DR. KELVIN ODONGO

1. Name: Dr. Kelvin Odongo

2. Nationality: Kenyan

3. Age: 28 years

4. Would you walk us through your academic journey.

– I have been an academic nomad, my early primary school life was in Kitale and kilgoris. I later moved to Luanda and finally to Gem(Sinaga Primary School) where I sat for my KCPE and emerged second best with 368/500 marks.

-I was called to Chianda high school but because of finances opted for Ober secondary school(then a mixed school) where I sat for my KCSE and got an A of 82 points topping the class.

-My initial course choices were medicine, law, actuarial science and education English all at UON. So you can imagine my surprise when I was called to KU to study Pharmacy. I joined KU in 2012 and graduated in 2017. It has been a beautiful love story with pharmacy all through, ofcourse with its share of tears and panic moments especially during exam periods.

-Currently am enrolled for a diploma course in People Management at Coventry University

5. Do you love being a pharmacist?

-I absolutely love it. Being a pharmacist especially one with a clinical inclination is the most rewarding part of my professional life

6. Which places have you worked so far?

-Kenyatta National Hospital – Attachment

-Gondian pharmacy pre-internship

-Good Life Pharmacy – internship

-Biopharma – Internship

-Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) – internship

-Good Life Pharmacy as a dispensing pharmacist

-Aceso retail pharmacy as a dispensing pharmacist

-Neema Hospital – Locum

-TANS Global Space – I was involved in organizing the 2nd Kenya Poland Health Summit 2019
I currently work at:

-Checkups Medical Centre as the Head of Concierge

-Sagitarix Ltd as the Chief Pharmacist and Board Member

7. As a pharmacist in leadership and management, what has the experience been like?

-It has been a Rollercoaster ride to be honest. One thing you learn pretty fast in the corporate world is that as a pharmacist you are expected to be an executive decision maker, a problem solver. It has been a steep learning curve and being able to be part of the team that make decisions that affect day to day operations is a humbling moment. I continue to learn from more experienced professionals in the organization.

-Key areas I have had to quickly grow in are people management, medical insurance claims process, tender processing

8. Given your background in clinical pharmacy at MTRH, how do you blend this in the retail pharmacy setup?

-The clinical knowledge is always very useful especially in our patient follow up and chronic disease management program. One thing you appreciate about practice is that your clinical knowledge no matter how vast is never adequate and you have to keep learning. MTRH taught me to be ready to learn always and this has gone a long way in ensuring I am updated in matters clinical therapy

9. What are your thoughts on telemedicine? -Telemedicine is convenient and it is the future of medicine. I encourage pharmacists to start equipping themselves to offer remote services. Get conversant with how to ensure data integrity and confidentiality of patient information as these are the main concerns with Telemedicine

10. In what ways can a pharmacist be part of telemedicine? Is there space for pharmacists in this field?

-There is so much unchartered waters. Medication Therapy Management as well as Patient education sessions are very possible with the patient as a pharmacist. All you need is good internet or airtime.

-Peer consulations through avenues like Patient Centered care 360 are a good opportunity for medics all over to share knowledge and consult on difficult cases.

-Pharmacists should move from box pushing practice to offering care through patient follow up and education ;both of which are very possible to do remotely

11. What has been your biggest struggle in the Pharmacy field?

-Dealing with an unregulated market. While we have a regulatory body, the market remains largely porous and malleable to various mechanisms. Key issues of concerns are parallel imports, unregulated pricing of medicines, licensure of premises.

-The issue of unemployment to pharmacists has also been quite a challenge indirectly as I have interacted with pharmacists whose view of their remuneration has been watered down by the current market state. Pharmacists should not bow to the economic pressure. Your worth remains, prove it and stick by your principles

12. If you are to change one thing about the profession, what would it be?

-I would scrap PPB inspectors and replace the current lot with a new team with a minimum requirement being a degree in pharmacy.

-I would make a member of PSK an integral part of MOH secretariat by law to ensure regulatory laws passed are mindful of the welfare of pharmacists Countrywide

13. Do you have anything you do apart from pharmacy either for income generation or leisure

-I am the Director and Co-founder at Medware Supplies Ltd; a venture that seeks to offer solutions to medics with regards to medical equipments, accessories and wares.

-I am the co-founder of patient centered care 360, that brings together medical professionals Countrywide to discuss patient cases and offer CMEs.

14. Advice to other pharmacists, especially Young Pharmacists

-Wherever you get to serve, in whatever capacity, do it to your level best and beyond!! The world is watching, be the reason someone prefers to hire a pharmacist.

-Remember you went to school to learn about medicines, but the world is looking for problem solvers, be innovative and be bold… Speak out your ideas(and don’t be afraid to be wrong)

-Don’t forget your worth, prove your worth/value add to the team and don’t be apologetic about the remuneration you ask in return. Start small and be patient, the money will follow if you are diligent in what you do