Finding their own inspiration: Student association at the University of Toronto profiles Black pharmacists

The University of Toronto’s Black Pharmacy Students' Association (BPSA) is highlighting the successes of Black pharmacists for Black History Month. The association is running Q&As on its Instagram account, @uoftbpsa, with local Black pharmacists. They cover details of their practices, what being a Black pharmacist is like, and offer advice to Black pharmacy students. Confidence was a running theme in the advice they offered, says Iman Abdulhadi, president of the Black Pharmacy Students' Association and a second-year pharmacy student. “They say that you’re probably going to be in a room where you’re the only Black student or Black pharmacist, but if you have confidence and you speak up, it will make all the difference.” To make it more interactive, once the interview is posted, students are also encouraged to submit questions for the pharmacists, who answer them later in the week. Read: 'Mission accomplished:' home of Nova Scotia's first Black doctor gets heritage designation The Instagram initiative is part of the BPSA’s larger goal to build a community for Black pharmacy students and promote diversity and representation. Abdulhadi said that even practising pharmacists find it difficult to connect with other Black pharmacists. “We’re hoping that the Black students can get inspiration from these [featured] pharmacists,” she says. “There have been non-Black students asking questions as well, so it’s good for them to see that there are some successful Black people in pharmacy.” The BPSA’s mission is important because there are only a small number of Black pharmacy students at U of T, and there’s a lack of Black pharmacy staff as well. “Going to U of T as a Black pharmacy student, it’s really eye-opening,” says Abdulhadi, saying it was shocking that in the most diverse city in the world, there were only a handful of Black students in pharmacy classrooms. She adds that she’s never had a Black pharmacy professor or even a Black guest lecturer. Read: Canada's top medical journal acknowledges its role in perpetuating anti-Black racism

Finding their own inspiration: Student association at the University of Toronto profiles Black pharmacists

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