What is your role now?
Clinical Pharmacist and thrombosis lead at the NHS Emersons Green treatment centre (CareUK)
Working in a relatively small structure with only one other Pharmacist (it’s Catherine Cooke though!), I have the privilege to do a bit of everything. My structured “model day” includes the screening of prescriptions, ward rounds and medicine reconciliations, medicine information and resolving various clinical queries from a wide spectrum of healthcare professionals. I am also responsible for collecting the antimicrobial stewardship data for our 2 hospitals and feeding them back to clinical governance meetings and to the CCGs we cover.
As I have a special interest (some would say obsession) in thrombosis I am the lead for this clinical area and was heavily involved in writing our national policy.
What roles did you do to get to where you are now?
- Doctorate of Pharmacy at the University of Nantes (France) in drug design
- Advanced degree in Molecular modelling and organic chemistry (Nantes as well)
- Erasmus project at the Cardiff School of Pharmacy (1 year)
- Pharmacist in the French Navy (1 year for the national service)
- Community Pharmacist in a multiple (13 years) around Gloucester, Wales and Bristol (13 years!)
- Since 2010 until now Pharmacist in an NHS treatment centre owned by CareUK, I am currently completing my Clinical Diploma at Belfast’s Queens University to update my knowledge.
What do you enjoy about your job?
Being close to the other teams (Nursing, Surgeons, Anaesthetists, Physio) means we really see the whole of the patient’s pathway which enables us to have an input at various stages of the patient’s journey in our treatment centres. I am also currently implementing Clinical Supervision for Pharmacists in our company and it is an extremely enriching project.
How much do you earn?
Band 8a.
What aspect of your job do you not enjoy?
There are no windows in our dispensary and no access to SCR (working on it)!
Are you a member of any pharmacy organisations?
- RPS since 1998
- GPhC
- UKCPA (member of the General Committee this year)
- Thrombosis UK (Trustee) and active member since 2016
- Judge at the AAA awards yearly event (Anticoagulation Achievement Awards)
Who, if anyone, has influenced your career?
Many individuals had influence over my career but ultimately one has the biggest influence on their career by grasping opportunities when they arise. Nevertheless, two people in the recent years had a big impact, Yousaf Ahmad through his leadership and genuine advice and Tauheed Ahmad for being an amazing resource of clinical knowledge who inspired me to want to always know more.
What would you like to do next?
I would like to carry-on specialising in anticoagulation and share the knowledge with colleagues with UKCPA and other HCPs and patients through my benevolent work with Thrombosis UK. I would like to influence national guidelines and improve the way they are implemented in various settings. I advised Nice on CG92 through ThrombosisUK and am now trying to come to terms with the arrival of aspirin as a VTE prevention agent (NG89, March 2018).