IT’S been a long haul for Karen Wheelhouse over the last four years, as she’s juggled her pharmacy degree studies, mothering four children and working part time as an intensive care nurse to supplement the family income.
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Now all her efforts have come to fruition and she’s graduated with flying colours from the Charles Sturt University (CSU) pharmacy degree course and has taken on a pharmacy role at McCarthy’s Pharmacy in Orange.
When Mrs Wheelhouse spoke to the Central Western Daily in June 2010 just a few months into her degree, she admitted she was “flying by the seat of her pants” as she combined day-to-day household chores with study commitments, work and sharing the care of her four children with her husband Mick
She still has intern components in front of her before she is a qualified pharmacist, but expectsfamily life will be quite different in a couple of months time.
“I have started working here full-time to adjust to the way our life has changed but there’s light at the end of the tunnel now,” she said.
While she was studying full-time at CSU, Mrs Wheelhouse maintained a working roster of 40 hours a fortnight in the intensive care unit at Orange Hospital.
“It was difficult at times, because there were occasions when my husband Mick had to take the children to their various activities where we would normally go together,” she said.
“But it has been worth it to know that I have a career that will help secure their future.”
Mrs Wheelhouse is no stranger to McCarthy’s Pharmacy, as she was assigned to the pharmacy for workplace training as part of a Country Pharm scholarship during her university degree.
