Sarah Wild, a pharmacy graduate from the University of Bath, changed career path after a positive experience on a fellow scheme which inspired her to pursue her true passion for education and workforce development. Sarah is now responsible for pharmacists’ foundation training across the South West region, where she applies the skills gained throughout her studies and professional training.

From studying in Bath to a leading Pharmacist in the South West

I graduated from the Bath MPharm in 2014 and went straight into my pre-registration training year. I am currently the Pharmacy Foundation Training Lead (for the South West) at NHS England Workforce, Education & Training Directorate.

Immediately following registration as a pharmacist, I worked in community pharmacy in the Bath area, progressing from relief pharmacist to store pharmacist and ultimately store manager. I then took on a role as a Teacher Practitioner with Day Lewis Pharmacy and the University of Bath’s Pharmacy. In this role, I had the opportunity to lead the development of a new unit of the degree where students run their own pharmacy in small groups.

A fellowship for the future leaders in healthcare

In 2021/22, I was awarded a place on the prestigious Chief Pharmaceutical Officer’s Clinical Fellow Scheme where I spent 12 months working at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (the professional leadership body for pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists) alongside some of the most senior leaders in pharmacy. It was a great year, exposing me to many new areas of pharmacy that I previously hadn’t experienced, but it taught me that my passion lay in education and workforce development.

Achieving a place on the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer’s Clinical Fellows Scheme is something that I am particularly proud of. This prestigious and competitive scheme is designed to support and develop pharmacists who have the potential to be the next leaders in healthcare and it was an honour to be considered one of those people.

My current role was advertised towards the end of my fellowship year and was an ideal fit, combining the skills and knowledge that I had developed, in a more senior leadership position.

Working for the future of Pharmacy

In my role, I am responsible for Foundation training (the year after students graduate from university before they register as pharmacists) within the South West region. I have responsibility for the commissioning of training places, the quality management of training sites and the running of a training course to supplement trainee learning and development. I lead a team of Facilitators who support the delivery of these activities. My role also involves looking to the future to consider what changes may need to be made.

My days are very varied and range from chairing meetings relating to workstreams within the Foundation programme to writing reports, giving presentations, supporting trainees and engaging with stakeholders across the South West region. I no longer undertake any clinical practice but still keep my registration with our regulator.

I love the variety and the problem-solving aspect of being a pharmacist. Whether it is solving a clinical query for a patient, working out the best way to teach a topic, or looking at a new way to manage quality reporting there is never a dull movement.

Find your passion and apply your skills

The teacher practitioners at Bath were also really supportive and encouraging. I wanted to follow in their footsteps and to do the same for future students which I was lucky enough to be able to do! My mentors showed me through my fellowship year that, with the huge amount of transferable skills we have, pharmacists really can do anything they put their minds to!

My time at Bath provided me with the best group of friends who still support me to this day. The course is, of course, hugely important, and my advice to prospective students is to make sure you also feel excited about spending the next 4 years of your life in the city. If you feel it's the place for you, then the combination of the course and life in Bath will give you everything you need to make a success of your degree.