--- title: At the pharmacy — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «At the pharmacy», a lesson of the medicine course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: A pharmacist is an expert in medicines who has studied for years: in the UK it takes a four-year university degree and a year of training on the job. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/20-at-the-pharmacy/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Medicine](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/) / At the pharmacy # At the pharmacy Lesson 20 of the medicine course of Mova's primary school: 16 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/medicine/20-at-the-pharmacy/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/20-at-the-pharmacy/0/) — A pharmacist is an expert in medicines who has studied for years: in the UK it takes a four-year university degree and a year of training on the job. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/20-at-the-pharmacy/1/) — When a doctor writes a prescription, an order for one medicine at one dose, the pharmacist checks the dose, your age, your allergies and your other medicines before handing it over. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/20-at-the-pharmacy/2/) — For small problems, like a mild rash or a sore throat, your grown-up can often go straight to the pharmacy instead of waiting for a doctor, and the pharmacist sends you on if it looks serious. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/20-at-the-pharmacy/3/) — Think of the pharmacist as the last safety net: the doctor chose the medicine, and the pharmacist catches the mistakes before they reach your mouth. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/20-at-the-pharmacy/4/) — A prescription is a doctor's order for a particular medicine at a particular dose, and the pharmacist prepares it and checks it is right. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/20-at-the-pharmacy/5/) — In the UK a pharmacist trains for about five years: a four-year degree and a year of training in a pharmacy. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/20-at-the-pharmacy/6/) — Pharmacists can give advice and medicines for many minor illnesses, and they send people to a doctor if something seems more serious. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/20-at-the-pharmacy/7/) — In the UK medicines are sorted into three groups: those sold in any shop, those sold only in a pharmacy, and those given only with a prescription. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/20-at-the-pharmacy/8/) — Pharmacy-only medicines are kept behind the counter because the pharmacist needs to ask a few questions first, not because they are poison. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/20-at-the-pharmacy/9/) — In England prescriptions are free for children under 16, and in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland they are free for everyone. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/20-at-the-pharmacy/10/) — Some medicines are not licensed (approved) for younger children, for example most cough and cold medicines are not for children under 6 in the UK, so pharmacists check the age on the packet. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/20-at-the-pharmacy/11/) — Pharmacists can also give some vaccines, such as the flu jab for adults, and check blood pressure. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/20-at-the-pharmacy/12/) — Herbal and homeopathic remedies do not have to pass the same tests as medicines, and homeopathic remedies are diluted (watered down) so much that essentially nothing of the starting substance is left. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/20-at-the-pharmacy/13/) — Natural does not mean safe: some herbal remedies can harm, or interact with other medicines. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/20-at-the-pharmacy/14/) — Pharmacists ask about past reactions to medicines so they never hand over one that has made you ill before. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/20-at-the-pharmacy/15/) — Old or unwanted medicines should go back to the pharmacy, not in the bin or down the toilet, where they can harm people, animals or rivers. - ← previous: [Antibiotics, viruses and side effects](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/19-antibiotics-viruses-and-side-effects/) - next →: [What vitamins do](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/21-what-vitamins-do/) - ↑ back to [Medicine](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/)