DR. ANUSHREE PATEL

1. Name: Dr. Anushree Girish Patel

2. Nationality: Kenyan

3. Age: 27 years young

4. University Attended: Kenyatta University

5. Year of graduation: 2017

6. One thing we don’t know about you? – hmmm tough one….there are a lot of things many people don’t know…..I want to try my hand at being a pilot 😅😅 always wondered what the sky would taste like

7. Do you love being a pharmacist? I have grown to love it…….there are many aspects of pharmacy..you have to find the right blend of what you like and work towards it.

8. Places worked; Biodeal (Currently), Aura Pharmacy, Getrude’s children Hospital, Nakuru Provincial General Hospital.

9. What is the role(s) of a Regulatory Affairs Pharmacist? – A Regulatory Affairs pharmacist is basically the gateway between the pharmaceutical company and the regulatory authorities of various nations and the public. There is a lot of documentation and organisation involved. You provide regulatory advice on legal and scientific matters to the company, compile drug dossiers for drug submission, keep up to date on guidelines, work closely with regulatory teams from other companies, keep up to date in any regulatory changes and their guidelines and you can also be involved in policy making.

– As the world is moving more towards transparency, there is a lot more harmony. In the sense that some processes will be similar, and due to global trade, having knowledge about regulatory policies and guidelines in other countries is an added advantage.

-It does involve a lot of paperwork, and plays an integral role in Keeping up with cGMP and GDP practices and ensuring that safety, and efficacy is upheld during the entire drug life cycle and health of patients is key

10. Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years?
– At the top of my field……and travelling to all the places I wanted to see.

11. What has been your biggest struggle in the Pharmacy field?
– Pharmacy has evolved right from its conception…tech and big data is playing a major role in shaping this. Our current curriculum is not tailored to train pharmacists for the current world and is ineffective in allowing us to tackle future problems. The development that allows us to lead and tackle such issues is left upon graduated indivuals if they are passionate enough. Personally I feel like that is a huge burden for graduates. They have to pave the way..
The promise of a “fulfilling career” is not what we are experiencing.
– Very few hospitals, usually private and maybe MTRH have ward rounds as part of rotations. Many hospitals, you’re just dispensing. Essence of clinical pharmacy is lost, and those who are not determined and passionate will not pick it up…that’s a waste of around 2 or 3 years of what we learned in uni..we forget hence we don’t utilise 
– Manufacturing aspects…we are not taught how to fill in roles such as QA, RA, Production…it’s like 90% of what we learn is no longer applicable. As an RA pharmacist i’m starting from the basics of law I was taught. Everything else you learn on your own…This creates a huge gap in the market where pharmacists seem incompetent after graduation. We cannot effectively fulfil these roles unless we have training. Does this affect our employment opportunities and salaries after internship? Yes.. does it make it hard for us to get opportunities, yes.

12. How do you think you have positively contributed to the Pharmacy field?
– Not yet…I have been employed post internship for a total of 2 months…I’m learning a lot…I’m very excited….I do see myself contributing a lot in the future in terms of expertise and academia…let’s see

13. If you are to change one thing about the profession, what would it be?
– How we are taught…I feel like what we learn is very valuable in terms of setting the foundation, but with current trends towards tech, AI, have automated dispensing bots, and MOs, COs, and pharmtechs being able to do most of what we do, what is our niche…we are supposed to be the masters of drugs… drugs 101 is our territory but somehow we are being outperformed and why? I think this really needs to be addressed..

14. Advice to other pharmacists
– Always be proactive and try to be the best at what you do.. always learn as you go and don’t be afraid to step out of the box…be a coder pharmacist. A traveling pharmacist. Be a pharmaceutical lawyer.. even if some of these job descriptions are not available, create them. And maybe we will expand the career diversity of pharmacy. But always give your best…even if its in mainstream like clinical pharmacy, be the expert in drugs…and don’t take other people’s opinions too seriously. Critique helps you grow if you don’t take it personally. Take it as an opportunity to improve yourself