A key area within which pharmacists and pharmacy at large can have a real positive impact is that of substance misuse, with this taking the form of more straightforward activities such as the provision of advice and support, through to more complex initiatives which centre on the provision of substitute substances, needle exchange, and more.

In this episode of PharmaCast, Dr Dan Corbett from the School of Pharmacy at Queen's University Belfast is joined by Johanne Barry (also from the School of Pharmacy), and Dr Denis O'Driscoll, Superintendent Pharmacist at LloydsPharmacy Ireland, to explore the topic of substance misuse, and the role which pharmacy can play in helping those affected by this issue.

If you'd like to find out more about this topic, or access the resources referred to during this episode, check out the following links:

• Drugs.ie
• NHS Drug Addiction Information
• HSE Addiction Services
• EMCDDA
• NICE guidance on drug misuse
• Choice and Medication
• South London and Maudsley substance misuse service
• Drugs and Alcohol NI

In the second of this two-part special centred on experiential learning (EL) placements within our MPharm programme here at the School of Pharmacy at Queen's, Dr Dan Corbett (Senior Lecturer (Digital Education) is joined by Fiona Hughes (Senior Lecturer (Education)), Prof. Sharon Haughey (Professor (Education), and Prof. Roisin O'Hare (Clinical Education Pharmacist Lead for Northern Ireland), who discuss EL from the practice supervisors viewpoint, including what they can take from these placements, what they can expect from the programme, how placements will work practically, and how they can prepare to welcome and work with placement students within their area of practice.

A key element of the MPharm programme here at Queen's are our experiential learning (EL) placements which students will undertake within both primary and secondary care pharmacy. We've recently significantly increased the time which our students will spend on placement during their degree, allowing them to put their learning into practice, and gain useful insights about professional practice in these sectors whilst learning from highly-trained professional pharmacists to an even greater extent, offering a range of benefits.

In this edition of the podcast, Fiona Hughes (Senior Lecturer (Education), Patricia Holden (Senior Lecturer (Education), and Prof. Roisin O'Hare (Clinical Education Pharmacist Lead for Northern Ireland) will help you to find out more about why EL placements are so important, and if you're a student, let you know what you can expect your placments to be like, as well as how you can prepare fully to make the most out of them!

Research is one of the key activities which we undertake here at the School, and whilst the work that we do positively impacts patients lives directly, it also allows us to add to the vast range of academic literature out there which is related to our wide range of research themes. But, how does this research get out there, and is it all freely accessible so that other researchers and scientists can make the most of what we do to help them in what they do?

In this episode of PharmaCast, Dr Dan Corbett is joined by Dr. Michael O'Connor (Research Data Librarian), Rebecca Clarke (Open Research Librarian), and Dr Sheiliza Carmali (Lecturer, School of Pharmacy), from Queen's University Belfast, as well as by Dr Jonny Coates, Associate Director at ASAPbio, who discuss how research publications make their way out into the world, and what is being done to make these more openly accessible, including via the publication of pre-prints!

If you're interested in finding out more about the topics covered in this episode of PharmaCast, check out these links:

• You can click HERE to find out more about ASAPbio, as well as HERE to find out more about its fellows programme, and HERE to join the ASAPbio community
• You can find out more about Open Access from the Queen's University Belfast Library Services Team HERE
• ...and you can find out more about how we manange research data here at Queen's HERE!

We're particularly proud of our alumni here at the School of Pharmacy, with our former students travelling the globe to undertake research, deliver education, and to undertake a range of other hugely impactful tasks, all of which make use of the knowledge, skills, and experience gained during their time as a student at Queen's.

In this episode of PharmaCast, Dr Dan Corbett is joined by Professor Carmel Hughes, Chair of Primary Care Pharmacy at the School of Pharmacy, and by two of her former postgraduate research students - Dr Ameerah Hasan Ibrahim, now an Assistant-Professor in Primary Care Pharmacy at Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan, and Dr Hoa Nguyen, now a Lecturer at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam! During the episode, you'll hear more about how both Ameerah and Hoa came to be undertaking the PhD study with Carmel at Queen's, about the research that they did, and how challenges such as the COVID pandemic provided both hurdles and opportunities for them both, which they've now been able to draw from in the current careers.

To hear more about Carmel's research, and her ongoing collaborations with her former students, why not listen to this podcast from the British Journal of General Practice!

Our technical staff are at the heart of what we do at the School of Pharmacy at Queen's, across our teaching, research and more. But what do our technicians, and technical staff more generally do, and why is this so critical? How does a technical career start, and what are the development opportunities?

In this episode of PharmaCast, Dr Dan Corbett is joined by Paula Coulter, Andrew Gray, and Áine McGuckin, all of whom are members of the Technical Team here at the School of Pharmacy at Queen's, and who have responsibilities supporting activities across the entirety of the School's portfolio, who'll speak more about the role of the technician, and how they entered into their technical careers.

To find out more about the importance of technical staff at Queen's, including the Technician Committment, why not visit the Techicians at Queen's website?

Putting patients at the centre of their care is a key focus within the practice of pharmacy, bringing a range of benefits, including enhanced self-ownership of health, greater patient autonomy, and improvement in treatment/management outcomes. However, patient-centered care isn't without its challenges, and as such, it's important to consider key strategies which can allow pharmacists and other healthcare professionals to keep the patient at the centre of their own care, whilst ensuring that treatment remains, safe, effective, and evidenced-based.

In this episode of PharmaCast, Dr Dan Corbett discusses patient-centered care with Professor Sharon Haughey from the School of Pharmacy at Queen's University Belfast, and Dr Joanne Brown, Clinical Education Pharmacist, both of whom are heavily involved in the education of student pharmacists, and the development of their skills in patient care.

In the second of two special PharmaCast episodes celebrating our Class of 2023, we're joined by Ellen Bickerstaff and Zara Dowds, both of whom are now graduates from our BSc programmes in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology. In this edition of the podcast, Ellen and Zara discuss how they ended up studying on their chosen course, their experiences and opportunities during their time at the School of Pharmacy, how their work placement shaped their time at university and future career plans, and what those career plans are!

To find out more about our Class of 2023, visit our website, or follow us on social media (@pharmacyatQUB)

In this special episode of PharmaCast, we're joined by two of our MPharm Class of 2023, Sean Dynes and Matthew Taylor, who in addition to receiving their MPharm degrees this summer, have also contributed to their degree programme in a range of ways, academically and socially. In this episode of the podcast, you'll hear about the experience that Sean and Matthew have had during their time on the course, from the challenges of COVID-19 to how the course has helped them as they embark on their careers in Pharmacy.

You'll be able to find out more about our graduates via our website and social media channels (@pharmacyatQUB)!

One of the most-remembered experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic was undoubtedly the regular testing which we had to undertake whether we had symptoms of the infection or not, and before we'd see family, friends, or enter into populated environments - whilst this activity was unavoidable and absolutely necessary, it certainly wasn't enjoyable, and failed to provide us with a full picture of how the disease was spreading through the population, or the way in which it was doing so. During the pandemic, researchers at Queen's University Belfast came together to develop an innovative approach which allowed coronavirus levels to be detected via analysis of our wastewater, providing a wealth of information to public health agencies and beyond, and allowing for early and decisive action to be taken to prevent further spread.

In this episode of PharmCast, Dr Dan Corbett is joined by Professor Jenny McKinley from Queen's School of Natural and Built Environment, Professor John McKinley from the School of Biological Sciences, and Dr Deirdre Gilpin from the School of Pharmacy to discuss the project, how it brought together academics, health agencies, and other public sector bodies, and the future of the technology, including how it might be able to help us to contain outbreaks of infections in the future.

You can find out more about the Wastewater Surveillance Project and its impact HERE, and you can keep up to date with the latest research work being developed by the project team by following their feed on Twitter.