PRIME PARAGON INTERVIEW: CHIJIOKE MODESTUS OKEKE

Pharmacist Chijioke Modestus Okeke is an alumnus of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, with interest revolving around Pharmaceutical health outcomes and policy, he is a co-founder of VENN careers, and he is changing the face of job seeking hurdles encountered by young pharmacist. He has interests focused on pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacoeconomics, he has plethora number of research on his table, when he is not researching or burying himself in pharmacy related activities he goes out hunting for Amala and Ewedu

YPG: Tell us about yourself

CJ: My name is Chijioke Modestus Okeke, a pharmacy graduate from the University of Nigeria. I currently work with NAFDAC as a regulatory pharmacist. I also work as a clinical pharmacist in a clinical setting. I am a pharmacy researcher who specializes in the field of pharmaceutical health outcomes and policy. I am also a Co-founder of VENN Careers; an online jobs advisory platform for early career pharmacists and pharmacy students. I am passionate about improving patients’ health outcomes through research and also healthcare innovations in optimizing professional growth and career development.

YPG: You introduced yourself as a co-founder of Venn careers, can you tell us the inspiration behind it and what Venn careers is all about?

CJ: Upon graduation from school of pharmacy, I had challenges with getting information about career updates, more specifically getting job especially “locum” which most young pharmacists engage in. There was this difficulty navigating recruitment processes and good accessibility to good paying jobs. Surprisingly, I found out so many of my course mates and even my seniors were passing through same challenge. So I felt we could come up with an online platform where these bottlenecks can be addressed. This was how VENN CAREERS came to be.

YPG: So, what is VENN CAREERS

CJ: Venn careers is an online job advisory platform with young pharmacists as well as pharmacy students as target population. We provide services such as; guidance on navigating complex recruitment processes, conducting interviews for employers, helping employers get the right kind of pharmacists that fits the goal, aims and objectives of their companies, advertising job openings on our whatsapp platforms, helping in creating good curriculum vitae for young pharmacists and also guidance in optimizing their LinkedIn profile. All these and many more are done at an affordable cost.

YPG: Quite interesting, you said you have keen interest in research too, so what aspect of research are you into and you may love to tell us some of the researches you’ve done?

CJ: My research interests focuses mainly on pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacoeconomics. I am passionate about generating data that would help improve medication outcomes like safety, adherence and effectiveness of medications used in managing chronic disease conditions like diabetes and cancer. I am also very interested in investigating on the impacts of health policies on medication access to populations.

My bachelor’s thesis is on the ‘Perceptions of the roles and impact of clinical pharmacists in improving health outcomes by Nigerian students in health related disciplines’. This study has been accepted for publication in the Nigerian journal of pharmacy and was presented at an international conference (ISPOR Europe 21). I have had the opportunity to collaborate with researchers of diverse research backgrounds, the most recent one being my involvement in a study to investigate the ‘Rational prescribing of anti-dementia agents to Medicare beneficiaries’ with a professor of health economics and outcomes research at the University of South Carolina.

I believe in being open-minded in acquiring diverse research knowledge. I remember taking part in a laboratory study that investigated the ‘Effects of methanol extract of Lanceolate lophira on doxorubicin-induced rats’. Asides the fact that my participation in this work improved my knowledge of basic laboratory activities; it also equipped me with certain skills in data analysis using the Graph pad software. Researching requires commitment and passion and I strongly believe that it is an everyday learning experience.

YPG: You quite have you plate full in terms of engagements. Working in NAFDAC, community pharmacy and research, how do you juggle all these and do you have time for yourself??

CJ: Sincerely, nothing is easy, success comes with paying a price, but sometimes I just relief myself of every work and just rest. Sometime I go out to hunt for Amala and Ewedu, there are actually nice Amala spots around where I stay. So, I still try to create time to rest, watch movies and sleep. But, above all, I try to plan my day before I step out.

YPG: As a young pharmacist, what are your victories that you can talk about to young pharmacists to sort of encourage them

CJ: Every little thing you get completed is victory, whether is made public or not. Just give yourself thumbs-up and forge ahead. To me, helping young pharmacists through my VENN CAREERS platform is a big win, the PAGIA award where VENN CAREERS came first runner-up is a big win for me, my collaborations in research is also a big win for me. So it doesn’t matter how small, just keep at it, you will surely win.

YPG: So Pharmacist Chijioke, currently we are experiencing heavy brain drain not just in pharmacy profession but also in health sector in general, engineering etc through migration colloquially called “Japa” We will like to know your take on this trend

CJ: Well, I have always thought that people have their various motives of migrating out of the country. This thought is still very much valid! So I feel that the idea of migrating out of the country to seek for seemingly ‘greener pastures’ is purely a personal one.

However, pharmacists’ migration out of the country is meant to be a win — win situation for the person and the Nigerian pharmacy profession that is being left behind. In others words, the benefits associated with travelling abroad to study or practice should have a ‘reverse effect’ on the profession back home. This is possible when those migrating out sort of give back in various capacities in influencing the improvement of the pharmacy profession back home and by being positive forces in the transmission of knowledge and experience towards the ultimate good of our profession.

YPG: Finally, Pharmacist Chijioke Modestus Okeke, what words do you have for PSN-YPG both national and state chapter?

CJ: To PSN-YPG both national and state, I will like to state categorically that they are doing remarkably beautiful, particularly in trying to breach the gap between PSN, the mother body and PSN-YPG the interest group affiliated with it. I wish to commend the Lagos state chapter for being a force in uniting Lagos state YPs despite the complex nature of the state and difficult dynamics of navigating one area to another. The Lagos state executives still find time to organize events. Equally the national executives have been fantastic. I know about their fight for good remuneration and salary to young pharmacists, this is a laudable initiative and I duff my heart to them.

Finally, the reward for good work is more work and I believe the Chairlady and her able lieutenants (state coordinators) are sailing the PSN-YPG in the right direction.