patients with a similar condition. So, talking to patients can teach you a lot.

If you could do something different what would it be?

I suppose I would be in a band. I used to be very good on the drums and was in a band while at secondary school. I used to love beating the life out of the skins.

What do you love about being a Technician/a Pharmacist/a student in LloydsPharmacy?

Working for LloydsPharmacy encompasses so many different parts of the business, everything from cosmetic and skin care, to vitamins, OTC and obviously prescriptions. You can learn so much by surrounding yourself with a company that basically has experts in all these fields.  You have opportunities to learn on the job and from pharmacy courses organised by leading manufactures via LloydsPharmacy support colleagues.

Tell us one thing about yourself that we may not already know?

I have two rabbits called Cookie and Alfie (well they belong to my daughter). They are pretty cute little miniature loop ear rabbits and they have a great calming effect on the dynamics of our family.

What has LloydsPharmacy changed about you as an employee?

You meet colleagues with different life experiences, and different ways of approaching problems, or accessing information. When I meet new colleagues I take that opportunity to learn and, from that, grow.

What excites you about your role?

I guess with COVID-19 lots of new innovating measures are taking place especially online. I am looking forward to seeing how this area progress's over the coming years.