Bunsen Healthcare Communications

My career in Healthcare Communication stems back to when I was 15 and fantasising over being an author with the New Scientist or Guardian (Scientific columns). I always knew that I would work in a field that combined content development with science. Science fascinated me, I was a pure geek. That child that would take a book with them when discharged from the house to go play outside, that teenager that would go to Imperial College London on evenings and Saturday mornings to attend open seminars on topics that she wasn't being taught at school. Taking notes in the auditorium like she had an exam to write. I was a sponge, and science was my water...

Needless-to-say, I studied Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Psychology as my A-Levels and Human Physiology as my BSc with a placement year at Roche Pharmaceuticals. It's during my placement that I discovered medical education; one aspect of Healthcare Communication that involves the development of healthcare material to educate and create awareness about a disease area, medical product or medical device.

Shortly after graduating from university; I took my first position with a Healthcare Communication Agency (HCA) and have worked in this field since January 2011. HCAs are mostly contracted by Pharmaceutical companies, followed by public sector health divisions and NGOs to act as an extension of their Medical Affairs or Marketing division. HCAs are involved in creating advertising content; PR material, medical education, market access support, and more. with the content directed at healthcare professionals, general public and employees at pharmaceuticals. 

The format of delivery vary on a project-by-project basis, and includes but is not limited to: Publications planning and writing; medical congresses, seminars, in-person workshops and webinars; website developments; digital learning assets; print material (such as patient leaflet and medical posters); mode of mechanism animations; clinical trial recruitment support; adult learning (scientific and soft-skill training); exhibition build and content development support at congresses; Medical advisory board meetings; Key Opinion Leaders (KOL) sourcing and management; and the list goes on.

During the span of my career I have worked on projects on all of the above, for multiple therapy disease areas, advancing from Junior Account Executive to Account Director. I've shifted from permanent to contract positions and consequently gained experiencing working with 12 HCAs and 2 pharmaceutical companies. 

Bunsen Communication Ltd. was registered in the UK mid-2015 and is the medium for all international contract positions; whilst the Nigerian arm was registered in mid-2020 and is called Bunsen Healthcare Communications Agency (BHCA) Ltd.  There are three healthcare start-up projects that have been planned under BHCA, and these will be revisited in the near future. 

My interest now is to pivot into Healthcare Technology, which still sits under the HCA umbrella but provides a greater focus on how technology can better the healthcare setting from integrated EMR to smart home technology, and much more. To assist with this transition I recently completed a 'Digital Transformation and Innovation in Healthcare' course with Imperial College Business School, and will soon be completing by PMI-PMP certification with the view to take on a position as a Senior Team Lead in a health technology centric company. 

I do have a vision to evolve BHCA Ltd. into a full-service Healthcare Communication Agency in Nigeria, but I also appreciate that I would truly benefit from first spending some years holding a position that will educate me further, strengthen my business acumen and allow me to manage a team in creating substantial transformations in the healthcare technology setting. 

The plan is to build both entrepreneurial ventures one after the other, and alongside my health tech career. Taking a phased approach allows time to set-up Bunsen Agriculture as a business; followed by Bunsen Apartment. Once both are able to function with just my oversight of the core operational teams, I will then shift my focus back to my entrepreneurial ventures under the BHCA umbrella. After-all, I am still under 40, and there is more than enough time to evolve into Bunsen Group.