Profile of An Innovative and Inspirational Pharmacist: Shilpa Patel

Pharmacists in general practice in today’s world need heroes and heroines to champion their cause and show what is possible. This is because, over time, the role of the pharmacist has evolved in ways that make it very different from its origins in apothecary. In those ancient days, apothecaries were very similar to dispensing GPs nowadays. If you want a fascinating read on this history, you will find this article on the RPS website very insightful.

Shilpa Patel: Image Rights belong to Shilpa Patel. AskShilpa.Com

With this background in mind, one pharmacist who is carrying the beacon for pharmacists in general practice is Shilpa Patel. Shilpa is a GP Pharmacist Partner and Lead Prescribing Pharmacist at WellBN Surgery in Brighton. If you want to gain insights on what you can do as a general practice pharmacist, I recommend you follow her on LinkedIn. Click here for the link.

Here are three reasons why I think she deserves her place on the GP pharmacist pedestal.

Her Passion for Pharmacy in General Practice

If you happen to be one of the Shilpa’s over 7,300 followers (and counting), you will know how passionate she is about her work. She is consistent in posting ideas and sharing experiences. It appears that her lifestyle and work are intimately intertwined and she finds genuine pleasure in both. For some pharmacists, across all sectors, work is a necessary evil. For her, the opposite is true. Work as a pharmacist seems to be part of her reason for living. Few people get to experience that joy.

As a result, she has been willing to take risks and “step into the unknown”. This has landed her in good stead.

Her Generosity

In a world in which most people want to charge for what they provide, Shilpa provides, freely, time-saving prescribing guidelines for professionals working in primary care. These are available from a dedicated website, AskShilpa.com. The testimonials on her site reflect the fact that pharmacists have found them useful.

She also appreciates the difficulty that many pharmacists have in finding a DPP to guide them in their independent prescribing training. This is evident in that she is one of the few pharmacists (I presume there are others) who advertise boldly on their LinkedIn profiles that they can help with this. If you are looking for a DPP and can get to Birmingham or Brighton, she might be able to help.

Her Advocacy for the Profession

If you are a regular reader of the Chemist and Druggist, you will be aware that Shilpa is a regular columnist who writes insightful articles about what pharmacists are or could be doing. At the time of writing this post, she has nine articles overing the following topics:

• 25/01/2021: Overseeing a Covid Vaccination Hub
• 27/04/2021: Advise for Patients following Covid-19 Vaccinations
• 03/03/2023: The Community Pharmacist Consultation Service
• 11/07/2023: Making the Transition from Community Pharmacy to General Practice
• 21/07/2023: Tips on Handling Sleeping Tablet Addiction
• 04/08/2023: How to Secure a Job in General Practice Pharmacy
• 21/08/2023: Role of Pharmacists in Tackling Vaccine Hesitancy
• 11/09/2023: Sharing Her Journey from GP Pharmacist to Partner
• 11/10/2023: Finding your Ikigai: The rewarding experience of being a pharmacist

While the list above is taken from the Chemist and Druggist, she has other articles in the The Pharmacist magazine, as well.

Shilpa frequently shares on LinkedIn the excellent work that her team of pharmacists are doing at her surgery. Examples include their roles in deprescribing and running a range of clinics. It is noteworthy that the list of staff at her surgery includes all the names of the doctors, admin staff, ARRS roles and pharmacists. This is a mark of the respect that the leadership at the practice, which includes Shilpa, has for all the team members. Many ARRS professionals (including pharmacists), in other practices, sometimes feel that they are just anonymous “cogs” in the system. Small acts of recognition, such as the one noted above, go a long way towards removing this sense of being unappreciated and integrating them fully into practices.

I expect we still have a lot more to see from Shilpa. Her zest for life and passion for pharmacy in general practice can only elevate her to higher levels.

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