Humans of USyd: Week 2

Submitted by Anj Siladan

“Sometimes I still think what my life could have been if I did not turn down that opportunity to become a doctor. I really liked the hospital environment. When I was young, I went with my dad all the time to pick up mom from work. I would get to wait and observe some of the actions in that kind of workplace. I think I found it quite fascinating especially when you see patients and families go home happy and healed. So, when it was time to choose a degree, I knew it would be in the medical field. Unfortunately, our family’s circumstances changed. My dad retired. I have siblings to look after. I became the family’s breadwinner, as they call it. Eventually, studying medicine for six years just did not make sense. A qualification in pharmacy takes only three years and it was the closest thing, and probably the most practical, I could do to continue my dream career in the same field. The doctor checks patients and prescribes the medications, while we make sure that they receive that needed medicine. Our job as pharmacists is to complete the cycle of treatment care to the patients. I get reminded of that first ambition at times, but I believe I made the right decision and moved on. It has been more than twenty years since.

A few months ago, I left my job of nine years in Fiji as our country’s Government Chief Pharmacist.  Through the years my role has greatly evolved, from being in the frontlines to working in policy and regulation. When I was starting, one of our biggest challenges is to make sure that our pharmaceutical supply systems can deliver the demand. The issues were mostly internal, and I worked a lot to fix them. However, being an isolated country in the middle of the Pacific Ocean continues to be a challenge. We tried bringing in consultants and even sending people abroad to improve their skills. Unfortunately, we keep going back to the same problems, medicine and personnel shortages, as well as access to pharmaceutical services in rural areas.  

We had a case with a pregnant woman from a rural community who needed to buy $10 worth of medicines, but she could not get it because a roundtrip ticket to the urban area would cost her $300. This is one of the many stories we faced at work every day. Honestly, it deeply affected how I view my work. At some point, I kept thinking that there must be something wrong with my capabilities. Why do I keep missing the solution?

This is the reason that I am back at university after two decades. I paused that comfortable life back home to depend on my scholarship allowance because I know in my gut that I could do more to improve our systems at home. And this time it will work.  For the next eighteen months, I am here to do my Master’s Degree in Logistics and Supply Chain Management at the Business Faculty. It is a bonus that I get to do it in one of the best universities in the world. Recently, I was looking through the list of people in my classes and I may not be as young as my classmates, but I have this feeling of excitement to learn and be challenged here. I am loving this new environment and it is giving me fresh perspectives about life. I have also decided before arriving in Australia that despite my past experiences, I must unlearn to learn to be a successful student. It’s been an emotional ride which reminds me of those trips to the hospital as a kid but this time I am more than ready.”