Podcast: How I went from locum to pharmacy journalist

In the second episode of the A Coffee With podcast series, C+D's editor Beth Kennedy spoke to C+D clinical and custom content editor Naimah Callachand about her career to date.

Ms Callachand started out her pharmacy career as a locum in Belfast, before moving to London for a new role in communications in 2015. After experience working for a medical communications company and the British National Formulary, Ms Callachand joined C+D as its clinical editor in 2019.

Chemist + Druggist pharmacy podcast · A Coffee With...Naimah Callachand

"It was a bit of a jump changing job roles and also countries [at the same time]. But I thought, if I'm going to do one thing, I may as well do it all at once," says Ms Callachand of her decision to move away from Belfast and take up a new career avenue in communications. "It was really challenging, but I really enjoyed it and I don't regret it at all."

Ms Callachand also discusses what advice she wishes she had been given at the start of her career and the importance of mentorship for young female pharmacists.

"I wish someone had told me to be more confident when applying for job roles or pushing myself further in different roles," she says. "A lot of the time I think, I'm not going to apply for that next role because I'm not qualified enough or maybe I wouldn't be good. [I wish I had] someone to instill that confidence [in me] because I've obviously got to this position because I'm good at what I do, I have the right knowledge to get there."

You can listen to the podcast above. Alternatively, subscribe to C+D's podcasts by searching “Chemist+Druggist podcast” on your preferred app or on Soundcloud.

The Women in Pharmacy group is available to join by registering for free on the C+D Community