Daniel Nyakundi

Reasons for selecting this career path

It was by chance. Unlike most people, I did not pick pharmacy, rather, it was my wise, late uncle (Kennedy) that steered me towards pharmacy. At first it was a question; if I would consider it as a profession, and then followed by a college admission letter from him. I personally wanted to become a pilot; I was always fascinated with planes as a kid but growing up in Kenya (East Africa), the opportunities to fly a plane were limited. Thus, pharmacy fell to my lap by default. Even though I shed a tiny tear each time I am at an airport, for what could have been, I am forever grateful that I finally picked pharmacy and I have loved it since then! 

Professional Interests

My professional interests are centered on Quality Assurance. Sterile compounding both under USP 797 and USP 800 provide a potential to negatively affect patients or compounders if not performed correctly. My role is to ensure that we are consistently providing quality products to our patients while protecting ourselves from hazardous contaminations.

Interest in the PTF Executive Committee

My interest as a PTF Executive Committee Member is to make a difference. I consider the opportunity to serve to be a privilege and not a right, and as such, during my assigned term I am interested in doing whatever I possibly can to serve the interests of our members and to help uplift technician practice for all our technician members.  ASHP as an organization is focused on elevating the practice of technicians and I am glad that I am in a position to provide feedback/input that will hopefully impact technician practice nationwide.

Benefits of being involved in ASHP as a Pharmacy Technician

Being involved in ASHP has accorded me the opportunity to see what other pharmacy technicians are doing in different parts of the country and to learn from them. In addition, ASHP has a wealth of educational resources that have helped me to learn the latest information or the current trends in the market, but most importantly they have helped me better myself in my profession. ASHP has also provided me with an opportunity to network with other technicians as well as pharmacy leaders from different sectors of pharmacy practice.

Fun Fact

I love music. I am a huge jazz fan, (all kind of Jazz - Vocal, Smooth, Mainstream, Latin or Contemporary), I also like Classical Music, R&B, Alternative, Country and Bossa Nova. At least a segment of my day is dedicated to actively listening to music, it is my form of self-care 😊.