Caroline Clarke — an “immense contribution to pharmacy”

I am writing to acknowledge the 42-year career span of my colleague, Caroline Clarke, who is soon to retire. I hope that this letter will inspire other members of our profession to attain the same dedication irrespective of what stage of their career they are at. She has never sought the limelight but her contribution to the profession of pharmacy has been immense.

She has been a dedicated pharmacist with over 25 years’ experience in community pharmacy including some experience as a hospital bank pharmacist, and 15 years as a practice-based pharmacist, long before this was identified as an area where pharmacists’ input could be so beneficial.

She was in one of the first cohorts of supplementary prescribers, converting to independent prescriber status as soon as the law allowed. She qualified as a pharmacist with special interest in elderly care in 2011, having worked as an older persons’ specialist pharmacist since December 2009.

She once told me that, from the age of 13, she desperately wanted a career as a pharmacist and she never took this privilege for granted. She has always strived to give something back to the profession that she has loved so dearly by mentoring and coaching young colleagues throughout their careers, and giving freely of her time and knowledge whenever help was needed.

In the early part of her career she worked as vice chairman, then as treasurer and ultimately as chairman of the Stourbridge branch of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. She was the branch representative at a number of Royal Pharmaceutical Society annual meetings at Lambeth.

She has worked tirelessly for her profession and she has been a very inspirational figure in Dudley and the surrounding area. I think we could all learn a lot from her passion and diligence, and she will be sorely missed by all her colleagues and patients alike. I feel privileged to have worked with her.

Janine Barnes

Neurology Specialist Pharmacist