Asked about this greatest achievement to date, Sanjay replied: “It has been making a positive contribution to help improve patient outcomes across a variety of complex disease areas, working as a team with individuals from diverse backgrounds.  

“It has been hugely rewarding to achieve enhanced patient care across all sectors I have worked in throughout my career, including primary and secondary care and now the pharmaceutical industry through my direct interventions.” 

Asked about his biggest challenge, he responded: “Constantly developing my practice and skillset to meet the evolving needs in healthcare delivery in the last couple of years. This meant having to adapt quickly to the changes caused by the pandemic to provide effective support to my organisation and be solutions focused at all times.” 

Sanjay was attracted to the University of Sunderland because of the blended learning approach alongside the practical experience. 

He said: “The University prepares you with a solid platform to apply theory into practice upon graduation. The lecturers were always supportive and went the extra mile to help. There were many opportunities to gain robust experience in any sector of pharmacy throughout all four years. On a personal level, it was life changing and I made a lot of great friends.” 

He added: “There were many people who had a massive impact on me both at a professional and personal level. The one person I would pick out is Professor Roz Anderson who was massively supportive from day one of my university life. Roz was always engaged and passionate in finding solutions to health problems and was an inspiration for me throughout my degree.” 

Sanjay’s piece of advice for Pharmacy graduates entering the job market is to make sure they get good exposure and understanding of the sector they have chosen to work in. 

He recommended: “Skills are transferable so be prepared to roll your sleeves up and get practical experience. Pharmacists will always be in demand for employment so make most of your time to adapt and evolve as needed.” 

Sanjay concluded on his future plans: “Never made any plans throughout my life so the plan is to wait for exciting challenges and navigate them to the best of my abilities!”