Mixing pharmacy and footy

July 2009

Monash alumnus Scott McLaren (BPharm 1990) has used his time management skills to combine a successful career in pharmacy, with parenting and the demands of umpiring AFL at the elite level.

Mr McLaren is well known and respected as a senior field umpire with the Australian Football League (AFL). Since turning professional, he has umpired over 300 games and five Grand Finals. In 2003, he became the second umpire in the history of the AFL to officiate at more than 100 consecutive home and away matches.

In his lesser known career, he is a part-time pharmacist but finds it difficult to stray from the spotlight.

“Everyone gets to know you because they see you on tv! They come into the pharmacy on a Friday and ask, ‘What game are you umpiring this weekend?’ After the 100th time it starts to become a bit monotonous. In the end we put up a sign saying, ‘This week’s game: Adelaide vs Sydney’,” Mr McLaren said.

Until 2003, Mr McLaren attempted both careers full-time including being part-owner of a pharmacy in Niddrie.

“When my wife Catherine and I had our twins it became impossible to juggle all these roles so I made a lifestyle decision to sell my share of the pharmacy,” Mr McLaren said.

“With the training and travel commitments that AFL umpiring demands, it's very difficult to have another full-time job. As an umpire you don’t find out where you’re going until Monday afternoon the week before, so you’ve got three or four days to plan your weekend.”

Mr McLaren does not have a preference for one profession over the other because they are so vastly different.

“It’s so hard to compare the two. With one, you’re stuck in a dispensary all day whereas with the other, you’re running around. The pressure is different. In footy, you have to make split-second decisions whereas in pharmacy, if you have to make a clinical decision you can take your time, get access to all the information and then make a balanced decision,” he said.

Now 41, Mr McLaren is approaching the end of his AFL career but is looking forward to returning to full-time pharmacy.

“There’s always the lure of another Grand Final but I'm happy to play a leadership or mentoring role until the body finally says it has had enough. When I retire from footy, I’d like to devote my energy to a pharmacy business again.”