Newsroom interviews…pharmacist Tayla Tuhikarama on their journey through pharmacy and how they became a DJ

Tayla talks about Māori representation in the pharmacy workforce, the importance of providing vaccinations in pharmacy, and the highlights of their life as a DJ.

Q. What is your first memory or encounter with a pharmacist?

A.  My first memory of meeting someone that I knew was a pharmacist would have been at the University of Otago. I was on the REACH programme for year 13 students and we got to meet some lecturers and students at each of the health science departments/schools. I had already gone down to Otago on the programme with pharmacy in mind and that interaction really confirmed that that was the programme I wanted to get into.

Q. Why did you become a pharmacist?

A. For most of my time at high school I aspired to become an architect, I’ve always loved design and getting to be creative, but I continued to take all of the science subjects throughout my studies to keep my options open. During my second to last year at high school, my dad had a heart attack, while surfing and then almost drowned. He survived, he was in a coma for almost a month, and we were very lucky he woke up with no real damage. This experience opened my eyes up to careers in health. The careers advisor at my school had suggested applying for the REACH programme as I was on the fence about my future plans, so I did. But my GP was really the one who planted the pharmacy seed. We were in a consult, I told him about the REACH trip, and he thought I would make a great pharmacist. Full circle and I got to work alongside him at my local pharmacy up until his retirement. I think what really sold me during the REACH programme on pharmacy was the need for more Māori within the workforce. I remember feeling like, “had I never considered this as a career option because I had never seen a Māori pharmacist before”. For me now, this is a big part of what keeps me here, hopefully inspiring the next generation of rangatahi to pursue pharmacy or a career in health.

Q. Where did you train?

A. I studied at Otago university for both my BPharm and DPH and then did my internship at Avalon Pharmacy in Lower Hutt.

Q. What keeps you in the pharmacy workforce?

A. As mentioned before, Māori representation in the profession is a driver. I know for me seeing and meeting Māori health professionals meant that I could see myself as in healthcare and I really hope that I can do that for someone else. Secondly, I do feel like what we do is super important. I love building relationships with my patients and getting to know people from all walks of life. I think the little wins are what really keeps me in community pharmacy though, it's the parts of the job that can seem so minor to us sometimes but can make a patient's day, that wee pieces of information that we may have given to someone and to them it's not “wee”, it's a big deal.

Q. In your opinion, what is the best achievement in pharmacy in Aotearoa New Zealand (any time period)?

A. My public health studies definitely opened my eyes to the importance of providing vaccinations in pharmacy, so probably that. Our ability to vaccinate in pharmacies has greatly improved vaccine accessibility and contributed to vaccination increased uptake, which I think is great. I never thought I would become a vaccinator, it was still fairly new to pharmacy when I was in university and didn’t really like the idea of administering them. Now, I really enjoy being a vaccinator, it’s a nice change from being on the bench and it gives you a good opportunity to whakawhanaungatanga with your patients.

Q. Do you have any advice for people considering becoming a pharmacist or pharmacy technician?

A. The career is what you make of it, like any job it has its pros and cons but it is as rewarding as you want it to be.

Q. You are a DJ. How are you able to balance both roles?

A. I say quite literally one is my day job and one is my night job. So that makes the balance easy enough. Practicing and preparing for a gig is super fun, I definitely wouldn't call it “work”, It can be time consuming but I love what I do and that makes it easy. This last summer was a bit crazy, I went from having one gig a month (last year) to one a week on average over a 3 month period and a fortnightly radio show on RDU in Ōtautahi.

Q. What have been your favourite gigs that you’ve performed at?

A. It's hard to pick because I’ve been asked to play at some amazing events and alongside some world class acts. But three that really stick in my mind are;

1. Rhythm and Alps over the summer. I played with my partner on new years eve, definitely the biggest event I’ve played.

2. I got to play direct support for Pxssy Palace, a queer collective from London back in February. It was just super special to be part of a queer event like that in Ōtautahi, because they do not happen that often.

3. Lastly, playing alongside my partner at the inaugural Kowhai Grove Festival. Our friends had put in a lot of mahi into making that event happen, to honor the memory of its original creator and it was truly something special.

Q. How did you get into music?

A. I’ve always been into music, but I didn’t start learning to DJ until I met my partner. We met at a music gig and have continued to be involved in the local electronic music scene in Ōtautahi. He had all the equipment at home and it felt silly not to take up the opportunity to learn. I originally only wanted to make mixes for myself, so it was about a year into knowing how to mix music that I was encouraged by a good friend to go public. She pointed out that the DJ scene needs more Māori representation, so I thought why not give it a go.

Q. Who are your top three favourite DJs and why?

A. Hard question because there are so many! But if I had to pick, I would say Lady Shaka, Half queen and Mr meaty boy. Three very strong, unique and all round great people with exceptional music taste and from Aotearoa.

Q. Where did you learn to DJ?

A. Just at home. My Partner works in events and hires out equipment for events so I'm very lucky to have access to it all. We have a permanent set up in the house as everyone we live with is more or less involved with music.

Q. What was the first music gig you went to and what did you think about it?

A. My very first music event would have been the roots festival in Kaikoura. I was 9 or 10 and my Mum thought it would be a cool experience to take me and my brother to one of these festivals. I remember not liking it that much at the time because there weren't as many children as I thought there would be and I thought the adults there were very interesting. But it was a really great experience when I look back at it now. The music was amazing, I got to meet Tiki Tane and the guys from Salmonella Dub and Kora, the site was beautiful, and you had access to a private beach.

Q. Are there any crossover of skills between that of a pharmacist and that of a DJ that helps either role out that you didn’t expect?

A. I’ve been told by some of the students we've had through our routine magic DJ course, that I have a very “prescriptive” way of planning my DJ sets and selecting tracks. I like to follow my own internal method/s to deejaying, in a similar fashion to my own internal checklist for a prescription or taking a consult. I think one attribute that I've got from working in community pharmacy that has benefited my deejaying, is that we work and are exposed to people from all walks of life and I feel like that has given me the ability to read people well, which is super important in deejaying. You need to be able to read your crowd, because you want to give them a good experience.