Women Pharmacist Writers Series Part 1 of 4: Interview with Janan Sarwar, PharmD
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Today\\u2019s episode is an interview with Dr. Janan Sarwar.\\xa0 It\\u2019s the first interview in a 4-part Women Pharmacist Writers Series.\\xa0 Janan is a pharmacist, publishing professional, medical grant writer, pharmacy career coach, and founder of Global Bookshelves International, LLC. She currently serves as the Chief Content Officer of The Happy PharmD as well as a Medical Resource Manager for Continuing Medical Education Outfitters, which is a division of Knowfully Learning Group. She is passionate about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and loves to speak and write about these topics. As a publisher, Janan spent 7 years working at the American Pharmacists Association working in nonprofit print and digital book publishing for pharmacists and she has now taken those skills to her new independent book publishing company that publishes children\\u2019s books, healthcare content, and cookbooks that cultivate and celebrate diversity and representation from around the world.\\xa0
Mentioned in this episode
Janan Sarwar, PharmD LinkedIn:\\xa0https://www.linkedin.com/in/janansarwar/
Janan\\u2019s Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/rxjanan
Salaam Storytime Podcast:\\xa0https://anchor.fm/salaamstorytime
Global Bookshelves International (Janan\\u2019s book-publishing company)
Email for Global Bookshelves International globalbookshelves@gmail.com
Michelle Fritsch, PharmD BCGP, Medipreneurs Co-Founder
Preventive Maintenance for a High Mileage Life (Kindle Version) by Dr. Michelle Fritsch
We Need Diverse Books (nonprofit organization)
Alex Barker, The Happy PharmD Founder
Read the full show notes at The Pharmacist\\u2019s Voice \\xae Podcast https://www.thepharmacistsvoice.com/podcast
Subscribe to or Follow The Pharmacist\\u2019s Voice Podcast!
Dr. Janan Sarwar and I met at the October 2021 Medipreneurs Summit in Cincinnati, OH.\\xa0 Janan found out about Medipreneurs from someone who worked with Medipreneurs Co-Founder Dr. Michelle Fritsch on her book Preventive Maintenance for a High Mileage Life (Kindle Version).
How does Janan use her voice as an advocate?\\xa0 Janan advocates for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) from a healthcare perspective:\\xa0 research (clinical trials), underserved patients, marginalized patients, and also advocates children understanding diversity in terms of, \\u201cWhat is diversity?\\u201d\\xa0 DEI exists in many forms:\\xa0 age, gender, ethnicity, geography, physical ability, unseen abilities, and religious beliefs.\\xa0 Children learn from others.\\xa0 We can all learn from others. \\xa0
How did Janan learn about diversity in clinical trials?\\xa0 Janan looks at the patient population studied in a clinical trial compared to those in the real world who have the condition.\\xa0 Ex:\\xa0 Black women and breast cancer.\\xa0 Diversity may be affected by the ability to take time away from work, transportation, and other factors.\\xa0 Inclusion in trials can affect health beliefs, willingness to take medications, and openness with healthcare providers.
Janan is writing a children\\u2019s story about DEI.\\xa0 It\\u2019s about baking cookies with her daughters.\\xa0 The sugar got left out of the cookie dough.\\xa0 After the cookies were baked, icing and sprinkles were used to sweeten the cookies.\\xa0 This is how Janan sees DEI in the world.\\xa0 Diversity is missing form the recipe.\\xa0 We need DEI in decision-making from the start.\\xa0 She thinks we are moving in the right direction with getting the sugar in from the start. \\xa0
Janan\\u2019s career has been in book-publishing.\\xa0 She likes the idea of \\u201cwindows\\u201d and \\u201cmirrors\\u201d in children\\u2019s books.\\xa0 A window book lets us see something that\\u2019s outside.\\xa0 Ex:\\xa0 fantasy, another culture, another world. A mirror book is something you read because you \\u201csee yourself\\u201d in it.\\xa0 Ex: an issue you\\u2019re dealing with. \\xa0
A 2017 study showed that <7% of children\\u2019s books were about people of color, neurodiversity, etc.\\xa0 There\\u2019s been a gap in the market.\\xa0 The nonprofit organization We Need Diverse Books is trying to publish mirror and window books with greater diversity, equity, and inclusion.\\xa0 Caucasian children need more window books.\\xa0 People of color need more mirror books.
It\\u2019s very important to read books that are both windows and mirrors; they make children want to read more.\\xa0 Books can also impact career paths.
Janan\\u2019s Independent Book publishing company is called Global Bookshelves International.\\xa0 The books she wants to publish are the English-language version of already-published books from around the world.\\xa0 They are both windows and mirrors.\\xa0 Ex: from Singapore.
Because of her daughter Leena\\u2019s podcast (Salaam Storytime), Janan has connected with publishers and people who have created diverse books.\\xa0 She\\u2019s bringing their content to North American and selling it here. If you\\u2019re interested in writing a book in one of 3 areas, contact Janan at globalbookshelves@gmail.com: \\xa0
- Children\\u2019s books
- Healthcare books
- Cookbooks
Leena\\u2019s podcast was created because she wanted to spend more time with Janan.\\xa0 6-year-old Leena chooses and reads books that she has permission from the author and the publisher to read.\\xa0 They have guest readers too.\\xa0 Stories will be available to purchase at Global Bookshelves International.\\xa0 Leena wanted to read stories from her bookshelves at home, which represent voices and diversity from around the world.\\xa0 They are picture books for young children ages 0-6 years.
Books in print are important.\\xa0 They teach patience, provide tactile experiences, and build relationships with the person who is reading. \\xa0
Janan would like to speak on a TedX talk some day about \\u201cWe can change the world by reading books to children.\\u201d\\xa0
How does Janan use her voice as an educator?\\xa0 Coaching and publishing.\\xa0
Janan was in textbook publishing.\\xa0 She has published more than 30 books.\\xa0 Now, she is in the CME space.\\xa0 Janan considers how learners want to receive the information.\\xa0 She gives the reader what they need to learn in less time.\\xa0 She learned the science of how people learn during her Fellowship in Educational Technology, Research, and Development.
As a coach, Janan listens to coaching clients and reflects back what there\\u2019e good at.\\xa0 She helps pharmacists see their windows of opportunity.\\xa0 She works with clients through The Happy PharmD.\\xa0 Some people want to advance their career, find a part-time side hustle, start a business, or find a new job.\\xa0 Career coaching brings clarity, improves mindset, develops a strategy, clarifies a pharmacist\\u2019s \\u201cwhy,\\u201d gets rid of imposter syndrome, and builds confidence over 3 months.\\xa0 90% is \\u201cinner\\u201d work.\\xa0 10% is finding a job.
Janan mentioned two coaching success stories.\\xa0 One was a burned out woman pharmacist who became a medical writer.\\xa0 Another story featured a man named Sam who was in an independent pharmacy setting.\\xa0 He made the transition to consulting.\\xa0 Both are happier now.\\xa0 Do you want to try working with a career coach?\\xa0 Visit the https://thehappypharmd.com. \\xa0
How does Janan use her voice as a writer? \\xa0
She is employed as a writer.\\xa0 She creates videos or presentations that will be delivered in-person by healthcare providers of all kinds.\\xa0 The name of the company is CME Outfitters.\\xa0 It is a subsidiary of Knowfully Learning Group.\\xa0 Janan says she stumbled into writing by accident.\\xa0 She\\u2019s a storyteller.\\xa0 Janan also writes articles for GoodRX for consumers.\\xa0 Ex:\\xa0 pets and medicine. \\xa0
Janan is the Chief Content Officer of The Happy PharmD.\\xa0 The Happy PharmD Founder Alex Barker and Janan are co-writing a book called Potential about career paths.\\xa0 Watch for that to be published in 2022.
Fortunately, there are no conflicts of interest among all her different professional pursuits! \\xa0
As we wrapped up, Janan proposed creating a podcast that brings to light disease states in populations that aren\\u2019t talked about enough.\\xa0 Length would be 5 minutes (short, bite-sized chunks). \\xa0
Thank you for listening to episode 125 of The Pharmacist\\u2019s Voice \\xae Podcast
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