Q&A


stakeholder engagement in our degree programme to influence educational outcomes.


whAT IS ThE BEST PIECE Of ADVICE yOU COUlD gIVE TO UNDERgRADUATE AND PRE-REg STUDENTS ABOUT TO EmBARk ON A COmmUNITy PhARmACy CAREER?


whatever sphere of pharmacy you work in, it is important to know that you can make a significant contribution to improving patient outcomes. have confidence to actively embrace new opportunities even though they initially fall outside of your comfort zone, and don’t give up easily.


we created OTC Consult in tandem with Blue monkee™ limited over a six month period which was made possible after successfully securing Cw young Scholarship funding.


The app, which is currently free-of- charge, is still evolving but it is very encouraging to see it has over 1100 users and has received five-star ratings on both Apple and google Play stores. It was a steep learning curve as neither of us had any prior experience in app development. with regard to the Responding to Symptoms qUB module specifically, students can certainly use it during the weekly role-play scenarios as per all other community practice resources.


wE NOw hAVE ThE PRACTICE- BASED PhARmACIST (PBP) ROlE. ARE ThERE ASPECTS Of ThE PhARmACy PRACTICE UNDERgRADUATE PROgRAmmE ThAT wIll ChANgE TO ACCOmmODATE ThE NEw BAND Of PBPS AND ARE yOU ENgAgED wITh fEDERATIONS IN DEVElOPINg NEw SkIllS REqUIRED fOR ThESE ROlES?


I am a member of various qUB School of Pharmacy working groups and committees which regularly review and develop the mPharm degree to ensure our students are prepared for contemporary pharmacy practice and new roles. we have recently introduced modules such as ‘Advanced Pharmaceutical Care’ and have key staff in place to further advance clinical and leadership skills and competence among our pharmacy students. we also have


Brexit. from recent reports, it is clear that traditional health models are no longer sustainable and a multi-skilled workforce across primary and secondary care (who share information and effectively communicate) must be developed to facilitate the provision of high quality healthcare and greater accessibility and availability of medicines for patients.


Pharmacists should be capable of competently managing patients using greater diagnostic and clinical examination skills and routine practice will have a greater emphasis and shift towards medicines optimisation.


I think there will be more independent pharmacist prescribers in


PhARmACISTS mUST BE PREPARED fOR PRECISION mEDICINE AS ThEy CAN mAkE SIgNIfICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO PATIENT OUTCOmES VIA TARgETED TREATmENTS AND wIll CONTINUE TO PlAy A mAjOR PART IN DRUg DISCOVERy AND DElIVERy


If yOU wEREN'T IN ThE ROlE yOU ARE CURRENTly IN, whAT PhARmACy SECTOR wOUlD yOU mOST lIkE TO BE INVOlVED IN?


I loved community pharmacy which is why I undertook doctoral research in this area and co-developed the OTC Consult app, so it would be easy to be swayed towards it again. however, I am also interested in independent prescribing and learning more about the impact that pharmacists undertaking new roles are having.


hOw DO yOU SEE PhARmACy PRACTICE ChANgINg IN ThE ShORT AND lONg TERm?


like other healthcare professions, pharmacy will have to adapt due to external factors such as ageing populations, poverty, disease burden and distribution, health systems and


both secondary and primary care and pharmacists working in other non-traditional settings such as emergency medicine. It would be great to see pharmacists holding leadership positions for global healthcare priorities such as antimicrobial stewardship.


Pharmacists must be prepared for precision medicine as they can make significant contributions to patient outcomes via targeted treatments and will continue to play a major part in drug discovery and delivery.


Support and strategic direction from professional bodies and pharmacy educational establishments is required to empower pharmacists to positively influence health. The 2017 Inspiring Change conference, among others, provided excellent examples of evolving practice.


whAT ARE ThE BIggEST OBSTAClES, AS yOU SEE IT, fACINg PhARmACISTS Of ThE fUTURE?


Carving out a uniquely identifiable and sustainable role is challenging; we need to have a clear vision of how our role and responsibilities differ from pharmacy technicians and also other health care professionals such as doctors and nurses. we must unite and have an effective strategy to publicise our unique skills. limited funding will cause barriers to progression (but this is not unique to pharmacy) and there are other uncertainties around contracts and career structure, supervision, revalidation, and legislation including rebalancing of medicines /decriminalisation of dispensing errors.


AND ON A lIghTER NOTE…


whO IS yOUR fAVOURITE AUThOR? DO yOU hAVE A fAVOURITE BOOk?


I couldn’t narrow it down to just one book/one particular author and, as much as I love the BNf, it’s not my favourite book! I am currently working my way through ‘The Top 100 Books of All Time’ (and adopt a similar philosophy for films and locations across the globe)! The Adventures of huckleberry finn certainly inspired me to travel (as my Responding to Symptoms classes can verify) and it’s much nicer to re-read classic novels from school now knowing that there is not a pending exam about it.


If yOU wERE TO SUm UP yOUR CAREER/lIfE AS A fIlm whAT wOUlD IT BE AND why?


Top gun reflects my ethos to strive to be the best but to realise you do not typically achieve success on your own merit alone. I appreciate the need to learn and train and be tenacious and persevere, even when there are set- backs and you want to give up. In good will hunting, I identify with the premise of getting direction in life from a mentor or coach who recognises your potential and also having confidence to seize opportunities. finally, The martian echoes my views on the importance of having a sense of humour, spirit and a sound knowledge of science!


PhARmACy IN fOCUS - 25


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