Life as a Pharmacist (LP) Stories
“LP Stories” is a PSN-YPG Lagos series that spotlights unique experiences and views of Young Pharmacists in their areas of practice.
Kindly introduce yourself
This question looks like it should be super easy, but how do I introduce myself?
My name is Oyebola Abisola Afolake. I’ve gone by Afolake for the longest time, but wish to be addressed as Abisola going forward. I’m a pharmacist, 2 years post-graduation from the University of Lagos, currently serving in Lagos.
I enjoy reading a lot, even though these days, it’s hard to start reading, but when I get into it, I can go on streaks for days. I also enjoy watching movies, sleeping (I know that shouldn’t be a hobby, but it’s the least stressful thing to do. Just close your eyes).
I would describe myself as an ambivert, more extroverted around people I’m familiar with, and more introverted around strangers or when I’m in a new place.
I’m also extroverted when I’m rich (when I have money) lol, and prefer to stay indoors when I don’t have money because outside is expensive.
LOL! What was your induction day like?
Induction day was bittersweet for me. I was very happy, ecstatic, overjoyed, thrilled. I was very proud of myself because I had spent at least 6 years pouring myself into getting this degree.
I’d bled, cried, sweat, stayed up countless nights to get this degree, and here was this day, finally, where the body of professionals would crown my efforts and confirm that I indeed had this degree by taking my oath and getting my provisional license (I was eager for that one so that I could get an internship spot, even though I didn’t know that would take another 6 months post-induction, but that’s another can of worms).
I was happy and proud of myself. Like everybody else, coming into university, I’d hoped to graduate with first-class, but alas that didn’t happen even though I came quite close despite the challenges faced.
I was mostly just proud that I’d gone through pharmacy school without a carryover or re-sit because there were at least 2 or 3 times where I felt so sure I’d carry over a course while writing the exams, that in the exam hall, I’d even be thinking about how the course would fit into my next session’s calendar.
I could not hit my first-class goal, but at least I had a clean sheet, so to speak. I was very proud of myself and what I’d accomplished, alongside my family’s pride and happiness.
It was a very touching day for me. I was very happy; it was my biggest achievement thus far. It tickled me to call myself Pharm Abisola. It was very nice to see my name on the oath and license. In practice now, there are days where I wish I could recapture the feeling of pride I had on that day to push through because the profession can be frustrating at times.
On the other hand, I also had a twinge of sadness because the person who’d set me on the path to being a pharmacist wasn’t there to see me hitting that goal. That person was my mum, who passed away when I was 11. It had been a dream of hers for me to become a pharmacist.
I grew up in a time when it was popular for kids to want to be doctors, nurses, lawyers, engineers, architects, etc. I was the only one right from primary school till around the time that I took the JAMB exam, that I knew wanted to be a pharmacist, and I have her to thank for that.
After she passed on, studying pharmacy also felt like a way to honour her, and it kept me going when there were times that my resolve was tested.
I’m so sorry for your loss. Is there a backstory to how your mum set you on the path to being a pharmacist?
I had just moved from nursery to primary school, I was about 5–7 in primary one, and the teacher had given us the assignment to write an essay about ourselves with a list of questions as a guide, one of them being “what do you want to become when you grow up?”
While working on the essay, I got stuck at the point of that question, because even while growing up, I didn’t like to do/say what everyone was doing/saying (my brand of uniqueness, so to speak), so I went to the kitchen where my mom was doing the dishes and asked her what I could be when I grow up.
The picture of that day is so clear in my mind because I remember her flicking the dishwater off her hands, cut a piece of matchbook paper, and holding my pencil to write “pharmacist” on the paper.
I remember being puzzled about it like “what is that? What do they do?”
She went on to explain to me that they are people that formulate drugs, do research, and gave me a basic rundown of what pharmacists are. It sounded interesting and fit my unique narrative (it wasn’t an occupation that every other child was saying).
I was a hyperactive and talkative child, so I used to get comments from people like “oh you would be a good lawyer because you like talking”, so it felt nice to associate myself with another occupation asides from what people said would fit me.
After that kitchen incident, I really dove into the whole pharmacist narrative. I would get different colours of chalk from school, blend them, and say I was making my paracetamol and other drugs. I even tried to get my mom to use my “drugs” at that time. I’m sure in her mind, she was probably like “what have I unleashed” lol.
After she passed on and I got to secondary school, it first felt like a way to honor her memory, but eventually, I saw I didn’t have difficulty with chemistry and biology (even though I struggled with math and physics), which were prerequisites for studying pharmacy. I didn’t face many challenges on my journey to gaining admission that would make me think of finding another way to honour her memory, but there were times in pharmacy school though, where my resolve was tested and I felt like maybe I could have just done a less stressful course.
Interesting. Considering your thoughts about pharmacy before pharmacy school and how you even used to play at making drugs as a child, two years post-induction, have your expectations of Pharmacy been met? And what’s practising pharmacy like for you now?
No, they have not been met.
In 200 level, we were told pharmacy would make us bags of money. I haven’t even made a small sack/purse of money.
Practising pharmacy after school, my first real job after university was a great opportunity for which I am immensely grateful because it opened my eyes to another aspect of pharmacy, asides from the traditional hospital/community jobs.
It was a supply chain company job. I worked there for 6 months, and this was an aspect of pharmacy that wasn’t honed on while in school. The work environment was great, and that helped broaden my expectations for the profession outside the traditional roles.
The closest I’ve come to formulating drugs as I did as a child, was those times in pharmaceutical dispensing classes, and also formulating extemporaneous preparations in clinical settings.
I feel like if I was practising abroad, my childhood ideal of going into research and formulation would be actualized more easily. As a child up till junior secondary school, one of my goals was to find the cure for HIV/AIDS. That goal is still there, but there are a lot of other goals now competing for the first position.
Right now, I’m in a bit of limbo, because I’m trying to get into corporate pharmacy, after all, clinical pharmacy in Nigeria requires a lot that I don’t feel equipped to give. I feel like with clinical pharmacy, I would get frustrated and not have work satisfaction/fulfilment outside of interaction and gratitude from patients.
The supply chain job that I mentioned set me on the path of corporate pharmacy due to the great experience I had. Eventually, I would also like to get into health tech.
I’m giving corporate pharmacy a trial to see where it goes. I plan on doing this by going in through supply chain and eventually pivoting into health tech.
Practising pharmacy for me, since school finished has been more about the income, which is why I interned in a hospital and took up a community pharmacy role after internship for about 3–4 months. Pharmacy practice in the country can be a bit disappointing, but just don’t let it get to you, and focus on the patients. I hope we get it right eventually because there’s so much we could be doing that we’re not, and that’s part of what’s scared me away from clinical pharmacy.
What are some funny/memorable experiences from pharmacy school for you?
I will try to give one memorable thing per level. For my 200 level, what was memorable was the body of pharmacy students protesting in the school’s main campus over the student association’s health week dinner for that year. We got our dinner and it felt satisfactory, despite the future ramifications.
300 level was not a funny experience. I will never forget writing exams back to back. I don’t know how I survived. We did Pharm. Chem. 301 on a Saturday morning/afternoon after having exams back to back Monday to Friday, and in the exam hall, I went blank and didn’t even care, I just wanted to go to the hostel and sleep. That was the first I was in the hall thinking “I’m going to fail and I don’t care”. I felt drained, I was done. The week preceding the exams week, we didn’t have a lecture-free week, we were still having in-course tests.
I don’t know how I got through it, but I have to thank the amala vendor in my hostel because her amala helped me to de-stress anytime I got back from school.
400 level was marked by the fact that I didn’t have a hostel for a whole semester due to certain factors that were very unfair to me at that time. My parents’ home in Sango-Ota was very far from the school in Idi-Araba, yet I didn’t get a hostel, in contrast to some students who lived a walking distance from school, yet still got hostel.
At a point, I had a personal timetable that had me waiting for people to wake up so that I could sleep in their bed while using the time they were sleeping to study. I eventually got a hostel late in the second semester, and things got a bit better.
500 level was full of so many moments, due to our final year moments and the drama that ensued especially, from picking a graduating class name. The arguments that happened because of this made me see people in a whole new light.
Asides from that, it was fun, we had a traditional dinner (I went dressed up as an Edo bride), we had a fun variety night, beach outing, and other events. Apart from the assignments, term papers, projects, 500 level was really nice. I also had the best project supervisor, who made my project work easier for me
How do you think those pharmacy school experiences have shaped your experience in the workforce?
I think the most indelible mark pharmacy school left on me, is my messed-up sleep routine. I can’t fall asleep before 1/2 am unless I am extremely tired. This is like a spillover from the days of staying up till late hours to write lab manuals and study for exams and in-course tests.
Another thing I value from that time is my calm nature under pressure. I may be panicky underneath the calm exterior, but on the outside, I am more focused on taking steps to fix things and handle the situation. It’s a relic of times in pharmacy school where I was under unimaginable stress especially in exam situations (especially lab exams, where you have to endorse your specimen).
I also am not scared to work hard, seeing as I’ve endured a lot more during my time in pharmacy school.
Now that you’re in your service year, can you give us some insight into what that’s been like for you? From your camp experience to your current place of primary assignment
Well, I’m serving in Lagos. Camp was quite an experience. It took a little getting used to because I’m not a morning person. I survived by making sure I always had a snack to give me a sugar rush that would then help me survive the morning drills and other drills/lectures during the day.
I’m grateful for the overall experience and all the people I got to meet, friends I got to make. I met a lot of characters and was thoroughly entertained by them in those 3 weeks.
I enjoyed the parades as well because I was part of the flag bearers, I also worked in the clinic at times, but as for the lectures and time spent in the kitchen while on kitchen duty, I didn’t enjoy those.
Life after camp is also okay. Not much to complain about.
Any memorable experiences from your time in the workforce so far?
In my supply chain job, I made a mistake on the job, sending a package meant for one state to an entirely different state. My boss took responsibility for the error, instead of singling me out and berating me like I feared he would. That experience stuck with me.
During my internship at a hospital, there were a lot of encounters I had with people who felt they could be nasty towards me because I was at my place of work and I’d just take the nastiness without complaint.
I saw more of these incidents in my time in the community practice too, especially because in the community practice, there is a need to be diplomatic so as not to drive away potential clients. I could understand the excuses of people having bad days, but couldn’t reconcile the need for that bad day to be transferred on to someone rendering you a service.
What do you like and not like about practising pharmacy?
I love that my pharmacy degree opens a lot of doors for me, even outside pharmacy. I’ve seen comments from people in other sectors who attest to the fact that people trained as pharmacists make a good hire in places such as tech startups.
Pharmacy school has imbued that thought in me that there’s not much work that I can’t do. I love the fact that I have all those options for career fields available to me.
What I don’t like is that a lot of times, especially in the community setting, is the tendency to not follow the proper guidelines for patient care due to the society we find ourselves in. Things like running certain tests before giving out drugs, instead of deducing conditions solely from asking subjective questions.
You could say I was struggling with knowledge gained from school and reading, in comparison with what I was seeing in active practice.
I also don’t like the fact that there are incidences of certain maltreatment of young pharmacists by certain employers covering the range of things like unfair salary deductions, not paying agreed salaries at the agreed time, paying pharmacists less than what they’re worth, and overall toxic work culture. It could be very demoralizing especially considering all the hard work it takes to pass through pharmacy school.
Any side hustles?
My side hustle started in school. While in school, I started ushering in events. I no longer usher, I now coordinate ushers with the Cupid Ushers group (@cupidushers on Instagram). I do it on weekends and weekdays (when I have a bit of time). It helps to supplement my earnings as a pharmacist.
If not Pharmacy, what else would you have like to study?
To be honest, I probably would have done medicine or done a 4-year course and moved on.
I never really considered any other course seriously, apart from pharmacy.
Most days I’m happy that I’m a pharmacist, I just wish that the training wasn’t so hard.
I understand the rigor of the training, but some things just felt unnecessary to me and I hope they get better as the years go by.
Lastly, your social media pages so that our readers can follow you.
I have a LinkedIn, but I’ve been hesitant to edit my profile. However, my Instagram and Twitter profiles are: @_flakkyy
Thank you so much for your time!
Mobolaji Uthman, a member of the Editorial Committee did this…
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