In 2024, local pharmacies have become even more critical centres of communities in terms of their services and responsibilities than they have been for a very long time.
Whilst pharmacies have always been vital to keep people safe and healthy, the launch of schemes such as Pharmacy First enables community pharmacists to not only help people choose over-the-counter medications that could help with conditions but also prescribe medicines for seven different conditions.
This expanded role of a type that has not been seen to this extent for over a century, means that more pharmacists are needed now than ever before, and the sector is taking some rather unique methods to reach that approach.
Possibly the most unusual is Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust’s approach, which was to work with University Centre Grimsby in creating a video game designed to encourage recruitment.
The game itself, Pharmacy Rush, is a hectic arcade-style game where players either dispense prescriptions to tight time limits or manage the medication requirements for four patients on a virtual ward.
The concept came from the NLaG NHS Foundation Trust itself, with Pharmacy Business Service and Performance Manager Rachel Craven looking for innovative ways to recruit potential talent and have an interactive showcase for career fairs.
What is interesting about Pharmacy Rush is that it is so closely endorsed by the hospital, as there are a surprising number of medical computer games available with varying degrees of realism and professional endorsement, and there seems to be enough of a positive influence to inspire NHS trusts and industry experts to consider it as a recruitment tool.
Playing Medicine
Pharmacy Rush is neither the first computer game based around medicine, nor is it the first to have some degree of official endorsement, but it nevertheless is part of a relatively rare group of games that let people safely play with medication and pharmaceuticals.
Ignoring computer games where the human body is a key theme such as Salamander/Life Force or Microcosm, or games such as Trauma Centre or Dr Mario where medicine and pharmaceuticals are gameplay mechanics but used in such an outlandish way, there are still a lot of medical games out there.
Arguably the most famous ones with genuine endorsements are the four games published by Raya Systems designed to help patients keep going with their treatments.
Probably the single most famous of these is Captain Novolin, named after a brand of insulin and funded by manufacturer Novo Nordisk.
The game is an adventure game where the player plays a diabetic superhero who needs to avoid fast food-shaped aliens and pick up healthy diet options to keep their blood glucose levels within a safe zone, as well as alter insulin doses to match particular activity levels and answer questions based on diabetes.
It was remarkably well-received by young diabetic patients, not only for the educational content within it but also for inviting conversations about the condition.
Similar games such as Packy & Marlon (also about diabetes care), Bronkie the Bronchiasaurus (about asthma treatment) and Rex Ronan: Experimental Surgeon (about the dangers of cigarettes) were also published with similar success in controlled settings.
More recently, games such as the pharmaceutical management simulator Big Pharma, itself inspired by the hospital management simulator Theme Hospital, also provide some inspiration for people looking into entering the medical field.