Increasing collaboration with other healthcare professionals, healthcare institutions and making medicines management a priority

Pharmacy is a diverse profession, sitting centrally at the centre of healthcare institutions to give, manage and distribute medicines for the best care of our patients. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has developed resources and publications, which ensures its members are able to give and provide the best services to our patients, for the future of our profession and our patients.

To appreciate these efforts by the RPS, increase collaboration with those we work with will go a long way to further increase visibility of pharmacists works, pharmacist voices and the development of more research-based interventions for the future of pharmacists and pharmacy.

I am putting myself forward for the RPS English Pharmacy Board Elections again this year, to win and to be part of the leadership team, contributing to the future of pharmacists and ensuring medicines management and optimisations are part of the day-to-day activities of all healthcare institutions in the UK.

I am proud to be an RPS member. It has served as a great supporting network as an overseas pharmacist, a good representative of our profession as at the time I came to UK and I believe that if I am elected to the board, I will make an important contribution to furthering that work.

I believe that once we collaborate more, we will create a culture of belonging, our work, efforts will be seen more, appreciated and acknowledged by the users of our services as well as affecting pay gap increase and workforce improvement.

My experience of COVID-19 campaigns, as a clinical lead, and how pharmacists and pharmacies have coped, the pharmacy patient information support schemes, the act of answering patients questions, listening to their fears and concerns when the GPs are closed, or whenever patients comes in for their vaccination during COVID-19 pandemic, shows how much our collaboration with others can bring positive future to pharmacists, pharmacies and our patients and their care.

If elected and with the RPS umbrella, I will be able to motivate members of the board and other pharmacists from different sectors and institutions to work together for the development of pharmacists, pharmacy and positive projections of our noble profession, our patients and our society.

Sherifat Muhammad Kamal, English Pharmacy Board candidate