A couple of months ago, I came across a very fascinating article in The Pharmaceutical Journal from Ishwah Khaliq. In the article, she talked about her experience with diversity as a pharmacy student in England and, explained how she sometimes feels like she is fighting between two identities. I could truly relate to her experience and, I am sure that many of you are/were in the same situation. I asked Ishwah to share her experience on my blog. I hope that you enjoy it!
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Ishwah Khaliq
My Name is Ishwah Khaliq, I’m a third-year Pharmacy student at the University of East Anglia (UEA). I was born in Punjab, Pakistan however at the age of 6 my family moved to England. Due to this, I really do regard England as my “home” as nearly my whole life has been spent here and I was raised here.
”I always felt like I was fighting between two identities growing up but neither quite fitting in”.
You must be thinking:
Why Pharmacy and Why Even Stay in England?
Well, like I said it’s my home and I wanted to make a difference in the lives of ordinary people and provide them with the best care possible. I think pharmacy gives a unique opportunity to interact with patients and find out their viewpoints and knowledge about their conditions and medication. I wanted to choose this career to be fully immersed in my community and demystify medicine and what it means to be a pharmacist. Interestingly, I speak 3 languages (English, Punjabi, and Urdu) which is definitely a strength for me as, from first-hand experience, not all patients speak English as their first language. I have communicated with patients in Urdu and Punjabi before and I could just see the relief on their faces when I did so as they thought they would either be discriminated against or just get nowhere in terms of their treatment.
My Experience as a Pharmacist in England
There’s obviously a very rewarding side of pharmacy, however, I have experienced some barriers from various people due to me even identifying as British. I’ve experienced people telling me to “go back home” or “your parents are stealing our jobs” which is normally just when I’m walking down a road, and someone feels entitled enough to say it. I’ve always thought that this is just a very small percentage of people, however, recent politics have amplified these far-right voices and I feel that more than ever.
My Scariest Experience
The scariest, however, was when on placement, a patient just refused to get seen by me and started swearing at me just because my skin colour was brown, and they wanted a “British pharmacist”. Oh the irony, I don’t think I could make that gentleman agree with me even if I showed him my British passport.
When I first arrived in pharmacy school, I did not feel out of place because at UEA the pharmacy school is actually majority BAME (Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic). Hence, I felt there were a lot of people who I could finally relate to unlike where I grew up which was predominantly white. Our lecturers are mostly white which is where the potential disconnect did happen at first and I thought to myself:
Is There a Chance for Me in Pharmacy?
Then, there were the microaggressions at university where often people didn’t realise what they are actually doing. For example, when students are being asked to adopt a leadership role, often I feel overlooked and have to prove myself 10 times as much. I had to quickly learn about myself as I’ve been constantly asked throughout my life if I identify more as Pakistani or British and to that, I’d say both. I love Roast Dinner and Biryani equally and honestly that’s a metaphor for my exact blended identity.
How I got to Where I am Today
Moving on from the doom and gloom, there is a lot of things that helped me get to where I am today. The first and most important thing is my support system. This consists of my family and very close friends. So, to anyone that is struggling, I would suggest reaching out to your family if you have a good relationship with them or friends or even a member of staff you can trust. Often these less formal ways of getting support end up being the best as you feel more comfortable in sharing your issues.
”This really improved my experience in university and general state of mind”.
The second is to always remind yourself you have got through 100% of your bad days and will get through more. So the minor setbacks are just all part of a bigger plan. One other very useful thing was researching examples of people that have excelled in pharmacy and reaching out to them for advice and how they got to where they are. It gives you major inspiration and role models to look up to and drive you.
What’s Next for Me?
Well, I plan to keep grinding and finish my MPharm degree. After that, I want to get more training/ more knowledge in issues surrounding mental health as I would love to practice as a clinical pharmacist. I think mental health conditions are very poorly understood and patients often aren’t involved in many decisions or know about their issues. Obviously, I could develop other passions in the two years I have left but right now I’m filled with ideas ranging from being an independent prescriber to a clinical community pharmacist. To any of you in a similar position, don’t let anyone tell you that you cannot achieve anything because of who you are.
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