Graceful towards self and others

The Pharmaceutical Society of Namibia (PSN) recently entrusted passion-driven Frieda Shigwedha to be their new president. She is a healthcare professional with a specific focus on the pharmaceutical industry.

"I enjoy the level of professional growth I see in myself. I appreciate the challenges that make me stronger, wiser and much more graceful towards myself and others," said Shigwedha.



Proud moments

Shigwedha said being president is a great achievement, and she will continue to be a learner as every day is a work in progress. Despite her brief term of service, she takes pride in her engagement with PSN activities.

"To represent a group of professionals and their needs and potentially be able to influence a conversation positively is truly top-tier. To be entrusted with this role, fully commit to its objectives, and achieve them is the greatest achievement."

Shigwedha urges everyone to believe in themselves and believe that others believe in them too. She said that passion alone is insufficient, and one must supplement it with hard work. "Be teachable, enjoy the learning journey, and strive to be a better you and teammate."



Responsibilities

As PSN’s president, she represents the interests of the collective membership.

"My key function is to maintain and improve the health of my fellow countrymen. I ensure that pharmacists, interns, and allied pharmacy professionals remain prominent as custodians of medicine in the provision of health services across the country. I am also an assessor and lecturer for our Pharmacist Assistant Certificate, established through a collaboration with the International University of Management (IUM)."

Shigwedha said she enjoys working in a team and said she owes it all to her PSN team for their continuous and immense administrative and technical support.

"Our secretary, administrative officer and education desk officer are my true pillars of strength," she said.

She widens her knowledge by engaging with fellow pharmacists and allied pharmacy professionals.

This also helps give a wider and more informed perspective of their functions, better understand the overlaps, and work on devising practical methods of intra-sectoral collaboration.



Career path

Shigwedha said that being at university made her take a keen interest in student-initiated activities. "They brought out the latent leader in me. After graduating, I joined the PSN committee in 2018. A year later, they elected me to be the vice-president. I served until winning the presidential elections in 2022." She said that the pharmacy industry boasts more than just counting tablets, contrary to popular belief.

Education ladder

Shigwedha attended Anton Lubowski Pre-Primary School in the heart of Soweto, Katutura. Next, she attended Emma Hoogenhout Primary School and matriculated at the mighty blue school, Windhoek High School.

She has an honours bachelor of pharmacy from the University of Namibia (Unam) and a postgraduate diploma in health information systems management from the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST).