The high quality health care provided by Western Australia's pharmacists has been recognised at the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia's (PSA) WA Annual Therapeutic Update (ATU) conference.
WA PSA President, Dr Fei Sim, presented awards for WA Intern of the Year, WA Early Career Pharmacist of the Year, WA Pharmacist of the Year and WA Lifetime Achievement Award at the award ceremony held at the WA ATU in Perth on Saturday 8 May to:
· Ashtyn Pitts MPS, WA Intern of the Year
· Kate Fulford MPS, WA Early Career Pharmacist of the Year
· Richard Smirk MPS, WA Pharmacist of the Year
· Prof. Rhonda Clifford FPS, WA Lifetime Achievement Award
Dr Sim noted the awardees had gone above-and-beyond for their patients and colleagues at a time of uncertainty and change in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"As pharmacists and frontline health professionals, our routines have been altered and many changes have been made in the last year. Our profession has shone during these difficult times and we can add the words 'resilient', 'excellence' and 'collaborative' to our expertise", said Dr Sim.
"For example, Ashtyn volunteered to compound hand sanitiser in the pharmacy after-hours to help protect the community at a time of extreme shortages, while Kate has produced resources for doctors and pharmacists to help reduce the unnecessary and often dangerous use of sedating antipsychotics in people living with dementia."
Dr Sim said the awardees were an inspiration to other pharmacists and to their community.
"The winners of this year's Western Australia PSA awards have all demonstrated PSA's vision and excellence. Whether it was empowering pharmacists to be more responsible for medicine safety, demonstrating working collaboratively within a healthcare team, or providing support and education to the next generation of pharmacists."
