Hello!
You must be here from my application or from me! I am not sure if you can find this on Google just yet. I thought I’d set up this blog while I look to transition from Community Pharmacy to a career in Health Research and Improvement. I thought it was a great idea to set up this blog to show you my personality, although it may be difficult to get to know someone through text.
Nonetheless, my name is Wasim. Yes! I am currently a Community Pharmacist. I have been on the GPHC register since September 2013 and I have thoroughly enjoyed working as a Pharmacist. I’ve helped many people during my career with many health-related topics, including their conditions and lifestyle. It’s not just sticking labels on boxes!
At UCL (2008-2012) where I studied for my Master in Pharmacy, I learned the ins and outs of pharmaceuticals, common conditions (such as Diabetes, Asthma and Cardiovascular Disease). However, during my Master of Pharmacy, I had my first taste of public health-related topics, including Epidemiology and Health Economics. I can attribute my desire for transitioning towards Health Improvement to the module leader, David Taylor. He spoke on these topics in a exuberant fashion, really igniting something within me. It was at this stage, that I realised Pharmacy was not simply to give out medication and understand conditions. It was also about promoting the health nationally and globally by reducing inequalities and health protection. That ignition was a small spark, but it really got me thinking.
Once I qualified as a Pharmacist, I started thinking about my next steps. Natural progression I would think. I would consider myself a driven person. I’ve always tried my hardest and I’ve never given up on anything, even when it feels like no doors are open. As I write this, I’ve found some difficulty finding an open door, but that’s motivated me to start this blog. I have a lot of unbridled enthusiasm that an organisation must want on their team! Surely.
Anyway, in 2014, I considered what I did as a Pharmacist: Yes, I clinically checked prescriptions, advised and counselled people. But I also promoted healthy lifestyles. I provided advice about quitting smoking or drinking. I gave advice on losing weight and preventing complications to conditions, such as diabetes. It made me think back to my sessions with David Taylor. I was promoting health – a method used to reduce health inequalities. Surely Public Health would be the next step?! I would be doing more than secondary prevention. I could be preventing these conditions from occurring, by protecting people from the causes. That would include the environment and other areas that a Pharmacist would not necessarily complement.
And that’s when I decided to attain a Master in Public Health at Kings College London, between 2014 and 2016. Since 2016, I have been working as a Pharmacist, honing my skills in health improvement.
I have held workshops, designed campaigns, worked on numerous projects; all of which I will be discussing in this blog. And while it may not have been in a typical office environment, they all helped to meet targets and ultimately, improve Public Health. As well as this, I engage with the public, disseminating research and health information. More to come on this!
However, it simply is not enough. I am ready to get stuck into larger-scale projects to improve public health.
To improve my employability, I decided to leave my full-time job so that I can focus on my career transition. I organised an internship with Royal Borough of Kingston-Upon-Thames, where I supported many projects in an office environment. I will be discussing my time here soon!
I’ve got a lot to say! But I think I should save some for blog posts. Plus, this is fairly long and I can’t imagine employers having time to read all of this. If you are at the bottom, thank you for reading the whole thing!
Signing off,
Wasim
Public Health and Me 