CAREER PROFILE: A passionate pharmacist

Dr Sajjad Fazel, 25, a public health advocate and Assistant Manager at Sanitas Hospital in Dar es Salaam recalls how volunteerism and patience have changed his life.

The former student of Aga Khan secondary school and Heaven of Peace Academy narrates that after completing his first degree in Pharmacy in India last year, he came back to Tanzania and voluntarily worked in various public hospitals and private institutions including Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) as an intern pharmacist.

He shares his inspiring career journey with Succes, taking us through how he developed from being an intern pharmacist to a health public advocate and health manager.

Tell us about your career journey, how did it start?

I first applied to at least 22 Universities from which I got accepted in at least 20 of them across the US, Canada and India. I also got few scholarships at that time, but I decided to go to India because my focus was to become a pharmacist.

After graduating I came back to Tanzania and in January last year I joined Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) as an intern. It was a three-month internship and I am glad that I learned a lot including witnessing open heart surgeries at Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI). After that, I also did six-month internship at Tanzania Food and Drug Authority (TFDA).

At TFDA I aided in the establishment of the online Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting System (ADRRS) which is currently being used. I was also involved in the campaign of inspecting the pharmacies across the country and again I also aided in preparing materials for the Adverse Drug Reaction awareness.

In August last year I joined SANITAS Hospital as Assistant Manager. Currently I have been chosen to be part of the Non-Communicable Disease campaign committee at the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children.

What drove you to pursue a pharmacist career?

My father suffers from type 1 Diabetes; numerous times when I was young, I witnessed him suffer a lot and the diabetic medication that he was taking at that time was not available in Tanzania, and the cost was high – similarly, you know diabetes brings about numerous complications to the patient. So in light of my father’s situation, I was encouraged to pursue pharmacy.

What are your daily duties in office?

As an Assistant Manager at Sanitas hospital I work in health management. Many pharmacists think that once you are a pharmacist, your main duty is to dispense medication, working as clinical pharmacist or probably work in community pharmacies etc, it is not true; a pharmacist can also diversify which is why I entered health management, it is because every day there is something fresh and new, there is no day that I am bored in office, actually most of the time when I come to work and I have five things to do, I end up doing only two of them – it is because something always clips up, and you know I like solving problems, it’s what I do in health management.

Who is the pharmacist?

You know when someone mentions ‘a pharmacist’ it is obvious the picture that is being perpetuated in people’s mind is that a person who ‘sells medicines’ at a pharmacy. It is not true and there is a good definition to describe who a pharmacist is.

Pharmacists are capable of being health managers; they are capable of doing health promotions and educating the public. Pharmacists give medical instructions on how to use medicine. Therefore the best way to define who a pharmacist is, One should consider that a pharmacist is an educator, trainer, public health servant, health advocate, manager and teacher.

What do you regard as your biggest challenges?

At my work place, I normally find it difficult to explain to patients especially when the patient is instructed to use new medication that he or she has never used before. I sometimes take time to explain to them that the difference in brands of medication doesn’t make a big difference, I tell them that someone can take medication from German or India as long as it is the same generic, someone still gets same effect.

What advice do you think should be given to your fellow pharmacists regarding their career path?

They shouldn’t be “narrow minded”, they should think outside the box. Being a pharmacist doesn’t mean that one should deal with dispensing medications or one should work at a community pharmacy for his or her whole life, times have changed now therefore one can work at certain NGO, one can work as a health manager, at the industries, one can work at regulatory authorities etc.

A pharmacist shouldn’t put money before everything. I’m where I’m today because of my patience and volunteerism. Volunteerism is something very important.

A pharmacist should do volunteerism in order to get experience and exposure before they are assigned to permanent employment.