On April 4, BENU Aptieka hosted a large number of schoolchildren during the Shadow Day in Latvia. 15 BENU pharmacies opened their doors to shadows, welcoming 49 students, which shows a high level of interest for the pharmacist’ s profession and job opportunities at BENU Aptieka.
As part of the "Shadow Day" career education programme, BENU Aptieka pharmacists hosted shadows all over Latvia, in 11 different cities and towns. The pharmacists introduced the students to the daily work of a pharmacist in a pharmacy, the specifics of pharmacy work, told them about the storage of medicines, gave them the opportunity to try their hand at measuring blood pressure, pulse and temperature, introduced them to the range of goods and their categories in pharmacies, provided insight into the daily work of a pharmacist serving customers, as well as participating in and observing the individual process of drug production in a pharmacy. This year, the theme of the Shadow Day was related to artificial intelligence (AI), so the students were shown and told how much pharmacists contribute to healthcare and that it is almost impossible to replace the profession of pharmacist with AI, as individual approach, sincere communication, and emotional factor are very important in the pharmacist's work.
Strong interest in pharmacy
The participants of the Shadow Day showed a real enthusiasm and interest in pharmacy and the specifics of pharmacy work. Paula Ozoliņa, Tamro Baltics recruitment specialist, says that this year BENU Aptieka hosted shadows aged 12 years and older, who showed strong interest for the profession, and the youngest participants were also active in practical tasks. The pharmacists have also appreciated this interesting and useful experience. "Both the participants of the Shadow Day and the pharmacists are happy about this opportunity and BENU Aptieka pharmacists are definitely ready to welcome shadowing participants again next year," Paula Ozoliņa emphasised.
