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As I have mentioned on this website previously, I have had a couple of unfavourable experiences working in pharmacies where I was pressured into trying to sell unnecessary, often useless and potentially harmful 'complementary medicines' to pharmacy customers, who subsequently believed what I was telling them because they assumed that pharmacies are places of reliable health care advice.
In previous articles, I suggested that perhaps these were isolated experiences, so out of curiosity I recently decided to see what kind of criteria pharmacies are looking for when hiring pharmacy assistant staff.
Here's what I found:
* Ozepharmacy at Penrith and Hornsby are looking for "someone who has experience in or a passion for, vitamins or natural therapies" to help them sell their "Vitamins, homeopathic remedies, aroma therapy, weight loss, arthritis, mens/womens health, protein supplements and practitioner only ranges".
* Pulse Pharmacy at Bondi Junction and Rockdale are specifically looking for a Naturopath to "manage all aspects of vitamins and natural therapies within the pharmacy"
* Newtons Pharmacy in the city are apparently "specialising in complementary medicine" and are looking for someone with previous experience in "alternative health therapies including western herbalism, aromatherapy, iridology, naturopathy or nutrition" (presumably not real nutrition).
* Pharmacies outside of Sydney are also involved, for example, Good Price Pharmacy Warehouse in Slacks Creek Brisbane are looking for a "Naturopath/ vitamin consultant" (apparently so urgently they placed two advertisements, (see here and here) one which doesn’t specify their store name or location) whilst Carousel Pharmacy in Perth are looking for an enthusiastic Naturopath.
* If however you are an unqualified person looking to make people think you're some kind of health care professional, you can always join the Tony Ferguson crew to work either in one of their 'weightloss and wellbeing centres' or in a Terry White outlet. For example, the Belconnen ACT store are looking for a "Weight Management Practitioner", but don't let the word 'practitioner' turn you off if you have no qualifications - nor the fact that you will be required to "counsel and educate [the] customers on appropriate diets (well, so long as its compliant with the restrictive Ferguson fad), menu planning and preparation to maintain and enhance optimum health". The only thing you must have are "strong selling skills", a "mature outlook and a 'can do' attitude". (Phew, I thought they might have been looking for someone with a degree).
* The Tony Ferguson Weightloss and Wellbeing Centre in Bondi and Maroborough are also looking for "weight loss consultants" to be "counselling clients in the control of their weight," but fortunately, experience is not essential, however "prior nutritional, dietetic or vitamin training will be advantageous".
That doesn't mean you need to actually be a nutritionist or dietitian, in fact, all you really need to be is a "people person".
* Victorians will be excited to learn that the Tony Ferguson Weightloss and Wellbeing Centre in Ballarat is also looking for Naturopaths and even "Nutritionalists" to become a weight loss consultant. (I'm not sure if the latter term means a cross between a nutritionist and a journalist, or they really have so little idea what they are talking about they just can't even spell nutritionist).
Even if you’re not a naturopath or a confused and illiterate nutritionist, they are also taking "people who have a passion for health"
* Likewise, the Tony Ferguson crew in Casurina need a weight loss consultant, and whilst a background in "nutrition, vitamins or pharmacy" would be "advantageous", it's "not essential", just so long as you "enjoy interacting with the public"
And I thought that my experiences were the only ones that involved pharmacies trying to exploit customers by getting their staff to push useless healthcare products.......
by Stuart J. Adams
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