Briefly Introduce yourself
My name is Israel Oni, a public health Pharmacist and an Antibiotics Steward from Nigeria. Quite a number of persons know me as Pharm Radio.
I have volunteered for Lagos Food Bank Initiative, Live Well Initiative and I was a Member of the Public Health Committee PSN-YPG (Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria – Young Pharmacist Group) (2019/2020). I was also an active member of the NAFDAC/YPG Youth Against Drug Abuse (YADA) Project and I’ve been involved in numerous health campaigns. I also volunteered as a Pharmacist for FHI 360/HUGIN (Family Health International / Howard University Global Initiative Nigeria) in Strengthening the Integrated Delivery of HIV/AIDS Services, where I doubled as the Drugs Logistics Manager in Cross River State, Nigeria.
I graduated from the University of Lagos where I earned my Bachelor of Pharmacy degree. I also have some certifications to my portfolio such as; Data and Health Indicators in Public Health Practice by John Hopkins University (Coursera), Pharmacy in Psychiatry Training Workshop for Nigerian Pharmacists Mega Pharmacy Limited, Canada and Biogenerics Nigeria Limited.
I currently work with Novartis as a Medical Representative. I am very passionate about Public Health promotion, Youth engagement and leadership.
What does Pharm Radio entail?
Pharm Radio is an online platform where health and medicine information is given out in a very simple understandable manner. This helps to promote safe and responsible use of drugs and General wellbeing (SDG3). Pharm Radio utilizes the power of social media to reach out to the public and educate them on how to make informed decisions about their health through videos, infographics and short write ups.
Why Pharm Radio? How did you come up with this name?
The Name came up during my undergraduate days . I used to address my class members a lot and pass several information to them as regards school related issues. Many of my classmates took me as the Radio of the class because I always have one information or the other to give. A classmate of mine then decided to name me “Pharmacy Radio”. I later shortened it to “Pharm Radio” and it stuck.
I decided to retain the name even after school and also continued to give the information I’ve always been known for but this time information to the general public about their health and medications.
What is the role of a pharmacist in patient education especially in the social media space?
Pharmacists are the most accessible healthcare providers, this means pharmacists have the opportunity to educate, inform and make patients know more about their medications and their health which in turn helps these patients make more informed decisions about their health. The social media serves as a tool utilized to reach a wider audience especially the youths to take charge of their health and improve their quality of life. Pharmacists can also use this medium to correct misconception that the audience would probably have had in the past.
Have you ever received any feedback on the impact of the patient education you do?
Oh yes, I have received feedback on the impact of the education I do on social media. I’ve had both local and international organizations reaching out to collaborate with the work I do and this really means I’m doing something right. I’ve gotten feedback from individuals on how my message has impacted their lifestyle.
What is the best approach in conducting patient education in the digital space?
First of all, one needs to identify the problem he or she wants to solve. Understanding the problem and reason you’ve decided to go into patient education in the digital space helps you design a path for the solution you are bringing. Understanding your target audience would also help you in carving a niche for yourself and the tools you’ll need to pass your information or education.
What are some of the challenges you face in pharma radio?
Time is one of my major constraints in this journey. Creating content and being consistent with it isn’t so easy because I still need to balance this with my official job and family . Many times I get back from work really tired and exhausted.
Nonetheless, I still try to create time and organize my schedule in order to ensure my digital content creation doesn’t suffer.
Which parameters do you use to evaluate the impact of your patient education?
Each of the social media platforms I use has a way one can check impressions on every post you make . My target per time used to be to ensure at least 1 person reads or follows through the post but as we speak we already have thousands of people getting value from each of my post and that’s something that makes me glad and motivates me to keep going.
PHARMACIST ISRAEL ONI
Perfect!