Being a pharmacist with multiple roles is not without its problems. To begin with, where do you start when somebody asks you what you’re doing now? Portfolio career pharmacist (PCP) is a term you’ll hear, but it doesn’t really say anything about how you earn your crust, nor does it exactly roll off the tongue. I knew where I was with ‘pre-reg’, ‘manager’, ‘superintendent’, ‘trainer’, or plain old ‘pharmacist’ and so did everyone else. However, titles aside, being a PCP has brought many advantages. I have found I have more control over my work-life balance, I can be selective about where I focus my energies, and it is within my power to do more of what I enjoy.
Changes to my career over the year
As a newly qualified pharmacist I started working at Boots I thought I was set up for life. I quickly found myself in management roles and was the first of my cohort of newbies to manage my own store. Looking back, I was woefully unprepared to manage others, and I am still amazed how pharmacists with little or no management training find themselves in a similar position today. After a couple of years, the opportunity to study for a clinical diploma introduced me to a new world of general practice, prescribing audits, and cost-saving drug switches. As an NHS prescribing advisor, I’m proud to have spearheaded some innovative work that made good use of pharmacist skills long before the days of New Medicine Service and Pharmacy First.
It’s fair to say I’m not exactly your typical pharmacist, whatever that means. I could not have possibly imagined the twists and turns my career would take in the 28 years that I have been on the register. I’ve been a Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) media spokesperson, a trainer, and a course developer specialising in foundation pharmacists and public health programmes. I was a charity trustee for Pharmacist Support and at times a community locum too. As a PCP I’ve got plenty of strings to my bow and many skills that I can put to good use, but the real appeal for me of working in this way is the flexibility it offers. We all have bills to pay so, a healthy awareness of the dangers of putting all your eggs in one basket has been critical. If one income stream suddenly dries up there needs to be something else to fall back on. Diversification as a PCP is key.
My journey to becoming a hospital chaplain
The most surprising entry on my list of current roles is a hospital chaplain. Having tried out meditation at my local Buddhist Centre, I found a practice and way of life that made so much sense to me. Buddhism sat comfortably with my scientific mind and encouraged me to think about who I am and who I wanted to be. At around the same time that I started out on my Buddhist path, my father’s oesophageal cancer relapsed. As he lay dying in a hospital bed I was able to witness first-hand how the words and actions of a chaplain can bring comfort. When I later underwent training as a chaplain myself, I soon realised that the listening skills and empathy I had developed as a pharmacist were transferable to the role, though the rewards were quite different.
Like being a PCP, the role of a chaplain needs further explanation for most people. For many the word conjures up the image of a vicar saying prayers at the bedside. The work I do however, is best described as spiritual and pastoral care, with the emphasis strongly on the pastoral. My team consists of colleagues from a range of different faiths, all willing to see anybody and prepared to arrange whatever is helpful or necessary for the individual. This can range from calling in a Catholic priest or Imam for prayers or rituals, to finding, printing off, and sharing a poem that has particular meaning for a patient.
Formerly a Christian dominated profession, the value of chaplains from a range of backgrounds is increasingly being recognised, with teams now even including humanists and those with no religious affiliation. After all, we may not consider ourselves to be religious but that doesn’t mean we are without spiritual and pastoral needs. I currently work a day or two each week in the two main hospitals in Nottingham, mostly listening to people and holding space with the sick and dying, their families, and those that care for them. It can be intense, unpredictable, and demanding but for the most part it’s a privilege.
Being more than just part of a profession
I hit a milestone birthday this year whilst on a three-month retreat in Spain where I was ordained as a Buddhist and given the name Danabha which means ‘he who has the brightness of giving’. The retreat provided a huge open space for me to reflect back and look forward. I sometimes wondered what I would say if I could go back and meet that bright, young, newly qualified version of myself. ‘Keep your eyes open to opportunities’ would be there, right next to ‘the job is what you make of it’. Most importantly, I would stress how difficult it is to find what will make you truly happy if you don’t have a clear and honest awareness of your thoughts, feelings, and motivations.
We are all much more than our profession and we all have other avenues to pursue, but it is possible to follow your heart and your head. You might think it’s crazy to leave behind a regular monthly income and the comfort of what is very familiar. Others however, may see you as a pioneer and source of inspiration. Earning enough money to pay the bills is important but so are our mental, emotional, and spiritual needs. We all owe it to ourselves to respond sufficiently to those needs.
By Paul Johnson, a portfolio career pharmacist
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