Executive

The BPSA has an Executive of 19 volunteers, made up of current pharmacy students, pre-registration trainees, and first year qualified Pharmacists. The members of the Executive are elected at the BPSA Annual Conference. In addition to their individual roles, they work together to manage the functions of the BPSA and represent the members of the BPSA.

The Executive exists to listen to and act upon the feedback of our members, it is possible to contact any member of the BPSA Executive using their email address.

I started my BPSA journey as a national representative in 2015, I can honestly say that the Association has changed my life. Not only have I developed the necessary skills and knowledge to now be President, but I have also made many professional contacts and also forged some brilliant friendships. I decided to stand for President in the elections because I truly am passionate about the BPSA, its Executive and its members.  I want every single person involved to have an experience like I did, to grow both personally and professionally and to have a great time whilst doing so. I have an amazing team behind me this year, I hope to lead them well so that they can be at the absolute top of their game. I hope to inspire them to think outside of the box, to push past the norms and to believe that they can achieve whatever they put their minds to. By developing new ways in which we work and putting in place support structures, I hope that the executive will end the year stronger and happier than when they went in so that they can give back to all of our members, for by building strong foundations this year, we can inspire the next generations of executive and members to innovate and grow. I hope that my Executive will be the giants upon whose shoulders we stand.

This position is currently vacant, the Executive is working to ensure that the roles assigned to the VP are achieved in the meantime.

I was lucky enough to join the BPSA Executive last year as Public Relations Officer and seeing the amazing work that the BPSA do drove me to running for a position again this year. I feel very honoured to sit on the Executive whilst completing my 4th year studies at Keele University. This year, I'm hoping to take the finances of the BPSA forward and ensure that we are utilising our funds in the best interest of our members and the Association. I'm going to be focusing on funding events where we engage with our reps so they can see the inner workings of the BPSA; I'm going to be improving the Travel Fund so that more of our members can access events abroad including IPSF and EPSA events; my third priority is modernising the way we manage expenses and this will include introducing a mileage rate as well as pre-booking travel on behalf of the team. 

I graduated from Durham University in June 2019, having spent my first two years there, and then two years at Newcastle University following the course relocation in 2017. Currently, I am doing my Pre-registration year at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, based in the hospital around the corner from where I have lived all my life. I was Northern Area Coordinator for the Association during the last mandate, so hopefully know what I'm doing by now! It's my job to keep the Association ticking over by organising meetings, minuting and being in charge of our correspondences. I also have a role in looking after ambassadors and alumni as well as arranging for the Association to attend each School of Pharmacy. This year we are running a Working Party on the Association's structure and function. Anyone who's interested in being involved, no matter what your experience, please send me an email or visit the Working Parties page and we'll aim to get you involved. This is the perfect chance to make the Association truly beneficial to its members!

I currently work for GSK as an Industrial Placement Student in the Consumer Healthcare Supply Chain. My previous commitments have been in Interprofessional Education at my university, as a National Representative for the BPSA and also last year served as the Western Area Coordinator. My engagement with international pharmacy groups has taken me to Serbia, Vienna and Brussels, and I recommend these experiences to all of you! I am excited to serve as the PRO and to keep working with our fantastic sponsors and supporters to bring new and exciting opportunities to you, our members.

This will be my second mandate on the BPSA Executive, and I’m extremely excited to see what we achieve this year. I recently graduated from Keele University, and I will begin my Pre-registration year at Lincoln County Hospital soon. As European Officer, my goal is to increase international engagement within the BPSA. I want to see more members attending EPSA Congresses, more Twinnet programmes, and more awareness of what international opportunities are available to all UK Pharmacy students and how easily accessible they are. When I’m not working at the hospital, you can probably find me attempting to keep up my amateur volleyball skills at the local club, playing Disney’s Greatest Hits on my old 70s Casio keyboard or wandering around random European cities.

Engaging with the BPSA so late in my student years has made me feel frustrated with myself. The BPSA offers so many opportunities for members and I hope to increase member engagement through the use of IT. My goals for this mandate include a new BPSA app and to implement a Quality Management System to improve the website content, structure and user experience. The intention is to provide continuity and guidance to future IT Officers and to The Association, whilst still leaving room for future IT development.

Joining the BPSA in my first year as a BPSA Representative changed my entire Pharmacy degree. I was exposed to so many different paths that I just wouldn't have seen if I stayed quiet and sat at the back of the lecture hall. Now in my fourth year, I have the opportunity to give back to the Association as the Student Exchange Officer and offer students life changing experiences through the Student Exchange Programme. Internationally, I have been fortunate to be able to attend conferences in Japan and Rwanda, something that wouldn't have been possible without the Association.

I graduated from Durham/Newcastle University in July 2019 and am currently a pre-registration pharmacist at Guy’s & St. Thomas’ Hospital Trust in London. My engagement with the BPSA began in second year of university when I attended the Northern Area BPSA Conferences. I also attended the iconic 75th BPSA Annual Conference in Durham, where I made great friendships with pharmacy students from around Great Britain, networked with some amazing professionals and had a lot of fun! Previously, I completed half my mandate as BPSA Eastern Area Coordinator. However, I have been recently elected as BPSA Graduate Officer for 2019-20. My role is to help support our graduate members once they have completed their degree and entered pre-registration. When I am not busy doing medicine histories on hectic wards, you will find me laughing at memes, reading my way through some big book and catching up on sleep!

I got involved with the BPSA completely by accident when I managed to wangle a last minute ticket to the Keele Annual Conference. The whole conference experience made me understand the valuable role the BPSA plays in shaping our future profession, by being our voice, so I signed on to be a rep the following year. I loved my time as a rep, working to promote the BPSA, but wanted to do more, which is how I came to be the Publications Officer! My main aims this year are to do more to celebrate the amazing things that our members are doing to better our profession, and to continue to create engaging, thought provoking and novel content that encourages our members to become the best pharmacists they can be. 

This is my 2^nd term on the Executive, so I am expecting twice the fun this year. Coming back as the Education Development Officer a second time round, I want to make sure that students are able to progress professionally as well as develop skills they may need for their time at university and beyond. This year I will be making sure that this will be achieved in a way that members can benefit from.

The BPSA has created so many opportunities for me, such as to travel (I went to a ball in Vienna) and being able to meet enthusiastic pharmacy students and professionals, and I'm excited to continue this this year. I am currently a Pre-Registration Pharmacist at Davidson's Chemist in Scotland and will be continuing this in NHS Tayside soon.

The BPSA has been an integral part of my pharmacy experience. With a faint idea of what the organisation represented and offered I became a Representative. When I attended my first Annual Conference in Durham, everything fell into place. From becoming a Representative in my first year at University to embarking on my journey as Northern Area Coordinator I am excited for each and every opportunity. The BPSA have given me the unique opportunity to meet amazing friends across the country and pushed me to venture outside my comfort zone! Some of the opportunities I have had the privilege to take part in are: being a student volunteer at FIP in Glasgow and travelling to Bulgaria for EPSA’s Annual Congress. I am eager to see what opportunities and experiences this year will bring and I can’t wait to work with this year’s Executive and Representatives.

I was a BPSA National Representative for almost two years before joining the executive. When I first became a representative, I was reluctant to get involved but after attending a representative and executive meeting my interest for the BPSA started to grow and my BPSA journey began. Being involved with the BPSA has improved my confidence and pushed me out of my comfort zone more than ever before. It has also enabled me to form connections that I otherwise wouldn’t have. This year I want to encourage a wider range of people to take the countless opportunities that the BPSA has to offer in addition to holding conferences on topics that will aid students’ development as Healthcare Professionals and motivating more students in the Pennine area to attend events.

One of the main things that stood out to me in my first week of University was the presentation I attended given by the previous Southern Area Coordinator, I remember getting home and applying to be a National Representative that day! Over the past year I have had the opportunity to attend a number of events, providing me with the opportunity to network and meet other Pharmacy Students across the country. These opportunities have helped me develop personally and professionally as well as meeting friends for life. I went on to attend the BPSA 77th Annual Conference in Nottingham alone as the only student from my University, which was very nerve-wracking, but by far one of the best decisions I have made. As the Southern Area Coordinator for this mandate, I want to increase the engagement of students in the south so that everyone has the opportunity to benefit the way that I have. 

I was a BPSA National Representative last year and had so much fun! It really opened my eyes to the amount of opportunities that are out there to enhance your professional development as a pharmacy student. I met some amazing people and it was a great way for me to feel more passionate about my degree and its prospects. Taking on the role of Western Area Coordinator is a great way for me to give back what the BPSA has given me. Taking on a team of National Representatives is going to be a challenge but also a wonderful way to pass on my passion for the BPSA and everything it has to offer. My aim this year is to make sure that all Universities in the Western Area are engaged and getting involved. Starting with a strong, dedicated team of National Representatives will help me to achieve this. I am most excited about hosting two area conferences on topics that I, and the other students in my area are interested in. 

I am so excited to be the Eastern Area Coordinator for the BPSA this year. I caught the 'BPSA Bug' after attending Annual Conference in Nottingham- a week like no other! I had attended Autumn and Spring Conferences earlier in the year and participated in a competition, so I wanted to be a part of providing the same opportunities for others. Away from Pharmacy, I love to dance, and my favourite way to procrastinate is to clean!

Having worked well together as BPSA Representatives in the past year and the both of us realising the vast opportunities and fun BPSA offers, we envision to host an event that would continue to raise awareness among pharmacy students. We hope to host a never to forget, incredible 78th conference for our members. 

Having been a BPSA National Representative for two years and attending two Annual Conferences, I felt prepared to move up the BPSA ladder and give something back. I’ve worked with my School of Pharmacy to almost quadruple the number of Cardiff BPSA delegates over the last year. This year I also helped as a Competitions Representative and even entered the Responding to Symptoms Competitions to make it as a finalist. This shaped me well for the role of Competitions Coordinator having seen competitions through the eyes of a competitor and organiser. I hope to see as many people entering as possible, and applying to be in my team of Competitions Representatives. I am also excited to work with the sponsors for another year of successful competitions and worthy winners.

I decided to apply for the Engagement Officer role after a fun and productive year of being a National Representative last year. The BPSA allowed me to develop my social skills and meet so many like-minded, enthusiastic people. My role is to reach out and involve people interested in pharmacy and promote events through social media. I am very excited for another year filled with many opportunities. Keep updated on what we get up to by following us on all our social platforms and join in on the fun!