PRIME PARAGON INTERVIEW: PHARM YINKA 'YIMIKA’ OGUNS
The second female Coordinator, PSN-YPG Lagos and first female PSN-YPG National Chairman is a lady who needs no introduction. Pharm ‘Yimika Oguns, is not just a Pharmacist. She’s a lady on a mission. If you are interested in combining leadership with pharmacy, then this interview is just for you. Dive in as Pharm ‘Yimika discusses pharmacy, leadership and goals.
You are a woman on a mission. What is the mission?
The mission is to redefine what is possible, and to show that regardless of the circumstances, sometimes all you need to get you started on the path to achieving your goals is the will to do. My life’s mantra is “To be willing, is to be able”.
Although you need no introduction, kindly introduce yourself to YPs.
I’m Aanuoluwayimika Oguns, now officially truncated to Yinka Oguns. I am an indigene of Kogi State, a state in the North Central geopolitical zone of Nigeria. I am the third child in a family of five and grew up in Lokoja, the state capital where I spent most of my formative years. I currently live in Lagos state.
I graduated in 2017 with a B.Pharm degree from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife. I am passionate about professional development, leadership, advocacy and policymaking. I have spent the best part of the past four years committed to these interests. I am the erstwhile National Chairperson of the PSN-Young Pharmacists Group, a group with over 2,000 members aged 35 years and less.
My current career focus is Consumer Behaviour and Data Analysis. I’m a big advocate of leveraging data for decision making and this is a core area of my work in brand management for one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in West Africa.
When did you notice the spark for leadership in you? How did the journey start and how has it helped you improve personally?
I’d say I noticed quite early in life; I was always assigned roles that requires some level of responsibility and I learnt how to deliver on expectations pretty quickly. I held a number of prefectship positions from primary to secondary school.
My first election was in secondary school when I was elected as the Clerk of the House in the first Children’s Parliament in Kogi state, circa 2006/2007. The parliamentary year was pivotal in the signing of the Child Rights Act into law in Kogi State; I still remember how proud I was when the news was announced on TV. I was a part of something good and huge, and I wanted to do so much more of things like that. At about the same time, I became the Guest Speaker of the Nigeria Secondary Schools Model United Nations (NISSMUN), Kogi State. This gave me more exposure and being a delegate at the conferences broadened my worldviews. I saw first-hand how a seemingly small decision could have far-reaching effects and affect people’s lives. I saw examples of bad leadership, mostly, but I also saw what good leadership could do. I think I became a more serious-minded person and learnt to weigh my decisions against their long-term effects rather than momentary responses. I always believe in the importance of a bigger picture.
What was Pharmacy school like for you and how did it build your leadership skill?
Pharmacy school was, for lack of a better word, “stretching”. It gave me the opportunity to discover how well I could multitask and also came with a lot of hard lessons. The best part was the beautiful people and relationships I was able to build. I had other interests outside the faculty of pharmacy, so for the first 3 years, I was not really integrated into the students’ association. I was more focused on the Nigerian Red Cross Society, my literary groups and other NGOs I worked with at the time. My foray into leadership in Pharmacy school started with running for a seat on the Pharmacy Students Representative Council (PSRC) as the honourable representing my 4th year class. It was a bye-election which I almost lost; well, because you need to be a “people person” to win elections and my classmates didn’t think I fit the bill. It was an interesting year and I remember being dubbed the “executive honourable” because I didn’t have the usual ENERGY also known as “ginger” you’d expect from someone in the PSRC. The next year, I decided to take my “executive honourable” self and run for the position of Vice President of the Pharmaceutical Association of Nigeria Students (PANS), Obafemi Awolowo University Chapter. I still believe this was my toughest campaign till date; I was the underdog by popular definition and had my work cut out for me. It was tough. I think I won the election by 45 votes. My leadership style evolved because I had to work with a team, and even though I was bursting with ideas, I had to defer to the president’s authority and the PSRC’s oversight a number of times. This taught me the importance of listening to team members, the place of checks and balances, and more particularly how to never lose sight of the bigger picture regardless of what might be happening at a particular time. Perhaps my biggest lesson was learning how to be assertive without taking anything personal, no matter how unpleasant it may get. I believe that people will only react based on the level of exposure and information they have, and you really cannot force people to see things your way.
Why did you decide to run for Chairperson of PSN-YPG?
My motivation was that PSN-YPG needed to do more to provide value for members of the organization, focus on professional development of members, and also establish herself as a voice in policy formulation especially as it affects healthcare and youth participation. I had the requisite experience, having held diverse positions and I was quite sure I would do well in the role.
What are some sacrifices you have had to make on this leadership journey, particularly as the National Chairperson of PSN-YPG?
I think the list of sacrifices is inexhaustible; however, I had an idea of what would be required before signing up for the role, so I am not complaining. But, if I absolutely have to mention something, it would be the fact that I had to resign from my job to allow me focus more on some of the demands of the role.
What goals did you set out to achieve as the National Chairperson and what are your achievements so far?
My goals were centred on 3 major pillars:
- Provide value and create a sense of belonging among young pharmacists
- Strengthen existing structures and make PSN-YPG work for us.
- Build relevance and value in PSN-YPG as a youth organization.
These goals were broken down into smaller objectives, and I would say we delivered on most of these promises. It’s important to mention that contrary to expectations, the first couple of months were spent on housekeeping and putting out “policy fires”. This slowed us down, but also provided some insights that I believe the next administration will benefit from. However, the work is not over yet and it would be interesting to see what the tenure’s report card would look like.
As a pharmacist, what do you do? What areas of Pharmacy interest you and why?
I low-key dread this question. Lol. I have a number of interests which include health systems strengthening with a focus on policy making and advocacy, workforce development, and data for decision making. So far, I have occupied roles that have enabled me explore all of these interests; the focus of my work with PSN-YPG has been policy making, advocacy and workforce development. My day job enables me work on data for decision making; I currently work in brand management, with a focus on consumer behaviour and data analysis. My ultimate goal is to tie in all my interests into a consultancy in health systems strengthening, with a focus on data for decision making and policy formulation. Slowly but surely, I’ll get there.
P.S My interests could be very fluid, so, in case you ask me next time and I have changed my mind, just let it be. (Lol)
You are a Certified Professional Development Trainer at IPSF, after being the Pharmacy Education Advocacy Coordinator (2017/2018). How did these come to be, and what does your current role entail?
I applied for the PEAC role at the end of my undergraduate studies, and I was quite surprised and excited to be selected from numerous applications worldwide. The role involved promoting standards of pharmacy education in the world, carrying out research, and providing support to policymakers when needed. I worked with a culturally-diverse team from different continents and we recorded some landmark progress. We started the Young Researchers Forum of the IPSF, and also established the Pharmacy education workshop based on the Nanjing Statements and this currently holds in a number of regional symposia worldwide. The goal was to make the global standards localized, make students advocates of pharmacy education standards, and get the faculties involved in ensuring that the level of education is comparable with global standards. As an IPSF trainer, I deliver soft skills training on a wide variety of subjects and topics all over the world. I also participate in training new trainers in external organizations.
You are also one of the co-founders of Pharmacy hub; what is the idea behind this and how well would you say the organisation’s goals are being achieved?
Pharmacy Hub Nigeria was established to fix the networking gaps in the Nigerian Pharmacy space. We identified a disconnection between students, recent graduates and the realities of actual pharmacy practice, and we decided to do something about it. Our approach was storytelling, mentorship, and peer-to-peer collaborations. The feedback on the approach was great, especially to Locum Chronicles, which was a flagship feature, and we are currently looking at launching our exclusive networking meetings. We also have a podcast in the works.
How can young and aspiring pharmacists in Nigeria get on the Pharmacy hub program to benefit from it?
The information to join the networking meeting will be circulated. Also, interested persons can reach out to me for more information.
How do you manage these volunteering and leadership roles with your professional career?
I am very deliberate about things I do, and you’d almost never find me volunteering for something “just because……”. I also know when to pack up and go home. The most important thing is to maintain a balance, no matter how difficult it gets. Also, there are areas of overlap between my professional career and my other roles, so that helps somewhat. Additionally, I have a strong support system and I try not to lose sight of what is most important. Above all, I try to centre myself by remembering my motivation and reason for starting, and never forgetting the mantra – “velle est posse”.
The largest gathering of young pharmacists in Nigeria - the YPG conference- recently took place in Abuja with the theme “The future of Pharmacy: Opportunities and challenges”. A beautiful conference as testified by most participants. What will you say is the future of Pharmacy in Nigeria and what steps can be taken to achieve this?
The future of pharmacy in Nigeria is the young people; there are many emerging aspects of pharmacy practice that young people should take advantage of, especially those that involve leveraging technology and bringing health services closer to underserved areas. For instance, Universal Health coverage is a major problem in Nigeria, (i.e. inequalities in health access, equity, financing, workforce distribution, etc.) and the pharmacy profession is uniquely positioned to address some or most of these problems if properly leveraged. The community pharmacy is the first port of call for patients, and has almost replaced the primary health care centers in most places; I think solutions that leverage this will play a great role in determining what the future will be. It is also important that pharmacists become more involved in advocacy, policy making and implementation. If we have a vision, we should be able to push for policies that will help make it a reality. Regardless of the forgoing, the versatility of the pharmacy profession cannot be overemphasized, and we should all seize opportunities to improve our competencies, get more in touch with the specific problems we can solve within our own sphere of influence, and also collaborate with other people solving similar problems.
How do you think Young Pharmacists can leverage future YPG conferences to advance their career?
Every conference is a networking treasure trove, and should be a priority for every young pharmacist. The conference planning committee is usually very deliberate in the choice of the theme, location and speakers; there are no mistakes or “just because”. Take a look at the theme, line-up of events and speakers and be deliberate about attending. At every conference, you would have leaders, captains of industry, and you could just meet the plug you need to take you to the next level.
What’s next now that your tenure as National Chairperson is over?
Having dedicated almost 5 years to PSN-YPG in different capacities, I think I will be taking a well-deserved break from public leadership positions. I’d welcome the opportunity to focus more on my career and personal brand.
But, again, I am a very fluid person and things could change. 😃
This has been a riveting conversation for me. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to you. Thank you so much for your time. And thank you for the amazing work you’ve done with PSN-YPG.
Thank you very much.
This interview was conducted by Pharm Sejoro Tonuewa, a member of the Editorial Committee, PSN-YPG Lagos.
