糖心原创

School of Pharmacy graduate Zhi Xuan Chong was recently named ‘Pre-Reg Student of the Year’ by Numark, recognising the success of her health promotion project ‘Food for a Healthy Heart’. Zhi Xuan graduated from the MPharm programme at Nottingham in 2011, and undertook her pre-registration training at Stamford Bridge Pharmacy (Yorcare Ltd) in York.

Zhi was sponsored to attend Numark’s pre-registration training programme, of which one of the components was the design and implementation of a project promoting healthy living to the local community. Zhi’s project, ‘Food for a Healthy Heart’ aimed to provide in-depth advice and guidance to her community on developing and maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle. The project was conducted across four platforms to maximise impact: traditional window displays in the pharmacy, a healthy picnic for customers and staff, an in-store presentation and via social media. Zhi worked with the local community to promote the project as widely as possible, advertising in local businesses and via free magazines. This multi-pronged approach was designed to target a wide age-range of local residents and impressed the judges at Numark, who awarded Zhi with title of ‘Pre-Reg Student of the Year’, alongside a £500 prize.

Zhi was delighted with her award, and credited her time at the School of Pharmacy with preparing her for the demands of the project.

‘I never thought I would win the project award even after being shortlisted. I was overwhelmed when they called my name. I have to say that I definitely learnt skills in project planning and writing-up at University. At Nottingham we were given very challenging projects and reports and to achieve good marks, we had to plan such projects (and particularly the final writing-up) extremely carefully. I am grateful for the grounding Nottingham provided me with going into my pre-reg year’.

Zhi has chosen to continue the success of ‘Food for a Healthy Heart’ via her Facebook group. The group is regularly updated with recipes, alongside tips promoting a healthy lifestyle. It also acts as a forum for members to discuss their own healthy eating experiences and ideas.