Photo source: LOCOG

Having worked in sports medicine for 12 years, it's safe to say Mark Stuart has built up an impressive career in the field. Since volunteering as a pharmacist for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Mr Stuart has gone on to work at the 2002 Commonwealth games, the Athens 2004 Olympics, the Torino Winter Olympics in 2006 and the 2008 Beijing games.

And Mr Stuart now works in what could be one of the most coveted jobs in the business – overseeing medicine distribution and pharmacy services throughout the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games.  

Not only is he playing a major role in medicines distribution, he also helped to handpick the London 2012 pharmacy team.

But, as anyone who has attempted to secure a job at the Olympics can testify, competition is fierce. So how can everyday pharmacists get their careers off the starting block and onto the Olympic track?

On your marks, get going

Volunteering is the first step to pursuing a career in sports medicine, says Mr Stuart. Although it takes a lot of dedication, he is optimistic that volunteering can help you get your foot in the door.

"We've got the Commonwealth Games coming up 2014, so there's an opportunity for our pharmacists to get involved then," he advises.

Mr Stuart also suggests attending conferences on sports medicine, run both in the UK and internationally, and reading up on sports medicine journals.

But he warns that competition for places is as tough as it sounds. More than 1,400 people applied to be a member of the London 2012 pharmacy team, while only 100 were lucky enough to make the cut. Mr Stuart and his team processed every application individually before making their final selection.

"I believe the team we selected really did represent the best members of the UK pharmacy profession. We were fortunate to work with some really talented and very clinically skilled pharmacists and pharmacy technicians," he says.

However Mr Stuart stresses that roles such as his are far removed from that of a traditional pharmacist. Coordinating pharmacy services at the Olympics not only requires pharmaceutical knowledge, but people management, organisational and business skills. 

Olympic hurdles

These skills came in particularly handy when faced with the logistical challenges of London 2012. Operating in a polyclinic on the Olympic Park in Stratford, Mr Stuart has been co-ordinating the distribution of medicines to all 35 competition venues. In addition to spectator venues, the pharmacy team also had to deliver to official hotels, training venues and five football stadiums across the UK.

"It was all happening at the same time so co-ordinating that was very busy throughout the whole games period," he recalls.

But, while the work can be demanding, Mr Stuart is also quick to point out the benefits.

"Working alongside experts from all around the world is quite a unique environment. It's quite stimulating and very busy," says Mr Stuart.

"The best part of my job is working with our amazing team, the pharmacists who work here in the Olympic villages. They're such an inspiring group of people, highly skilled in terms of their clinical knowledge and their backgrounds as well," he adds.

"I'm extremely happy with what we've achieved over the past few weeks. We've been planning this for almost four years since the Beijing 2008 games. I feel like it has all paid off and we've had an amazing team across all sites during the games."

And with the London 2012 soon coming to a close, Mr Stuart says he's keen to get involved in another sporting event. "I'd love to contribute to both Rio and the Commonwealth Games and I think there is a lot of learning and experiences from these for future games."