In some ways, self-effacing Surrey-based contractor Reena Barai seems like the last person who’d want to enter a competition to be named Britain’s best-loved pharmacist. Slow to shout about her achievements, she concedes she’s not usually one to put herself forward.

But last year, Ms Barai broke her tradition of shying away from self-promotion. She asked a patient to nominate her for a competition run by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and Women’s Weekly magazine to crown the nation’s favourite pharmacist.

And it seems she was right to take the plunge; the magazine’s readers voted Ms Barai the winner, landing her with the coveted title and a plaque in her pharmacy to show for it.

Speaking in the family-owned pharmacy in Sutton, where she spent much of her childhood, it’s clear that Ms Barai didn’t enter the ‘I Love My Pharmacist’ competition just to raise her profile. She was persuaded to enter by two friends, who made the point that the initiative would raise the profile of the entire profession.

With pharmacists making such a difference to many patients’ lives but receiving little recognition in the wider media, this was an idea that really struck a chord with Ms Barai. “There are so many great pharmacists out there who do lots of great work that goes unnoticed,” she explains. “We are unsung heroes.”

Entrants to this year’s competition, which the RPS is running with C+D as its only media partner, must recount an example of when they provided excellent patient care. This can sound like a daunting task – pharmacists may imagine they can only qualify if they have saved someone’s life, or done something equally heroic.

But Ms Barai stresses there are lots of things pharmacists do as part of their day-to-day jobs that make all the difference to patients’ lives. From repeat prescription delivery services to booking an appointment with a GP if a patient is struggling to get one, she insists it’s the little things that count.

In fact, Ms Barai found that it took something even simpler for a patient to nominate her for last year’s competition. “All I’d really done was be kind,” she says matter-of-factly.

Working together 

This year’s competition is just as much about celebrating pharmacy teams as pharmacists themselves, and this is an attitude Ms Barai says she can relate to.

“No pharmacist can work alone,” she says. “I wouldn’t be able to do any of this if I had my head down dispensing all day. I’ve got staff who are good at their jobs [so] I can be frontline, out there talking to my customers.”

Ms Barai has such a good working relationship with her team that they were the first people she told when she got the call to say she’d won the competition – news they were thrilled, if unsurprised, to hear.

But how did she feel? “Oh my God, I just didn’t believe it,” she laughs. While the initial shock has worn off almost a year after Ms Barai won the I Love My Pharmacist competition, it’s still something she feels reluctant to show off about.“I don’t really go around telling people, ‘Guess what, I’m Britain’s best pharmacist,’” she jokes. “It’s a lot of pressure – that’s a big title.”

But she says the recognition and praise she has received not just from patients, but within the profession and even nationally made entering more than worthwhile. “It’s a really nice boost for yourself,” she says.

With the deadline for entering this year’s competition fast approaching, Ms Barai says she has already been encouraging friends and colleagues within the profession to enter. While the task may seem daunting, she stresses that writing an entry will become a lot easier than anticipated once pharmacists “put pen to paper”.

“Don’t procrastinate, just go for it,” she advises. The competition is open to pharmacists from all areas of the profession, and Ms Barai is keen for others to overcome their reticence about entering just as she did. “I literally entered half-heartedly not expecting to win,” she says. “But please do it, it’s a wonderful feeling.”

Entries for I Love My Pharmacist competition close end of day on July 28. Visit the RPS website to apply.