Early in 2017, I came across an advertisement in the paper about my dream role. GSK was looking for a contract-based Pharmacovigilance Manager. I was already an experienced pharmacist with nearly 17 years of experience. I had been a pharmacy owner, done locuming for a year across the island, and worked in two of the biggest retail pharmacies in Mauritius. But I always wanted to be part of a pharmacovigilance team since the beginning of my career. My husband encouraged me to apply for the job, and I did, and told myself, why not?! After going to the interview, I received an acceptance letter in May 2017, which was an excellent surprise.
I was both excited and anxious about my new job as a Pharmacovigilance Manager. The scale of my role spanned across the south and southern Africa, which was a broad audience. Fortunately, I had a great team who supported me in every possible way. For the first time in my career, I felt I was part of something bigger! With my team's support and my own experience as a pharmacist, I adapted very fast to my new job environment. Three months after I started, I received my first global recognition from the Area Medical Director at GSK for my work in the company. Subsequently, I embraced two different roles within the pharma department at GSK, from 2017 to 2018, namely, Pharmacovigilance Manager and Medical Information Scientist. I started as a permanent staff member in February 2018. In September of that same year, the Copy Approval Hub was created, and I was appointed as Medical Content Manager doing copy approval for Emerging Markets (which consists of countries from the Far East, Africa, Gulf region, India, Pakistan and Latin America). In this current career path, I have been given the opportunity to grow in my role as well as in parallel. This has enabled me to change from a vertical to a lateral thinker.
In 1989, I did my O-Levels at a UK comprehensive public school, in Swansea. This opportunity arose as my father was pursuing his Master’s in Plant Genetics at Swansea University at the time. It was a year with many first-time experiences. My first school year asa co-ed, my first-time learning German, and my first encounter with hockey and rugby! All in all, it was an interesting year that made me grow. I had fallen in love with the UK education system. Mauritius has the same education system as the UK, which made my year in Swansea a continuation of my education.
My ambition in life was not to be a pharmacist but to become a surgeon. However, due to financial constraints, I chose my second-best choice - pharmacy, which for me is the closest to the medical profession. Following the completion of my studies, I happily embraced pharmacy as a career. I was planning to implement pharmacovigilance units in the hospitals across the island after my internship once I became a registered pharmacist. This idea bloomed during my internship in one of the regional hospitals. Being a pharmacist, I have always put my patients first. Even at the beginning of my career, I always ensured that my patients left the pharmacy satisfied and with proper advice on care and medication.
Since the opportunity to work in government hospitals did not come, I started my career as a retail pharmacist in one of the small pharmacies which recently opened at the time. After a few months, I became the owner of a retail pharmacy in the South from 2001 to 2008. There I trained my staff thoroughly and helped them stay up to date. To my satisfaction and pride, one of them is now working for a big retail pharmacy chain. Following this, I had the opportunity to work in two of the biggest retail pharmacies on the Island, where I acquired a lot of expertise in various fields. My career wasn't always a path of roses. I always strived to offer my best services as a pharmacist wherever I worked.
Currently, my career has taken a different and more interesting path. However, I can say that I have not forgotten my childhood and student years. I was born in an era where education was at the forefront of everything, and technology was scarce. During my higher studies, I needed to go to the Computer Department to use University computers. Only Nokia and Motorola phones were available. When I compare those times to the present, I am amazed that we could get by with so little. There's an influx of highly educated young people into the workforce. Today, with ICT and AI, research can be done anywhere as long as we have a Wi-Fi connection and a mobile device. Parents do not miss their children if they go away for higher education as they can call and see them anytime they want through FaceTime and WhatsApp. In this changing world, to remain at the top, I must adapt to the New World, which I sometimes find challenging. Competition is getting fiercer.
The next step in my career would be more toward management and leadership. Hence, I enrolled in the SNATIKA Master’s Program in Strategic Management and Leadership just last year. Some of the main reasons for my choice are inter alia, It will give me extensive knowledge of modern management techniques, it is a one-year course, it will add value to my CV which will broaden my career opportunities, and last but not least, it is a globally recognized institution. With a more thorough knowledge of management and leadership, I will be able to refocus my career and reignite my passion for business, making me a better leader.
My childhood on the other hand was spent mainly outdoors with family and friends and the parents would always be hunting us down to stay indoors as we would break out of the house every opportunity we got. Buses were a common way of transport for both school and work as compared to today where everyone has his/her own car. Coming back to my education, Mauritius being a multilingual country, gives us the opportunity to have bilingual or even trilingual education, namely in both English and French (optional Asian/Indian language). This gives us fluency in both of these universal languages. After my schooling, I completed my higher education at Rhodes University in South Africa. The trip made me nervous due to what was being shown on local TV channels. South Africa was at that time in a transition stage, where South Africans got the right to vote for the first time and the news channel would endlessly broadcast the violence and killings happening there.
However, when I set foot in the country, it was a totally different picture from the TV narrative! Everything was green and clean. The people were amazing and friendly. As a result, my nervousness transformed into love and respect for the country. I consider my time at Rhodes University to be one of the best experiences in my life. I learnt how to be independent, make difficult decisions, and make and keep the right friends. The latter have become my friends for life, and we still meet occasionally. Those years forged me and made me who I am today.
Finally, my advice as a professional is, first and foremost, age is not a factor if ever you want to change career paths. All you need is patience, knowledge, drive, ambition and family support to succeed in a new path. Be the first to take the additional step, although, in the beginning, it might seem uncertain. Accept challenges, be confident and be honest with yourself and with others. No one is expected to know everything. Stop thinking that you are irreplaceable. No one is. Create a work-life balance, despite work pressure, short deadlines and ad hoc last-minute jobs, otherwise you can end up like Jack, as the saying goes, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!" Enjoy what you do and appreciate your work environment. Expect challenges, especially if you work with the public in general, and use these as learning experiences. Expect competition among team members, and identify and overcome them. Despite challenges, we need to speak and write right and integrate new team members without prejudice or preconceived ideas. Finally, and most importantly, believe in yourself, with a capital B!!