The future strength of our profession depends not only on what pharmacy delivers today but on how well we prepare the next generation to lead tomorrow.
Pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists are increasingly stepping into clinical and strategic leadership roles, shaping services, influencing policy and leading multidisciplinary care. But leadership capability should not develop by accident. It should be intentionally nurtured from university through early career and beyond.
I believe the royal college should play a defining role in building this leadership pathway. That includes embedding leadership identity early in professional formation, strengthening links between education and real-world practice and expanding access to mentoring, faculty support and visible role models — including our Fellows, who represent the highest ideals of the profession. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has already laid important foundations, and the Royal College of Pharmacy should build on these and strengthen the structures needed to develop tomorrow’s leaders.
Leadership development must also be inclusive. Talent is widely distributed but opportunity is not always. We should actively widen access to leadership support across regions, sectors and backgrounds, so that the profession’s future leaders truly reflect the communities we serve.
When early-career professionals see that leadership is expected, supported and achievable, the whole profession grows stronger. I want to help build a culture where pharmacy leadership is normal, visible and continuously developed — not just at the top but at every level of practice.
Ebun Ojo
Candidate for the National Pharmacy Advisory Council for England
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