On today's episode I am delighted to introduce Dr. Carlene Link to the podcast. Carlene completed her undergraduate Bachelor's degree at Ohio's John Carroll University in 2004, received her PharmD from The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy in 2008 and then completed her PGY-1 residency at Mount Carmel St. Ann’s Hospital, Ohio. For the first 5 years of her career, she worked as an Internal Medicine clinical specialist and was very passionate about primary care. During this time became a board certified pharmacotherapy specialist (BCPS). She then left direct patient care and moved into the business sector, working for an international drug information company for a further five years. She is currently a part time clinical pharmacist who works in the inpatient setting for a Level 1 Trauma hospital. Today's episode focuses on working women! We dive deep about our personal journeys as female healthcare professionals, the perception of women and mothers in leadership, and working women with families! We share our thoughts about how we strive to be just as good in our jobs as we are as wives and mothers. We talk about the need to allow women more flexible roles in the workplace and how this aspect of pharmacy is (or isn't) evolving in the UK and the USA. This episode promotes the need to change self judgement that devoids us of happiness, feeling worthless and not belonging. It is defintely worth a listen! Social media: Instagram: drcarlenelink Linkedin: Carlene Link SheMD Blog Post about why to chose Pharmacy as a profession Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my show notes. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

On today's episode I am delighted to introduce a super inspiring pharmacist and fellow podcaster, Dr Jessica Louie. Jessica is the CEO of Clarify, Simplify, Align and Host of The Burnout Doctor Podcast. Jessica uses her signature Burnout Doctor Method to coach burned out pharmacists & professionals to simplify, align work into your life & break free from people pleasing and perfectionism in order to thrive on your terms. Jessica completed her Doctor of Pharmacy at the University of Southern California, School of Pharmacy. She then completed her PGY1 in Pharmacy Practice and PGY2 in Critical Care at University of Utah Health. She is also a Board-Certified Critical Care Pharmacist and Advanced Practice Pharmacist as well as an Associate Professor at West Coast University, School of Pharmacy. The most surprising and inspiring element of Jessica's career is that she has achieved all of this and more in less than a decade! Jessica very kindly shares her own personal journey with burnout: how and why it developed, how she recognised the issue, and what steps she took resolve it. Her podcast has been up and running since June 2019 and she has plenty of episodes for you all to listen to and learn from! Please go check it out! Social media: Linkedin: Jessica Louie Instagram: DrJessicaLouie YouTube: Dr Jessica Louie Facebook: Dr. Jessica Louie Twitter: Dr Jessica Louie Podcast: The Burnout Doctor Podcast Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my show notes. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

On today's episode I am excited to introduce Naimah Callachand to the podcast. A versatile pharmacist with extensive experience in communications, digital health, content development and editing, medical writing, research and a high-level of clinical pharmacy knowledge. We had a wonderful conversation about her career to date. We were fortunate enough to hear her unique journey in the following areas: - A Medical Writer for MediTech Media - A Clinical Writer at the BNF - Communications Director with ZoomDoc - Clinical Writer, Clinical Editor and now Editor of Clinical and Custom Content with the Chemist + Druggist Naimah also has experience in Community Pharmacy and as a Teacher Practitioner with Kingston University. She is also the host of the Chemist + Druggist Podcast which covers a huge variety of different topics of interest for pharmacists. Social media: LinkedIn - Naimah Callachand Twitter - CandDNaimah Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my show notes. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

On today's episode, Poonam Lumb and I take a deep dive into our personal journeys with recruitment. We share things that have worked really well for us as individuals as well as elements of recruitment that we have had to develop with experience and practice. As we both have several years of experience now and we interview junior pharmacists in our roles, we also share some useful tips on what employers are looking for in applications and interviews. I hope you enjoy it!! Don't forget to check out Episode 32 of the podcast where I interview Poonam and we share our love for paediatrics. Poonam's social media: Instagram: @poonamlumb and @poetrypaintpalette Linkedin: Poonam Lumb  Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my show notes. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

Today I have the pleasure of introducing Victoria Rutter to the podcast! Victoria is the current Executive Director at the Commonwealth Pharmacists Association (CPA). She is a pharmacist by background with over 20 years of diverse practice across the Commonwealth, including high-level advocacy, policy, strategic development and international project management. She started her career as a hospital pharmacist with Barts Health NHS Trust and specialised in Cardiac and Intensive Care services early into her career. Similar to myself, she was intrigued by the idea of working internationally and spent 10 years working as a pharmacist in Singapore. She talks about this experience in depth and we enjoyed sharing memories of our personal journeys abroad. The variety of experience she gained internationally is inspirational, especially as she was relatively newly qualified at the time. Please go and check out the CPA website for membership details and their recently launched global continuing professional development platform. The Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) Programme includes a wide breadth of courses developed for pharmacists in community and hospital pharmacy. The programme courses are aimed for pharmacists at all stages of their careers, offering knowledge for newly qualified pharmacists as well as deeper development for those who seek to focus on AMS roles. Social media: Twitter: @ReturnoftheVIC LinkedIn: Victoria Rutter Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my show notes. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

On today's episode, I welcome Yasir Sacranie to the podcast. Yasir is a Specialist Antimicrobial Pharmacist and a Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice. He is the founder of MicroPharm which is an online platform intended to provide medical and pharmacy education for students and healthcare professionals, including crash courses and study guides for the GPhC Pharmacy examination. Over the space of one year, the MicroPharm Instagram page has managed to reach over 10,000 followers which is an incredible achievement in itself! We spend a lot of time talking about Yasir's career and building MicroPharm but we also discuss some other interesting topics: - How to use different techniques for studying including active recall - Transitioning from community pharmacy to hospital pharmacy - how Yasir completed a pre-registration year in community pharmacy but got offered a position as a hospital pharmacist as his first job after qualifying - Why we both enjoy teaching undergraduate pharmacy students and pre-registration pharmacists - Adjusting to teaching students online vs face-to-face learning - Managing a split pharmacy role between hospital and university Yasir's social media: Instagram - MicroPharm You Tube - MicroPharm Check out the MicroPharm website for a variety of resources, study guides and articles! Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my show notes. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

Today I have the pleasure of launching the first paediatric pharmacist on the podcast, Poonam Lumb! This episode was an absolute delight to record and a wonderful conversation between two passionate paediatric pharmacists sharing their journeys into this speciality. Poonam is currently the Lead Pharmacist for Women's and Children's Services at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and has working within paediatrics for approximately 8 years. Listening to her journey was personally very inspiring and I am sure that many of you will enjoy it just as much as I did. One of the main elements of this conversation that I'd like to reflect upon is Poonam's dedication to paediatrics and self development in her professional career. She completed her Postgraduate Dimploma in General Pharmacy Practice with UCL whilst she was a resident pharmacist with Barts Health NHS Trust. She then continued her education journey by completing her Non-medical Indepedent Prescribing Course with the University of Greenwich and her scope of practice is paedaitric bone marrow transplantation supprotive care. And if that wasn't enough education, she identified an element of her career that she wants to develop and is currently a student with Henley Business School working on her Masters in Leadership which she will finish in 2022. She also enjoys writing poems in her spare time and collaborated on a book called  Poems for a Pandemic as well as publishing her own book called Pink Tinted Glasses: The World Through a Poet's Eyes. Please go check them out! Poonam's social media: Instagram: @poonamlumb and @poetrypaintpalette Linkedin: Poonam Lumb  Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my show notes. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

It gives me great pleasure to introduce Agith Navalan to the podcast this week. Agith is a recent MPharm graduate from University College London (UCL) and is currently a pre-registration pharmacist in community pharmacy. He starts his next adventure into Medicine at St George's, University of London in September 2021. On today's episode, we have such a meaningful conversation on the following topics: - our upbringing and how this has impacted our career choices - a reflection of the MPharm course at UCL, the opportunities and what Agith enjoyed most - how to alter your mindset and approach your working life to make the most of the opportunities in front of you - a reflection of undertaking a pre-registration year during a pandemic - comparing our daily routines and how we manage our time to ensure we are productive for our working day - how to tackle the hustle and bustle of daily life - juggling work, home life, the podcast, social media, health and wellness etc. You can follow Agith on the following social media: Instagram - @pharma_refresh and @a_navalan1 LinkedIn - Agith Navalan Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my show notes. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

On today's episode I am super excited to introduce Steven Giddings to the podcast. Steven is currently the Lead Pharmacist for Education and Training at the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals, Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and has recently started working with the undergraduate pharmacy team at Kings College London. He is extremely passionate about inspiring the pharmacy workforce, an aspect of his career that we definitely share in common.  Over the last few months, he has been spending a lot of his spare time working at The Morris House Group Practice to support the coronavirus vaccination clinics which he talks about in detail during the podcast. They are currently vaccinating around 1000 patients a day which is an incredible achievement! Steven is an Independent Prescriber in Cardiology and is currently undertaking an MSc in Advanced Pharmacy Practice with UCL. After a very hectic week, recording this podcast with Steven was a genuine pleasure for me on a friday night. I got to spending time connecting with my new colleague and we enjoyed a conversation about our professional journeys and what we love about our profession. You can follow Steven on the following social media: Twitter @stevegid LinkedIn @Steven Giddings You can check out Steven on the following You Tube feature relating to the UK COVID Vaccination Drive. If you'd like to know more about volunteering for the vaccination drive, contact Steven directly or go to MHGP website for further information. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my show notes. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

On today's episode I am pleased to introduce an enthusiastic and focused clinical pharmacist, Tanya Aubeeluck. Tanya is a firm believer of a professional 5-year plan and the belief that life has a way of showing you different paths. She started out as a community pharmacist but behind the scenes she was developing her goals in order to navigate into a clinic based or General Practice based career pathway. Part of this transformational process involved undertaking a management role in community pharmacy to assess her skillset in leadership which she thoroughly enjoyed. During this role, she stumbled across an opportunity to design a bespoke service for a neuro-rehabilitation centre. This involved reviewing medication related policies, undertaking audits, cost saving interventions, and going on ward rounds weekly with the medical team. This project sparked some excitement for Tanya and she made a courageous leap to quit her job and apply for a GP Pratice role where she felt her skills and experience would be well suited. After an interesting "speed dating" interview process, she was offered a job and hasn't looked back! She completed her Practice Certificate in Independent Prescribing at the University of Reading in 2017. She has always been passionate about diabetes and wanted to work towards this speciality so she decided to complete a Postgraduate Diploma in Diabetes at the University of South Wales, which she passed and finished this week! She is also a registered as an Royal Pharmaceutical Society Mentor so please reach out to her if you need support. You can follow Tanya on the following social media: Instagram @spartan_tannie LinkedIn @Tanya Aubeeluck Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my show notes. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

On today's episode I am super excited to introduce a senior cardiovascular pharmacist at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT) and creator of the MedTap App, Gayle Campbell. I saw the MedTap App advertised at the hospital on one of the TV screens last year. I was so excited that a pharmacist had launched an innovative platform that supports patients to take their medications correctly that I reached out to her on email immediately. Here we are today having an interesting discussion about Gayle's career as well as the story behind developing the app. Gayle started her pharmacy career as a resident pharmacist at GSTT in 2010. She completed 3 years of residency before she embarked on her journey as a specialist cardiovascular pharmacist, with special interest in heart failure. As a lot of us already know, non-adherence in the UK is well documented nationally with patients not taking their medications as directed on a regular basis. In this interview, Gayle explains how the development of digital technology has changed the way people access their information and together with a drive towards paperless working, she felt the logical next step was to develop a digital platform for patients to access medicine information. MedTap features videos with NHS clinicians providing similar information to what patients would hear in their consultations. This helps to prompt patients about medications, strengthening their understanding on how and when to take them appropriately. Videos are available for medicines post a heart attack and for direct action oral anticoagulants in atrial fibrillation providing answers to common medication questions such as when and how to take pills, what to do about side effects, how to re-order more pills and the cost. Users can record their medicines, appointments and test results to help improve self-management of their care. Talking to Gayle inspired me to pursue some innovative and digital focused ideas I have for paediatric patients at the Evelina London Children's Hospital. One of my favourite quotes from today's episode was... "if you truly believe in an innovative idea, keep pushing forward, even when it seems like nothing will come of it. Perhaps you'll get a lot of rejection in the process, but if you truly believe it is worthwhile and good for patient care, then keep going!" You can follow Gayle and MedTap on the following social media: Instagram @gaylelcampbell Twitter @GayleLCampbell LinkedIn @Gayle Campbell MedTap App on App Store MedTap App on Google Play Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected].

On today's episode I am delighted to introduce Catherine Quinlan to the podcast. Catherine started her pharmacy journey as a STEP Pharmacist at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, London. She completed 3 years in this role whilst undertaking the Postgraduate Diploma in General Pharmacy Practice (PG Dip GPP) with University College London (UCL). She has recently embarked on a new adventure as a Haematology and Oncology Pharmacist at Kings College Hospital, London, and loving it! We discuss the following: - a detailed account of what the STEP Pharmacist role involves and what her personal experience was like - what is involved with UCL postgraduate diploma - how she avoided burnout by managing her time effectively during a residency - interview and job application advice and tips You can follow Catherine on instagram @Catquinlan Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my show notes. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

Christmas is over. January is here. However it feels a bit different this year. Perhaps there isn't the same level of optimism that usually arrives with the new year. For some it is also a stressful time. Lockdown 3.0 means more of us working from home again, kids homeschooling, worrying about new strains of the virus. All of this can impact the levels of stress in our life. In this episode I sit down with my wonderful husband Sunjay Vyas to talk about what we have been doing to help us deal with the stresses that this new way of life has brought about. Show Notes Page Link Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Sunjay Vyas Instagram Sunjay Vyas LinkedIn Stay Whole Podcast Anisha Patel Instagram Anisha Patel LinkedIn Pharmacist Diaries Podcast

Amar Suchde is a fully qualified independent prescribing- aesthetic pharmacist, specialising in non-surgical cosmetic treatments. After a successful career in pharmacy, Amar repositioned himself into the world of aesthetics. A pioneer in his field, Amar set up his first clinic, AMS Aesthetics, in London’s prestigious Harley Street. From there, he went on to set up four other venues in and around London, where he now has a loyal and dedicated following of international clients. As a result of his dedication and desire to help others follow in his footsteps to establish a successful aesthetics practice, Amar launched PharmAesthetics UK in 2017, where he worked alongside leading experts in aesthetics to standardise the training for pharmacists in an ethical and clinical set up. This episode is full of energy and positivity. Amar's passion and desire to help others and thrive in his field is clearly evident from this interview. We talk in depth about his journey into pharmacy and we gain first hand insight into the pharmacist's role in aesthetics and how it is developing in the UK. Academy Website: www.amsacademy.group Clinic Website: www.amsaesthetics.com Book: A Simple Guide to the World of Aesthetics for Pharmacists https://www.amazon.co.uk/Simple-Guide-World-Aesthetics-Pharmacists/dp/1720452792

Martin Eguridu has recently embarked on a new journey as a Primary Care Network Pharmacist which he has been enjoying thoroughly so far. To hear his full story, please check out Episode 23 of the podcast. Today's episode focuses on Martin's first couple of months working in a GP Practice. He tells us about how he has dealt with this career transition, what he has learnt so far and how he plans to expand his knowledge, and the key transferrable skills he has utilised from community pharmacy. Martin's social media: Linkedin Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my shownotes. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

Martin Eguridu is a passionate, positive, and motivated pharmacist with big dreams. He graduated from Medway School of Pharmacy in 2015 and started his pharmacy career as a community pharmacist with Lloyd's Pharmacy. He was promoted to Pharmacy Manager within one year of qualifying, an achievement I believe he definitely deserves! He is clearly passionate about his career and demonstrates great leadership qualities at such a young age. Martin provides us with insider tips and advice for achieving your professional goals. A great episode for pharmacy students and newly qualified pharmacists. He has recently embarked on a new journey as a Primary Care Network Pharmacist which he has been enjoying thoroughly so far. I hope to record a second episode with him to find out how he transitioned into this role. Martin gets involved with lots of learning opportunities outside of his work life and has gained valuable skills from these experiences. Below are some of the organisations he has been involved with: Current Treasurer of the UKBPA (UK Black Pharmacist Association) Advisor on Knife Crime and Youth Communication with Croydon Borough Police Think Tank Student Ambassador and Treasurer of Pharmacy Student Association at Medway School of Pharmacy Student Ambassador at NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellent) Campain Volunteer at Diabetes UK Martin's social media: Linkedin Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my shownotes. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

Allie Xu is best described as a multi-tasking pharmacy queen! I love her energy and positivity and am so pleased to launch this episode! She is a community pharmacist and holistic health coach with a special interest in mind-body connection, Emotional Intelligence and women's health, and currently studying a Masters in Chinese Medicine to learn about Eastern Medicine Philosophy lifestyle and the secret of vitality and longevity. She is the founder of the Global Pharmacy Entrepreneur Community and the host of Pharmacy Entrepreneur TV and podcast to support Pharmacists from different parts of the world to network and develop entrepreneur and intrapreneur mindsets and skills. She created this platform to support, inspire and encourage pharmacists from all over the world to grow, innovate, excel and make a lasting impact in the world. In today's episode, we explore Allie's journey into pharmacy, her passions behind building networks and entrepreneurship, and creating an amazing online pharmacy comminity. We spend a considerable amount of time discussing how we have both dealt with burnout, mentorship, developing a growth mindset, and reflection. Social media and contact information: Email: [email protected] Facebook: Global Pharmacy Entrepreneurs Community Facebook: Allie Xu LinkedIn Instagram Twitter A introductory video about "Who is the Chinese Medicine Pharmacist?" https://fb.watch/1W0lOpiG_M/ Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my shownotes. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

On today's episode I am thrilled to introduce the current Chief Executive Officer at the International Pharmaceutical Federation, also known as FIP, Catherine Duggan. Catherine has been working with FIP since 2018. She is responsible for visionary leadership, support, advocacy and delivery of the FIP vision and mission across 144 member organisations and 160 Academic Institutions representing 4 million pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists worldwide. 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 advice and support to all members across all sectors; the development of strategies to share and showcase good practice across the profession and development and implementation of professional standards for pharmacy. Catherine led the development, implementation and strategic embedding of RPS Faculty and Foundation programmes into continuing professional development. Catherine provides several "top tips" during our conversation, some of which are highlighted below: - the importance of understanding that life is a balancing act and that you need to accept that work goals may take longer than you want or think. Think of yourself as a slow cooker and not a fast cooking microwave. - believing it is never too late to do something you are passionate about - do it for the moment you are living in and not for the title or chasing the next step in the professional ladder - take on new opportunities, even when they scare you, but use the support and advice of people around you that you trust. - don't put so much pressure on yourself...what is the worst that can happen?! You might not get a job you want but you will have tried! - you can still look for new jobs when you are perfectly content in your current role. In fact, it is useful to do so as there is less pressure and it is usually for the right reasons that you want a change You can find Catherine on the following social media: LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my shownotes. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

On today's episode I am delighted to introduce Dr Ijeoma Ekeocha. Ijeoma started her jounrey into pharmacy in 2003 as a student at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, also known as Philadelphia College of Pharmacy (PCP) and now called USciences or University of the Sciences. She graduated in 2009 and began her career as a clinical Pharmacist at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Five years into her career, she became the first and only Non-traditional Pharmacy resident at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. She graduated from the residency program in 2016 and made a bold decision to move to New York City. With the help of one of her Pharmacy mentors, she embarked on another remarkable journey at the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital as the Lead Pharmacist for the Main Pharmacy which we talk about in depth in the podcast. In May of 2020, she officially became a Clinical Pharmacy Manager for the enterprise, overseeing the Specialty Pharmacy in addition to special projects. Alongside a full time job, Ijeoma created her own podcast, Brown Skin Stories, which I adore listening to and have learnt so much from over the past few months. Her guests are inspirational leaders within pharmacy and their passion for our profession shines through each episode. We both enjoyed this conversation so please go check it out! You can connect with Ijeoma on the following platforms: Website: blackwomenpharmacists.com instagram: @blackwomenpharmacists facebook: @blackwomenpharmacists email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ijeoma-ekeocha-a9a8142b/ (Ijeoma Ekeocha) Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my shownotes. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

On today's episode we explore the journey of a Pharmacist and Certified Health Coach, Dr Gina Suarez, all the way from the island of Puerto Rico. We focus the start of our conversation on Gina's experience of community pharmacy at the start of her career. We discuss the impact of high levels of stress and job dissatisfaction in a community pharmacy setting which can lead to unhealthy habits, emotional and physical health issues, and general burnout. We dive deep into the steps Gina took to remove herself from a toxic environment and enter a space which allowed her to work with patients in a more holistic manner to promote wellness and wellbeing. Go and check out her website, MintLifeRx, to see how she can help you achieve your personal health goals. She offers individualised and group coaching sessions that incorporate elements of Nutrition, Balance, and Support. I love that her 4-week group program focuses a lot on diet. The program is designed to guide you to be more creative, independent, and confident in the kitchen. She provides advice that allows you to confidently prepare quick and easy nourishing meals that give you the energy you need to have a productive and fulfilled life. There is plenty of support and accountability with group coaching through Gina's facebook group. You will also find her on Instagram and Twitter. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my show notes. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

On today's epsiode I am absolutely delighted to introduce an inspiring and dedicated pharmacist who I consider a role model within our profession, Mrs Sarah Cavanagh. Sarah 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 starts her pharmacy career as a Medicines Information (MI) pharmacist, a role which she knew she would love and the career pathway she knew she wanted to pursue long term. 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 Her most recent project has been her involvement with the Commonwealth Pharmacists Association Global Health Fellowship Program which I discuss in detail in Episodes 9, 14 and 15 of the podcast. I look forward to hearing about Sarah's next adventure! I really hope you enjoy this episode and all the stories Sarah kindly shares with us. Social media links for Sarah: LinkedIn Twitter Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my shownotes. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

I am so excited to welcome Dr Jennifer Shannon onto the podcast today. Jennifer is a wonderful mother of 4 beautiful children, dedicated wife to Professor Mike, and currently the proud owner of Lily's Pharmacy in Georgia, USA. She started her career as an enthusiastic resident pharmacist; an experience which she clearly loved and her passion for this type of role at the start of a pharmacy career shines throughout our conversation. She then transitioned into academia as an Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Practice Professor with the Philadelphia College of Medicine. During this time she also worked for the Good Samaritan Society which involved setting up a diabetes clinic. From there she makes the bold and brave decision to buy her own pharmacy with her husband and they run the business together as a team! I love that this episode allows us to get insider insight into what it is truly like to be a pharmacy owner, mother of four, and a wife! You can connect with Jennfier on the following social media: Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my shownotes. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

On today's episode we invite our first pre-registration pharmacist to the podcast, Janelle Soong. Janelle is a Kings College London pharmacy graduate and has just started her split community pharmacy (Day Lewis Pharmacy) and pharmaceutical industry (GSK) pre-registration placement. She is also the author of Let Sleeping Pharmacists Lie: Tales from Pharmacy School and the patients you never forget which can be purchased via Amazon. Prior to university, Janelle was training to become a classical violinist at a music specialist school where it was expected that she would perform professionally as a career. During this time, she identified her love for chemistry and was curious about drug development and formulation. This was one of the main reasons why she decided to pursue a career in pharmacy. Formulation and the Analysis of Drugs was the highlight of MPHARM course as it sparked her passion for pharmaceutical industry and she fell in love with the "behind the scenes" aspect of pharmacy. She took a year out from the course to embark on a 12-month industry placement which gave her a feel of the working environment and reinforced her thoughts of pursuing a career within the pharmaceutical industry sector. We also discuss: - the differences between school and university learning - time management throughout the university degree - how she prepared for her split pre-registration pharmacist placement as well as the reasons why she applied for it Please check out Janelle's social media pages and blog: - Blog - Twitter - Instagram - Facebook - LinkedIn Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my shownotes. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

On this week's episode, we are fortunate enough to welcome Dr Freddy Kitutu all the way from Kampala, Uganda. Dr Freddy is currently the Dean of the School of Health Sciences at Makerere University. He considers himself an academic pharmacist at heart with a special focus on health systems research. He is passionate about teaching clinical pharmacy to undergraduate pharmacy students, specifically concentrating on infectious diseases. In today's episode, we explore some of Freddy's journey but we focus a lot of our conversation on the pharmacy profession in Uganda. We discuss the following: - the perception of pharmacists to the general public/society - the history of pharmacy as a profession within the country and how it is evolving with time - the governing body for pharmacy and it's role - accessibility to pharmacy services and the affordability of healthcare services - the types of healthcare services available to the general public - availability of medicines and healthcare supplies - the roles of pharmacists and career opportunities within Uganda We also talk about Dr Freddy's collaboration and partnership with the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer's Global Health Fellowship Programme and his experience of visiting the UK to see how clinical pharmacy services work in our country and how they can potentially be set up in Uganda. If you'd like to know more about the fellowship, please go back to Episode 009 with Claire Braindish. You can follow Dr Freddy on social media: LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my show notes. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

Edwin Panford-Quainoo is a passionate, positive, and highly accomplished professional with over 20 years of pharmacy experience in a variety of settings and countries. Within the first 10 years of his career, he was registered as a pharmacist in 3 countries which is an achievement in itself! He is currently working on a PhD in Global Health, focusing on antimicrobial stewardship in community pharmacies in Ghana. He started his career as a community pharmacist at Boots and thoroughly enjoyed his experience in a primary care setting. After approximately 10 years of working in community pharmacy, Edwin took a career break from Boots for 2 years. He spent 1 year as a hospital pharmacist in Australia and then 1 year travelling and experiencing pharmacy in Ghana. He really understood his passion for pharmacy in the global health context during this time. He loved the idea of community pharmacy in the wider context of public health and pursued his Masters in Public Health at the University of Liverpool before starting his current PhD in Global Health. You can follow Edwin on the following social media: LinkedIn Instagram Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my shownotes. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

Today's epsiode is a special little treat for you guys as it is the podcast's first 3-way conversation. It is Part II to my initial conversation with Komal George. To hear about Komal’s background and why she decided to go into pharmacy in the first place, please go and listen to episode 5 of the Pharmacist Diaries podcast. Komal George, The Holistic Pharmacist, is a pharmacist turned lifestyle medicine health coach. Her mission is to help her colleagues in pharmacy live happier and more productive lives through the application of lifestyle medicine. In this episode we talk about her motivation in becoming a health coach as well as the wider role of the community pharmacist in helping to spread the message of lifestyle medicine. Komal talks about her Positive Pharmacy Space Facebook Group that has helped other pharmacists in so many ways. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on Apple Podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my shownotes. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

If you are interested in research and a role within pharmaceutical industry, then this is definitely the episode for you! Dr Adnan Khan had big dreams as a pharmacy student and his persistence and willpower has allowed him to fulfil many of them already. Shortly after qualifying as a pharmacist, he decided to take an exciting leap towards a PhD in Cancer Immunology at the University of Nottingham. He then moved to Ireland as he attained a post-doctoral research fellow role at Trinity College Dublin. He is currently the Head of New Targets - Immunology, at the global biopharma company UCB. He has been working for UCB for approximately 5 years, initially as a Senior Scientist and working his way up leading a team. Though a very long episode, our discussion covers SO many interesting and exciting topics of interest to pharmacists and pharmacy students: - his experience of doing a PhD: when to do it, what it involves, and what you can do with it once you've completed it - the skills that are required within a research role, how to develop these, and the benefits of self development and growth within your professional career. - an in depth insight into what it is like to work for a biopharma company and what roles pharmacists can play within these organisations - getting involved in research and how to pursue a passion in industry if you'd like to get involved You can follow and contact Dr Adnan Khan on Linkedin and Instagram Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on Apple Podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my show notes. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

Dr. Adam Martin is the first Pharmacist Diaries international podcast guest and pharmacist. He is the founder of The Fit Pharmacist, host of the Fit Pharmacist Podcast, and author of two books (Rx: You: The Pharmacist’s Survival Guide for Managing Stress & Fitting in Fitness and the Gen-Z Pharmacist: Dominate Pharmacy School & Script Your Dream Career). Dr. Adam Martin works with people to write their script for success using proper nutrition, stress management, and the power of a positive attitude. He earned his doctorate of pharmacy degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, and with over 7 years of experience working full-time in the community pharmacy setting, he’s passionate about empowering other pharmacists and pharmacy students to put the health back into healthcare through leading by example in their professional practice to not only live their best lives, but to inspire others along the way to do the same. He pairs his PharmD with his expertise as a certified personal trainer and nutrition consultant to guide self-care back into healthcare. This episode clearly demonstrates Adam's passion and drive to empower pharmacists and pharmacy students. I loved recording every minute of it. His work ethic and positive attitude is infectious and inspiring! He has faced a variety of obstacles along the way but has overcome them and utilised each and every opportunity to better himself. I can only recommend you listen to the episode to hear it for yourself! You can connect with him on: Instagram @thefitpharmacist Twitter / Facebook / LinkedIn @FitPharmFam YouTube @thefitpharmacist Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on Apple Podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Show Notes

Jacqueline is the first pharmacy student to be interviewed on the podcast so this is an exciting moment for me as well as all our pharmacy students out there tuning in. Jacqueline chose to pursue her career in pharmacy as she wanted to combine her love of science, particularly chemistry, with the desire to help people. She's just completed her first year at Kings College London and is here with us today to share her experience as a student. Outside of pharmacy and studying, she spends a huge proportion of her free time training for her side passion as a track and field athlete. We talk about what she has enjoyed so far in her first year, what challenges she has faced to date and how she is going to overcome them, as well as creating a good support network and surrounding herself with focused, like-minded individuals that can support her through university life.  We spend most of our time talking about tips for time management and organisation to boost productivity. Her mindset is genuinely inspiring and I love how she applies her drive within track & field to being a great student! Things we talked about: Noted British Journal of Medicine Apple calendar Follow Jacqueline on Instagram Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected]. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my shownotes. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

Claire is an experienced, inspiring, strong-minded, yet very modest antimicrobial pharmacist. She started her career with an interest in care of the elderly, an area of pharmacy that she wasn't expecting to love as much as she did. The idea of making clinical interventions and de-prescribing to prevent falls, for example, intrigued her. She highlights the fact that elderly patients take so many medications and this is a prime area for pharmacists to make a difference in patient care. Her first experience of working in infectious diseases was at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for a 6 month rotation in Clinical Governance and Risk combined with Antimicrobials. This role was a great combination as antimicrobial prescribing is a constant battle between weighing up risks vs taking the medication and the governance aspect of this role is also very similar. This role allowed Claire to experience directorate level work in audits, quality assurance, writing guidelines, and implementing NPSA alerts. She fell in love with infectious diseases in this job and hasn't looked back! She loves working alongside consultants and going on ward rounds, making positive changes to prescribing, ensuring patients aren't having unnecessary antibiotics to begin with, IV to oral switches etc. The role involves a lot of governance too - guideline writing and policy development, auditing, and service improvement - elements of the job that Claire thoroughly enjoys! In November 2018 whilst working at Buckinghamshire NHS Trust, there was a call for NHS staff to support proposals to tackle Antimicrobial Resistance in commonwealth countries in Africa. The Commonwealth Partnerships for Antimicrobial Stewardship (CwPAMS) scheme has supported 12 health partnerships across Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia to fight AMR. The CwPAMs projects, started in February 2019, have been supported by the Commonwealth Pharmacy Association (CPA) and Tropical Health Education Trust (THET). The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer Global Health Fellows programme is the first Global Health fellowship for pharmacists funded by Health Education England (HEE). It compliments the CwPAMS programme and aims to support pharmacists by furthering leadership and project management skills throughout their work on the projects. Claire and her team have embraced this opportunity and she talks about her experience in detail in the podcast! You can follow Claire on Instagram @brandmennis and on twitter @Clairebrandish1. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Check out the Stay Whole website for full access to my shownotes and further links regarding this episode. Also subscribe on the website for email news and free content and follow Stay Whole on instagram @staywholelife

In this special episode of Pharmacist Diaries I joined my husband on his podcast, The Stay Whole Podcast.  We talk about how as a family we have upped our game in terms of creating helpful and healthy lifestyle habits, like waking up at 4.30 am every weekday to make time for exercise, relaxation and some time for ourselves. We have been amazed at what a few weeks of consistently doing something can do for our mind and body, and how much focus and direction it has brought into our lives. We put our new found way of life down to the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. More surprisingly neither of us have finished reading the book! Yet the changes we have made have been profound. We talk in depth about some of these changes and how our a simple mindset shift has brought new focus and energy into our lives. I discuss the future for this podcast which has evolved at a rapid pace. Finally we have a little announcement that we share for the first time in the episode (and no, it's not what you are thinking!). You can now listen to all episodes of Pharmacist Diaries on the Stay Whole website! You will also see all the show notes for each episode, links and contact details for my guests. You'll find it here. Subscribe The Stay Whole Podcast is now available on all your favourite podcast apps! Apple Podcasts Spotify Anchor Google Podcasts Overcast Pocketcast Radio Public Social links Instagram: @staywholelife Facebook: @staywhole Twitter: @staywholelife  Show Notes Anisha Patel Instagram: @pharmacistdiaries Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pharmacistdiariesuk/ Twitter: @PharmDiariesUK Podcast: Pharmacist Diaries E-Mail: [email protected]

In this week’s episode, we are joined by Laura Buckley. She is passionate Primary Care Network (PCN) Pharmacist, creator of the Mum Does Drug blog, wife, mother of two boys, occasional writer for C+D and now the author of her first international selling novel, Love, Prescribed. The book is available on Amazon as a Kindle edition or paperback book. In her first month of sales, her book was purchased in the UK, USA, Australia, Canada, and Malaysia! In this conversation we hear a love story; a fairytale pharmacy life which I don’t think Laura even realises!  I am inspired as a healthcare professional, a mother, and as a wife. Though Laura was very aware of her creative side at a young age, she decided to pursue a career in a science related field knowing that it would provide her security for her future. Her love story begins when she tells us about how she met her husband, who is also a pharmacist. She had her first child just before her 3rd year pharmacy school exams and her second child during her hospital based pre-registration year. She sat her pre-reg exam pregnant! I still can’t believe this! Shortly after qualifying, she co-manages a pharmacy with her husband whilst juggling parenting two young children. After a few years of this she felt she wanted to make more of a difference to patient lives from a clinical perspective and a role in pharmacy management was pulling her away from that. This is part of the reason for her transition to a PCN Pharmacist role and the job was exactly what she was looking for! Consultations allow Laura to put patients' own decision making more into the conversation. She provides them with information and tries to understand exactly what they want to get out of their care. I loved hearing Laura's perspective on how to deliver good patient care and her attitude towards growing within her role as a pharmacist is inspiring. Links to things we discuss : Primary Care Pharmacy Network Stay Whole Laura's social media: Facebook Twitter Blog Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform so you can be notified when a new episode is released or leave a review on apple podcasts. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk to or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via social media, or email at [email protected].

On today's episode, I am joined by Thorrun Govind. A young, enthusiastic and extremely passionate pharmacist with big dreams. Thorrun completed her undergraduate degree in pharmacy with Kings College London and has been qualified for 4 years but has achieved an incredible amount in a short space of time. She has recently achieved a Distinction in the Legal Practice Course (LPC) MSc in Law, Business and Management programme at the University of Law. She is currently a trainee lawyer working within the Commercial team at a law firm but also a practising community pharmacist. She is the youngest elected board member at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and in 2018, she was named Young Pharmacist of the Year by the Pharmacy Business Magazine, recognising her advocacy for healthcare and healthcare professionals. On today's episode we dive deep into discussion about what inspires Thorrun within pharmacy and how to best start a successful career in this profession. Whether this is surrounding yourself with like minded people, finding a mentor who can help you to grow, or engaging with the online professional pharmacy community. Thorrun is an avid user of twitter from a professional perspective and provides us with advice on where to get started if you want to start engaging with the online pharmacy community. You can find her on Twitter @pharmthorrun or Instagram @lawpharm. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via email at [email protected] or on my social media accounts: LinkedIn  Instagram and Facebook @pharmacistdiariesuk Twitter @PharmDiariesUK

Sheer determination is the 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 which she thoroughly enjoyed and then wanted to experience pharmacy from a primary care perspective and transitioned into community pharmacy for a couple of years. 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 is now the proud owner of her own business, Komal The Holistic Pharmacist, and runs the Positive Pharmacy Space Group on facebook. The Positive Pharmacy Space is a platform to help burnt out Pharmacists take control of their health and lifestyle so that they're ready to fully serve their patients and families with more energy. She considers herself to be a lifelong student in her practice, and loves seeing her clients transform themselves through the course of her programmes. We dive deep into discussion about the positives and negatives of working in a variety of pharmacy environments and understanding where your personality and skills best fit into these different roles. We discuss in depth what skills are learnt in different jobs, what skills you need to have in order to do a particular role, as well as how to get the most of your job using our own personal experiences. Komal provides us with some motivating advice, some of which you can read below: "Keep challenging yourself. Push yourself, your boundaries, and seek new opportunities" "One thing I feel we fall into the trap of is expecting your employer to educate and develop you. You need to develop yourself, because if you don't develop yourself, no-one is going to do it for you. If you are really interested in an area, you need to seek to gain the education you need in that area." "Surround yourself with inspiring people all the time and reach out to them to learn from them" "Keep exploring, keep growing, keep learning. Push past your fears because we all have it" If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via email at [email protected], on Instagram @pharmacistdiariesuk, or on Twitter @PharmDiariesUK

Kathryn has been a member of the pharmacy profession for just under 30 years. She's had a vast array of experience as a pharmacist, worked internationally in New Zealand at the School of Pharmacy, University of Otago, New Zealand, and currently working as the clinical trials pharmacist at Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust. Kathryn has dedicated a lot of her time to research and education with several publications. Topics include paediatric parenteral nutrition, the management of patients after an acute ischaemic stroke, and the use of automated compounding devices. Outside of pharmacy she is passionate about running, cycling, sailing, baking and singing! During our discussion, she also talks about battling through several major episodes of depression. At one point, she was unable to get out of bed to go to work and felt that she couldn't do something that she genuinely loves. She quickly realises that she has a problem and finds solutions to feel better and live a happier life. She’s currently completing a 500in50 lockdown challenge to raise money for @pharmasupport. Rather than driving into France, she's currently walking, running, & cycling the 500 miles between Cardiff & the Loire Valley in the 10 weeks running up to her 50th birthday. You can donate via her Just Giving page. Links to different things Kathryn talks about: Pharmacist Support - an independent, trusted charity providing a wide variety of support services to pharmacists and their families, former pharmacists and pharmacy students. They provide support for general wellbeing, financial help, confidential help line to talk to someone, and more. BAPEN - British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition. A charitable association that raises awareness of malnutrition and works to advance the nutritional care of patients and those at risk from malnutrition in the wider community. Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists - a recognised membership body focused on helping pharmacists working in and for the NHS to create and benefit from a better working life Clinical Pharmacy Congress Webinar on Clinical Trials Searching for COVID-19 Treatments

On today's episode I am joined by Lydia Tutt, a postdoctoral research assistant at the University of Nottingham. She is a community pharmacist by background and recently completed her PhD research on the role of the community pharmacist in breast cancer survivorship services. She explores some of the struggles around the transition from working full time with a busy community pharmacy team to working very independently as a full time student and the financial impact this had on her life. She also talks about the future of the profession and her opinion on how we need to change our perception of who we are and how we need to advocate for pharmacy at any opportunity, an opinion we both have in common. Lydia recently completed the Return to Practice course run by CPPE to help her adjust back to a pharmacy practice role. If you have been out of practice or off the register for more than a year and want to return to pharmacy practice to provide NHS services in England within the next six months, this course might be for you. If you have any suggestions for guests you want me to talk or if you’d like to come on yourself, please feel free to contact me via email at [email protected], on Instagram @pharmacistdiariesuk, or on Twitter @PharmDiariesUK