Dr Emma Harvey FFPM
An FPM Voices Q&A

What first sparked your interest in pharmaceutical medicine, and what has kept you passionate about the field?

I was quite naïve when I joined Pharma and didn’t really know very much about it. I learned on the job just how extensive a field it is and it’s that range of opportunities that has kept me enthusiastic.

What does FPM represent to you, both professionally and personally?

I joined FPM early in my career as the first company I worked for supported everyone to do the DPM exam. It was also very early in the life of PMST (HMT as it was then) and I signed up pretty much straight away. I think that because I came from the NHS and had been a specialist registrar, the idea of training on the job and keeping records of my training was very familiar. FPM has been my professional ‘partner’ I suppose. I have gone from being a trainee to being a Fellow, I have been an educational supervisor, I am an appraiser for revalidation, I set up the EDI Forum with Marcia Philbin, I have been a Board member and am now the Vice President.

In what ways have you helped champion FPM’s mission for the next generation of pharmaceutical physicians?

I believe that if you are going to do a job that impacts patients then you should not only be trained to do so, but your practice should also be subject to peer review, hence being an appraiser. I actively encourage my appraisees to do the DPM and PMST if they are eligible and I have always supported my direct reports to do both. I had an American boss for a number of years and was able to demonstrate to him the benefits of having a team which was engaged in professional development through PMST as well as through CPD.

What’s a recent innovation or lesson—whether from colleagues, patients, or scientific advancements—that has inspired or changed your perspective?

One of the biggest changes I have seen is the active engagement with and partnering with patients and patient groups over the last few years. This has gone from something that companies have shied away from for fear of falling foul of the PMCPA, to being a mainstream activity that you ignore at your peril. I was fortunate enough to work with a patient expert and a specialist group to develop a patient reported outcomes measure for an infectious disease, and the insights learned about how the disease impacted those living with it and their families were humbling.

What does your typical day (or week) look like?

I am very lucky that I now live in West Cornwall, about half a mile from a three-mile-long sandy beach. I work part-time doing consultancy work, so my days might start with getting my son off to college, followed by a walk on the beach with my dog and then back to emails and whatever work/calls I need to do. I also spend about half a day a week doing things for FPM. I am lucky that most of what I do can be done remotely. If I have to come into London for meetings, I have discovered the Riviera Sleeper train from Penzance which I catch late in the evening, climb into my bunk and wake up in London.

Throughout your career, what has been your greatest challenge, and how do you stay resilient in the face of setbacks?

I have brought up three kids during my 25 year career and the biggest challenge has been work-life balance. One of my kids is disabled and so I have always let my managers know how that might have an impact on how I work or needing to take time out for hospital visits or family time. Not all managers have been supportive or shown any empathy! I have felt many times that I had more to prove as a result, and that I was not looking for sympathy or trading on having a disabled child. With hindsight, there are jobs and managers I should have walked away from much earlier than I did. I have learned that you can have a successful career as well as have a family, and that you have to be prepared to make sacrifices and perhaps say no to career opportunities when the timing is not right for your family. You can have it all but not necessarily all at the same time.

What is one of the biggest misconceptions about pharmaceutical medicine, and how do you think we can change that perception?

Many people are unaware that the pharmaceutical industry is one of the most highly regulated industries in the world. There is still a misconception that we’re all in it to rip off the public, and I cannot tell you how many times people have asked me what it’s like to be in sales!

If your life had a theme song, what would it be?

‘The Only Way Is Up’ by Yazz.