Less than a year after being named Trainee Pharmacist of the Year at the Pharmacy Business Awards 2025, Jasmeet Hothi continues to progress his career at a pace.
Now a qualified pharmacist, he has recently started a pharmacy manager role at the same Day Lewis branch where he completed his trainee year, bringing his journey a full circle and marking the next exciting chapter in his career.
The route from trainee pharmacist to pharmacy manager at Day Lewis on Kilburn High Road in London has progressed quickly, driven by his determination to keep learning, developing and taking on new challenges.
“I'm dead excited," he says of the new role, where he plans to make an impact as part of the team.
Since qualifying as a pharmacist last year, Hothi has been working as a relief pharmacist for Day Lewis, gaining experience in a variety of settings, including some shifts at the company's flagship pharmacy at Harrods. More recently he’s been shadowing experienced pharmacy managers to understand more about the role.
Alongside his new responsibilities in the pharmacy, he is already planning his next goal: qualifying as an independent prescriber. He hopes to apply and secure a place on a course soon.
“I don't want to stop," he says. "We've done the training year, but I want to keep the momentum going. I just want to crack on with it.”
His ambition was recognised when he won Trainee Pharmacist of the Year last October, which he describes as a huge surprise and an honour.
Winning the award was inspiring and he says it confirmed to him that he had made the right career choice in as a pharmacist.
“I see the award trophy every day sitting on my bookcase,” he says. “I look at it and think, 'Head down, back to work.' It's a reminder that I'm on the right path and that I need to keep working hard.”
The award gave him confidence and motivation at a crucial point in his career.
“It was one of the highlights of my year,” he says. “You spend so much time studying and preparing for exams, and then to be recognised for the work you've been doing is amazing. Going to the awards and meeting people who had achieved so much was really inspiring for me.”
He adds: “It's a great source of pride. It reminds me that I'm on the right track. One of the things I always wanted to do was make my family proud, and my mum still brags about the award now.”
His award-winning trainee year was characterised by an enthusiasm for community pharmacy and a willingness to go beyond what was expected.
For example, he responded quickly during a medical emergency involving a patient suffering an asthma attack in the pharmacy. They entered the branch visibly short of breath, wheezing, and struggling to communicate, which Jasmeet immediately recognised as the signs of an acute asthma exacerbation, and arranged treatment. When the paramedics arrived, the patient's condition had stabilised. The crew commended the pharmacy team and Jasmeet in particular, for their prompt and effective intervention.
On another occasion, a patient taking medication for atrial fibrillation told him about experiencing palpitations. He advocated for him to ensure they were stabilised on a suitable treatment and received the right medical advice.
Supported by his trainee supervisor, he was actively involved in community engagement, building relationships with local businesses, working closely with GP practices and helping to raise awareness of pharmacy services throughout the area.
He took part in health promotion campaigns, flu vaccination programmes and blood pressure case-finding initiatives, and the implementation of the pharmacy’s Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring service.
“I love engaging with the community,” he says. “You build relationships with people and you realise the impact that simple interventions can have. Seeing someone come in for a blood pressure check and then finding they need treatment, knowing you've helped catch that, is incredibly rewarding.”
Working in an area of the city where many patients did not have English as a first language also highlighted the role pharmacists can play in improving access to healthcare and supporting people to understand their health conditions.
These opportunities helped him to cement his belief that pharmacy was the right career for him.
There was a time during university when he considered changing direction altogether.
“I actually wanted to be a teacher originally," he says. "Then in my third year at university I even thought about dropping out. But I started working in pharmacy and realised I loved it. It's very different applying knowledge in practice compared with reading about it in a book.”
As community pharmacy continues to evolve, he sees independent prescribing as a natural next step and is keen to play a role in the future delivery of clinical services.
For now, his focus is firmly on leading the pharmacy branch where his professional journey began, a challenge he plans to approach with a proactive attitude.
With a national award already under his belt, a new role secured, and independent prescribing in his sights, it is clear that momentum from success in the Pharmacy Business Awards has put him on an exciting path.
The Pharmacy Business Trainee Pharmacist of the Year Award 2025 was sponsored by Sandoz.
