In your Curtin Universe, you can uncover opportunities you never expected

Ryan first stepped into a pharmacy placement as a first-year student. It was only for one day, and his role was to observe.

 “I was like, OK, I’m just here to watch and learn,” he says. There was little reason to feel nervous. He wasn’t expected to do much beyond watching and listening. Now in his fourth year, Ryan’s most recent placement looks very different, he has far greater responsibility and a much more hands-on role.

Curtin Pharmacy student Ryan Tan learning to compound medicines

At Pharmacy 777, Ryan’s been gaining experience in a busy community pharmacy. When the team was short-staffed, he was asked to help with compounding. Under the guidance of an experienced compounding pharmacist, he weighed ingredients and prepared medicines for patients, building on the practical skills he developed at Curtin.

“That’s when I really found that the training with Curtin came in handy,” he says.

Learning in purpose-built facilities

The difference came when he turned the theory behind medicine into practice and learned that there is a big difference between knowing something and being able to use it.

It was at Curtin’s Geoffrey Tucker Laboratory, where Ryan put what he’d learned in the classroom into practice and developed the basics of compounding: how to weigh ingredients accurately, keep measurements within an acceptable range, and prepare medicines such as creams, pessaries and capsules to the right consistency.

Inside Curtin’s Geoffrey Tucker Laboratory

It is detailed work. Ryan even compares it to cooking, although with a laugh he describes it as “very dangerous cooking”.

Because students first learn theory before moving on to practical and industry placements, by the time he reached Pharmacy 777, he was ready to put those skills to work.

Ryan made four compounds in half a day. He acknowledges he was not as fast as the experienced staff, but he was able to put his hand up, get involved.

He believes compounding will become an increasingly in-demand skill as the practice grows in community pharmacies.

“I think that’s it’s a very valuable skill nowadays because the compounding scene is starting to pick up pace in community pharmacies. Right now, pharmacy is in such a dynamic period,” he explains.

Find out where a degree in Pharmacy could take you.

Confidence comes in stages

Stepping into his most recent placement brought a mix of nerves and excitement.

“That was nerve-wracking, the first day,” he recalls.

This time, Ryan was expected to do more.

Looking back, he can see how his confidence has grown in stages.

“I think fourth year is when I really solidified my confidence through the placements,” he says.

“In the second and third years, we learned a lot of the foundations and the theory behind why things are the way they are.

“So, they build you up with that knowledge and then fourth year is where they send you out and give you practical scenarios where you must problem-solve with the knowledge you’ve gained in the previous years.“It really trains you to think on your feet.”

“I think it’s a very good system. You must start getting comfortable with the unknown and then working with what you have to figure out the best answer.

Ryan Tan gaining valuable industry training at Pharmacy 777

Taking learning to the workplace

Ryan made the most of Curtin’s industry connections, taking opportunities to work across different pharmacy settings. Each experience helped expand his skills, broaden his perspective and prepare him for life after graduation.

It’s a well-structured part of the course. The University arranges the placements and then supports students throughout their time in the workplace.

Ryan has completed placements at Albany Public Hospital and in a community pharmacy in Subiaco.

During his placements, a member of the Placement Team checks in regularly to offer support and see how he’s going, while a flexible workbook helps him get the most out of his experience by choosing modules that best fit his hands-on learning.

Ryan appreciates that support.

“I like the Placement Team, and I like the overall structure of the placements in the fourth year,” he says.

The workbook allows Ryan to discuss relevant modules with his supervising pharmacist.

“You can really learn from different systems and different owners and different supervising pharmacists.

“I feel like now I’m able to compare the systems in each different pharmacy and think about what I want to be able to implement into my own practice when I graduate,” he says.

Pharmacy I didn’t know existed

During his placement at Pharmacy 777, Ryan fitted compression stockings and worked alongside a wound care specialist supporting patients recovering from treatments such as skin cancer.

“It’s not really what you think pharmacy would specialise in,” he says.

The experience opened Ryan’s eyes to the many ways pharmacists can make a difference. He was drawn to pharmacy by a desire to help people, but his studies and placements have broadened his perspective of what that can look like.

His current ambition is to focus on aged-care pharmacy. He wants to review medicines for nursing home residents and work with other health professionals to improve their care. 

But when Ryan talks about this, he says he wants to move away from the formal language of “optimising health outcomes”. What he really wants is to help people feel comfortable towards the end of their lives. 

It is a caring and compassionate idea – and it speaks volumes about the kind of pharmacist Ryan hopes to become. 

“There’s a lot of good to be done there,” he says. 

Ryan Tan serving real customers

And then I asked him about the bin bag

Ryan’s learning experiences aren’t short of unexpected turns.

One of those moments involved a bin bag.

In Curtin’s Geoffrey Tucker Laboratory, students must wear long pants and covered shoes. Ryan learned that lesson the hard way when he arrived without them.

The consequence? Wear a black bin liner.

Not a small one either. A full-sized bin bag, carefully cut open and worn over his clothes as an alternative safety garment.

“It’s more embarrassing than you think,” Ryan says with a laugh.

The problem wasn’t just how it looked. Every step makes the bag rustle.

“Everyone turns their heads and they’ll know you’re there,” he says. “Even if they don’t see you, they’ll hear you coming!”

It was a memorable lesson in laboratory safety. Ryan now keeps a spare pair of track pants in his locker.

Still learning

The more Ryan learns about pharmacy, the more he realises there is still to discover.

Rather than discouraging him, that keeps him curious.

His advice to future students mirrors his approach to his own learning:

“Try and reflect after every shift, at your placement, at work, or in class. If you find that there’s something that you haven’t been able to understand, go home and reflect on it straight away,” he says.

If you’re inspired by Ryan’s story and interested in a dynamic career, discover how Curtin’s hands-on learning, industry experiences and real-world opportunities take you beyond the classroom.