Pharmacy Career, Resource & Training with Kavita Nadan

E68 It’s An xciting Time to be a Pharmacist!

March 9, 2023

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In this episode of Pharmacy View Podcast’s Pharmacy Career, Resource & Training, host, Kavita Nadan, Pharmacist, and Founder at Locumate, is joined by Kevin Ou, Manager of Training Delivery, and Assessment at the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA). Kevin is a practicing Pharmacist with a diverse background in clinical education, policy development, and program implementation, and in this episode, they talk about their journey in the industry, the learnings along the way, and what young and upcoming Pharmacists need so that they can better the profession as a whole.

In their own words, Kevin is a proud practicing Pharmacist and what excites them about the industry is being able to bring science and evidence into education and training products to be able to upskill the industry as a whole. Kevin is also a mental health advocate and brings mental health-related training to the Pharmaceutical industry. Talking about their early days, Kevin shares how they started out thinking they would become a Hospital Pharmacist only to meet some really amazing people and fall in love with Community Pharmacy along the way. Kevin finds being able to impact people’s health in the community as being rewarding.

Pharmacy View Podcast · EP 68 It’s An Exciting Time to be a Pharmacist!

Then Kevin went on to work at PSA. At PAS, combining their frontline experience as a Pharmacist with their deep understanding of the wider healthcare system, Kevin is able to design, develop and deliver training and assessment strategies. When asked about what their top pieces of advice would be for anyone wearing multiple hats at work as they do, Kevin shares the following:

1. Be open-minded

Being a Pharmacist is an evolving profession. There are so many opportunities out there and one needs to be open-minded to explore those.

2. Bite off more than you can chew, and then chew like mad

Kevin borrows this advice from PSA’s National President, Dr. Fei Sim. Positive affirmations and visualizing success can be helpful in leveraging opportunities and resources.

3. Find a mentor

Kevin believes that mentors can be both official and unofficial and we can all benefit from having mentors in our careers. Mentors can help you master your craft, provide feedback and give you a new perspective, advocate for your cause, and be willing to collaborate with you, among many other things.

And when asked about what they have learned along their journey, Kevin was quick to share the following:

Trust yourself
Celebrate your wins

And here’s what Kevin has for those looking to become Pharmacists after their year of internship:

Be kind to yourself
Give yourself time to settle into your new environment
Get to know your colleagues
Develop and follow a training plan
Build a good support network
Don’t be afraid to ask for help
Seek feedback
Invest in a comfy pair of shoes (quite literally!)

Drawing back to PSA, Kevin highlights how PSA exists for all Pharmacists, regardless of where they practice and what their roles are. PSA can help Pharmacists stay up to date with industry knowledge, what’s happening in the profession, and what opportunities are available. Adding to that, PSA also helps Pharmacists network with like-minded Pharmacists.

Kevin says how these are exciting times to be a Pharmacist. Kevin elaborates how COVID has really helped bring attention to the positive impact that Pharmacists can make on healthcare. There are opportunities and in the coming days, Pharmacists will have much bigger roles to play in patients’ healthcare teams across a variety of settings: community, hospital, general practice, aged care, and aboriginal community-controlled health services.

Kevin wants to keep the momentum going and sees their role flourishing in their new environment. They want to diversify their experiences and have the courage to keep trying new things in the days to come. In a time when change is the only constant, Kevin wants to continue being comfortable with change.

Topics Covered

Kevin’s favorite holiday destination
Who is Kevin Ou?
Community Pharmacy and the need to evolve with time
Kevin’s Advice for Pharmacists
Kevin’s Key Learnings
Change is the only constant

Key Quotes (Time Stamps)

“I am a proud practicing Pharmacist. I have a passion for Pharmacy Education and Community Pharmacy. I think what really excites me is, being able to, bring science and evidence into education and, and trading products to upskill our industry. At PSA, I’m so fortunate that I get to work with a team of very, very talented Pharmacists that deliver, training and, and assessment strategies. And it really contributes to our profession’s workforce development, nationally.” (2:40 – 3:14)

“I’m also a mental health advocate. So, I bring mental health training to the Pharmacy industry.” (3:23 – 3:29)

“I started my pharmacy degree thinking I’ll probably become a Hospital Pharmacist. That’s what I wanted to do. But then as I started to work in Community Pharmacy, I met some really amazing people. And you know what? I just fell in love with it. Just being able to be part of a central pillar of the community, and really making a positive impact on people’s health, that felt so rewarding.” (4:04 – 4:28)

“Somewhere along my journey, I crossed paths with PSA. I met some amazing people there. And through networking, I started to learn what the organization does for the profession. And an opportunity came up where I was able to be part of contributing back to the profession and shaping the profession through education. I’ve always been an advocate for lifelong learning. That’s led me to complete a Master of Clinical Pharmacy and, and qualifications in training and assessment. So, I thought, this was an opportunity that I wanted to get in on. I wanted to see how I could be part of the change and, and help contribute to our profession as it evolves.” (4:36 – 5:22)

“I think, the first advice would be to be open-minded. Sometimes things can be completely different from what you thought they would be, and giving it a go may give you an unpleasant surprise. Our profession is evolving. There are so many new opportunities out there now, and I think just putting your hand up and exploring what those opportunities are.” (6:33 – 6:55)

My second advice probably would be…well, I’m going to actually borrow somebody else’s advice. And it’s actually from Dr. Fei Sim, PSA’s National President. Recently at National Congress, she told the students to bite off more than they can chew, then chew like mad. Sometimes you just have to say yes when the opportunity presents itself. And even if it feels a little scary, you might feel like you can’t do the job. But they say fake it till you make it, right? (7:16 – 7:45)

“I guess my final advice would be: find a mentor. And they can be official or unofficial mentors. We can all benefit from having multiple mentors on our career journey, and they can really help you manage the different hats you wear. Think about whom you want in your dream team because, I think, these people can help you master your craft. They can provide you with feedback to give you a fresh and new perspective. They can advocate for your cause. They might be willing to collaborate with you. They can also help anchor you.” (8:22 – 9:01)

“I think one of my important learnings during the course of my journey probably has been to trust myself.” (10:08 – 10:15)

“There have been times when I was too scared to even ask a question in the meeting or voice my opinion. But, in the end, it turns out that my ideas or opinions were valued by others.” (10:38 – 10:47)

“PSA exists for all Pharmacists, regardless of where they practice or what their role is. We really advocate for the profession to move forward and continually evolve so that Pharmacists can make a positive impact on healthcare.” (15:13 – 15:27)

“As a Community Pharmacist and also working in education, I’m always assessing what the gaps are in the knowledge and skills of a Pharmacist and how our practice is, is evolving. It’s an industry where, I think, the only constant is change. We’ve seen electronic prescriptions become a reality. Regulations are always changing. There are new drugs and development. There’s always new scientific evidence, and changing clinical guidelines. So, I think for me, I use that frontline experience and I often take this back to my role at the PSA to start conversations about what kind of educational training we should be providing to support the profession, or how can we bring Pharmacists to that next level.” (18:56 – 19:38)

“I think it’s an exciting time to be a Pharmacist. If anything, COVID has really helped bring attention to the positive impact that we can make in healthcare. These opportunities have really created momentum for our industry. So, I think over a few years, we’re going to see a bigger role for Pharmacists. We’re going to play a much bigger part in patients’ healthcare teams and I think this will happen in a variety of settings: community, hospital, general practice, aged care, and aboriginal community-controlled health services. We’re going to be vital across that healthcare continuum, from identification through to screening services to treatment, or management as our practice continues to evolve.” (20:25 – 21:10)