177 Leya Luhar (Part I)
In this first episode of our special three-part series, we introduce Leya Luhar, a medical student and the founder of OSCE Toolbox, a platform revolutionising OSCE preparation for pharmacy students across the UK. Leya shares her journey from considering various career paths to ultimately finding her passion in medicine. She discusses the challenges of medical school, including the intense workload and learning to maintain a healthier work-life balance.
The conversation explores how OSCE Toolbox was born from a personal need. While preparing for her own medical OSCEs, Leya created practice scenarios for herself and a few peers. Later, when helping a pharmacy student friend, she discovered a significant gap in the market: unlike medical students, pharmacy students had almost no quality OSCE preparation resources available to them.
"I looked around, no resources. Just a couple of outdated books," Leya recalls. This realisation sparked the creation of OSCE Toolbox, which now supports over 2,000 pharmacy students with comprehensive preparation materials.
Leya explains how she built a team while still in medical school, strategically selecting people with potential who weren't already overcommitted. Her approach to leadership and business development shows remarkable insight for someone still in the early stages of her healthcare career.
As pharmacy education evolves – with significant changes coming in 2026 when all pharmacy students will qualify as prescribers – OSCE exams are becoming more interactive and clinically focused. OSCE Toolbox offers over 200 scenarios with detailed mark schemes, demonstration videos, and educational resources to help students navigate these challenges.
Looking ahead, Leya shares her vision to balance medicine and entrepreneurship.
"My plan is to do medicine half the time and do business the other half of the time."
Key Takeaway Messages:
Identifying gaps in education resources can lead to entrepreneurial opportunities, even while still studying.
Building the right team is crucial when balancing business development with demanding studies.
OSCEs are transformative for pharmacy students, becoming more interactive and including prescribing skills by 2026.
Practice is essential for OSCE success – resources that allow repeated practice in realistic scenarios can significantly reduce anxiety.
Career flexibility is increasingly valued by the new generation of healthcare professionals who want to pursue multiple passions.
Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3 of our conversation, where we'll explore the medicine versus pharmacy debate and examine the significant changes coming to pharmacy education in 2026.
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CONNECT WITH LEYA:
Linkedin: Leya Luhar
Website: https://www.oscetoolbox.com/
Instagram: @OSCEtoolbox
TikTok: @OSCEtoolbox
OTHER LINKS:
The music from this series has been created by a pharmacy student! BPSA’s president, Emeka Onwudiwe, is a talented student and incredible entrepreneur. I am so proud to share his music on my podcast. Go and check the music production company and the word that they do: Inplus Music
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