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Elevating Your Pharmacy Career: A Guide for Experienced Pharmacists
As an experienced pharmacist, you understand that the pharmacy profession is dynamic, continuously evolving, and multifaceted. Pharmacist Diaries is your trusted resource, offering a personalised Top 10 episode list that addresses your unique needs and aspirations. These episodes are carefully selected to broaden your knowledge, enhance your leadership skills, facilitate career development, and provide valuable insights into managing the pressures that can arise within the pharmacy profession.In the realm of continuous education, you'll find episodes that explore new areas of pharmacy practice, including emerging healthcare trends, technological innovations, and the latest developments in non-traditional roles, and stepping outside your comfort zone to pursue entrepreneurship. These episodes serve as a springboard for your exploration into specialised niches, helping you stay at the forefront of your field.I have included episodes that focus on effective leadership strategies, career growth, and how to unlock new opportunities, whether it's taking on executive roles, venturing into entrepreneurship, or contributing to the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare.Furthermore, I understand that the demands of this profession can sometimes lead to stress and burnout. Therefore, I have included episodes that address these challenges, offering strategies to manage stress, anxiety, and burnout, and sharing wellbeing tips that promote your physical and mental health. In addition to education, leadership, and well-being, I have also curated episodes featuring experienced pharmacists who have successfully navigated the intricate pathways of the profession. Their stories are a source of inspiration, reminding you of the immense potential and fulfillment that pharmacy offers.Embrace the wealth of knowledge and inspiration that these episodes offer as you continue to shape the future of pharmacy and leave an indelible mark on the healthcare landscape.Top 10 Podcast Episode List 1) Yours truly, Anisha PatelIn the first ever episode of Pharmacist Diaries, I dive deep into discussion about my personal journey into pharmacy. I share an honest account about why I chose to become a pharmacist, the hurdles I have overcome, achievements I am proud of, and what I plan to do with my future. I hope you enjoy it! 2) Komal GeorgeSheer determination is the best way to describe Komal George. After achieving an E grade in A-level Chemistry and being told she was unlikely able to go to university, she was determined to prove to herself and people around her that she had what it takes to become a professional! She started her career as a hospital pharmacist and then transitioned into community pharmacy. She didn't feel 100% satisfied in that role and landed an excellent opportunity as an Information Pharmacist at the NPA. The skills and knowledge she gained here were vital to her to transition to the Head of Information at the PSNC. She has now branched outside of the traditional roles of a pharmacist and is now a business strategist and coach and Co-founder of Forever Mountain Labs. 3) Sarah CavanaghSarah is an inspiring and dedicated pharmacist who I consider a role model within our profession. She has nearly 30 years of healthcare and teaching experience in the NHS, the private, the academic and the voluntary sectors, in the UK and overseas. She has dedicated most of her pharmacy career to medicines information services, starting as a specialist pharmacist and working her way up to Deputy Director with East Anglia Medicines Information Services, and now a national role as the Deputy Director of Medicines Use & Safety at SPS. I cannot neglect to mention that Sarah pursued her side passion in Global Pharmacy and Global Health alongside all of these incredibly amazing roles. She spent 2+ years as the Chief Pharmacist at West Gonja Disctrict Hospital in Ghana through VSO. 4) Catherine DugganI am absolutely thrilled to introduce the current Chief Executive Officer at the International Pharmaceutical Federation, also known as FIP, Catherine Duggan. Prior to her current role, Catherine was the Director of Professional Development at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB). She was responsible for the delivery of professional support and advice to all members across all sectors; the development of strategies to showcase good practice across the profession and development and implementation of professional standards for pharmacy. Catherine is a highly valued and recognised leader across the profession, working with an expansive network and has experience in a variety of sectors since the start of her career5) Erin TewErin and I started our pharmacy journey together as resident pharmacists at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust and we lived together for some time during this job. This episode was extremely reflective and gave a true insight to what life is really like for passionate healthcare professionals who strive to be the BEST version of themselves. Erin is one of the most energetic, positive, and hard working humans that I have met in my professional journey so far. Nothing is ever too hard for her and she has a natural ability to see the good in every scenario she is faced with. I got to see a different side of Erin during this conversation. The vulnerable and emotional side of her that we don't see too often as she is such a strong character. It was a pleasure catching up with her after many months and it was also lovely to have a conversation about becoming more aware of who we are, how we feel, and what we need in life to progress in this professional journey. Take a Break From Scrolling – Let Me Introduce Myself...Hey there, I'm Anisha Patel, founder and CEO of the Pharmacist Diaries Podcast. I am also a specialist paediatric pharmacist, a university lecturer, a wife, and mum to two little humans, Lilyanna and Kai. Whether you are looking to educate yourself on variety of opportunities that our profession has to offer, you need a platform that will help navigate your career journey, or you're looking for inspiration from pharmacy students and pharmacists from across the globe, then this is the right place for you...Sharing these conversations with you allows me to serve as your compass, guiding you towards a rewarding and fulfilling career. Top 10 Podcast Episodes Continued....6) Nicola VosserNicola is Chealsea and Westminster's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust's ePMA Lead Directorate Pharmacist and the first pharmacist on the podcast with a full-time IT related pharmacy role. She has led a team to implement ePMA (Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration) across two hospital sites. Though an exciting experience to be part of, it raises a whole set of challenges and problem solving skills in her day-to-day work life. We spend time sharing the "thrills" of project management in the world of pharmacy IT and the satisfaction you get when systems, processes, and daily life for healthcare professionals using the system become so much more efficient and user-friendly.7) Harpreet ChanaHarpreet is an experienced pharmacist, certified professional coach, self-leadership trainer, international speaker and the founder of the Mental Wealth Academy. I reached out to her as she has experience in two unique roles as a pharmacist which you don't hear about on a regular basis: NPA - Digital Programme Director and Consultant Project Manager and PSNC - Head of Funding Strategy and Head of Pricing. However, when we started talking, the conversation flowed in a completely different direction. This episode raises some very common concerns related to working as a pharmacist in the UK. Harpreet provides us with some powerful yet simple tools to use in your day-to-day work life, especially for those moments when you feel overwhelmed with a million tasks and don't know how to say no or can't find the courage to speak up to your employer.8) Allyson BrennanAllyson is a clinical pharmacist with over 15 years’ experience in Neurology and the founder of Emogene & Co. The creation of pharmacist-formulated skincare products that are designed with one goal in mind: to nourish and improve the health of your skin! An idea, a lot of hard work, and a lot of late nights has led her to the business she has today. An absolutely beautiful story filled with purpose, dedication, intention and pure passion. I am truly proud to share this story on the podcast because it genuinely showcases what a pharmacist is capable of achieving and how driven we can be as professionals. I know you guys will love listening in!9) Shilpa PatelShilpa has spent most of her career as a Community Pharmacist. After well over a decade of endless hours of hard work and feeling undervalued and frustrated within her role, she walked out of the pharmacy on her lunch break and never looked back! She was offered a job in a GP Practice soon after and quickly realised that community pharmacists are extremely valuable assets to a GP Practice and their skillset, knowledge and experience are perfect for these roles. She has achieved an incredible amount in a short space of time and her attitude and enthusiasm to developing pharmacists in this relatively new area of practice is inspiring. She is now the Lead GP Prescribing Pharmacist Partner at WellBN. She is also a DPP & Mentor, Covid vaccination service lead, Digital Marketing lead, Practice Merger Lead, and Benzodiazepine Detox Specialist. 10) Yasir Sacranie This isn’t the first time Yasir has joined me on the podcast. He shares his career journey on Episode 33, however, 2 years later he joins me on an episode to talk about entrepreneurship. From the busy corridors of the hospital to the whirlwind of entrepreneurship, this episode takes you through a remarkable journey. It’s a honest conversation between Yasir Sacranie, the CEO of MicroPharm, and yours truly, where we unveil our exhilarating transition from the world of specialised hospital pharmacy to starting our own businesses. We lay bare the hurdles we have encountered and the driving force that kept us going. You'll hear us delve into the inception of Pharmacist Diaries and MicroPharm, and the early challenges we tackled in setting up these ventures. P.S. Expect to See Me in Your Inbox With More Tips That Will Guide You Towards A Rewarding And Fulfilling Career!
