The Guild Dispensary

Dr. Hester Wilson discusses painful conversations; those tricky topics around pain medications.

Dr. Wilson is a GP in Sydney, an addiction medicine specialist, and chair of the special interest group in Addiction with the RACGP.

When it comes to pain, there is often more to the story than meets the eye. Dr. Wilson says it’s important to take a compassionate stance and apply that same compassion in conversations with patients about their medications.

Dr. Wilson has a wealth of knowledge and experience working collaboratively with colleagues, including local pharmacists, to help her patients manage their pain effectively.  She has some great ideas and insights into how to help start the right conversations with patients and with their doctors.

Enjoy.

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Terri Bakker, Retail Manager at TerryWhite Chemmart in Rosny Park,Tasmania, manages much more than you might think.  Terri is passionate about delivering very important, and perhaps not so well understood, services for NDIS patients.

For those who need it, however, it makes a world of difference. This episode is an important window into the NDIS services Terri manages and she provides insights, lessons, and confidence for your NDIS services journey, wherever you might be at.

Terri has also been nominated for the Pharmacy Guild of Australia’s Pharmacy Assistant of the Year award.  Once you’ve heard from Terri, you won’t be surprised, as she is doing an amazing job and going above and beyond in her role.

We wish Terri all the best in the Pharmacy Assistant of the Year award, which will be announced at the Pharmacy Assistant National Conference in Brisbane this October.  To find out more about the awards, or the conference, visit pharmacyassistants.com. 

Enjoy.

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The National Australian Pharmacy Students’ Association (NAPSA) represents students from 17 universities nationwide studying either an undergraduate or postgraduate pharmacy program.  NAPSA is committed to advocating for Australian pharmacy students to ensure their future is prosperous and their status, rights, and privileges are protected.

Today we’re speaking with Flynn Swift, newly elected president of NAPSA’s board who is currently in his third year of a Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours) at the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane. 

In today’s episode, we chat about the year ahead and what’s changed in the world of student and intern pharmacists.

This year’s Virtual Student Summit provided students of all year levels with greater insight into community pharmacy; the ability to practice to full scope, to lead innovation, and be an integral part of the community and patient health outcomes.

If you missed the summit, here is a link to the recorded sessions. 

Enjoy.

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It’s National Pain Week and for this episode we are speaking with Giulia Jones, CEO at Pain Australia.

Giulia talks to us about what pain is, how it affects people living with chronic pain, and the role pharmacists working in the community can play to help them live better, fuller lives.

You might find these links useful:

• National Pain Week 2022 runs from 25 to 31 July 2022
• Pain Australia resources for professionals

Enjoy

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National Diabetes Week runs from the 10th – 16th July. 

Said to be ‘the epidemic of the 21st century’, chances are you see patients in your pharmacy on a daily basis who make up the approximately 1.8 million Australians with diabetes.

However, have you considered a business model that offers one-on-one support, education, and care for diabetes from a credentialled diabetes educator?

In this episode, we hear from Rowan Lowe, owner proprietor of the Amcal Life Clinic located in Donnybrook in rural Western Australia.

Rowan’s pharmacy took out the Pharmacy Guild of Australia’s 2022 category award for Excellence in Business Management and is a Pharmacy with a difference.

Their Diabetes clinic is just one of the myriad of services offered at the Donnybrook pharmacy, attracting patients who travel two hours to access health services at the clinic. 

Today, you will hear more about the health hub model and what it takes to run a pharmacy business this way.

Enjoy.

Ready to nominate for 2023? Information and nominations for the Guild Pharmacy of the Year 2023.

Amcal Life Clinic Donnybrook Pharmacy.

Donnybrook's Facebook page.

Category winners in the Guild Pharmacy of the Year 2022.

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For our regular listeners, you will recall we recently spoke with John Briggs about how our community pharmacists can be leaders and connect with their local Indigenous communities and play a vital role in supporting indigenous communities.  

We found this such an insightful conversation that we wanted to explore and share examples of pharmacies doing great work in this area.

Curtis Ruhnau, is a pharmacist and Proprietor of Emerton Amcal Pharmacy. After university, Curtis completed a Master of Management before becoming a partner in Emerton Pharmacy in 2000, where he still works regularly.

Curtis joined the PDL Local Advisory Committee for New South Wales in 2008 and is currently the PDL representative on the Pharmacists’ Support Service and has a keen interest in mental health and self-care for pharmacists. Curtis has also tutored medical students in Personal and Professional Development

Curtis has great experience implementing the profiling of the Emerton community to ensure the pharmacy is supporting their needs.

For more specific information on the diabetes program discussed, visit www.TooDeadlyForDiabetes.com.au

Note: During the discussion, Curtis mentions a pharmacist who spoke in Cambodian in Cambodia. What he meant to say was a pharmacist who spoke Cambodian in Cabramatta.

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Brad Butt, along-side his work as Managing Partner at Cooleman Court Pharmacy, established Men’s Health Down Under in 2013. Men’s Health Down Under has grown to be the largest men’s health pharmacy clinic in Australia, providing men with professional expertise for specific health issues, without any embarrassment or privacy concerns.

Brad is a pharmacist who is passionate about the health and wellbeing of his local community and the broader Australian male population. 

I spoke to Brad about his experience in specialising in Men’s health to understand the current challenges and to learn about the opportunities for Pharmacists. 

Enjoy.

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This week is Reconciliation Week, an important time for Australians to continue to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

The theme for reconciliation week, held May 27 – June 3 is, 'Be Brave. Make Change'. It is a challenge to us all to be brave and tackle the unfinished business of reconciliation so we can make change for all.

Our community pharmacists can be leaders and connect with their local Indigenous communities and play a vital role in supporting indigenous communities. There are fantastic opportunities to get outside of the pharmacies and build relationships, attend community meetings, discuss your role, develop a community profile, and learn about the community.

To help us discuss the ways this can be achieved, we welcome John Briggs, Cultural Advisor to The Pharmacy Guild of Australia and proud Yorta Yorta and Gunai/Kurnai man. With more than 25 years experience, John Briggs is passionate about Indigenous culture, inclusion, employment, and engagement; assisting organisations to be better equipped and confident in these areas.

Enjoy

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You have heard the term, 'clinical governance' before but not fully understood what it means. However, clinical governance is an increasing area of focus for pharmacies.
 
Clinical governance is also a focus of the Guild. A key component of the Guild’s Centenary Strategic Plan is to prioritise and enhance the quality and safety of pharmacy services and clinical governance forms a key part of this.
 
Clinical governance is highly important in every pharmacy, and our aim today is to understand a little more about what it is, why it’s important, and step through it in a simple way to help you ensure you have good governance in your pharmacy.
 
Who better to take us through it all than Claire Bekema, and Chloe Hennessy from the Pharmacy Guild.

Claire Bekema is a Guild Senior Pharmacist with experience and expertise in quality improvement, accreditation, and clinical governance. 
 
Chloe Hennessy is the Guild Director, Clinical Governance & Quality, and has over 15 years experience in pharmacy accreditation, quality, and change management and has strong passion for continuous improvement.

If you would like more information about clinical governance, contact the Guild via guild.org.au or speak with your local Guild representative. There is also a range of QCPP resources and information available via qcpp.com.

Enjoy

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The statistics are alarming.

One Australian has a heart attack or stroke every 4 minutes.

Heart Week, from May 2nd to 8th, is a timely reminder to raise awareness about the importance of heart health and Heart Health Checks for more at-risk Australians.

If the heart attack isn’t to be prevented, then ensuring access to a defibrillator within 180 seconds is vital in saving a life.

With over 5,900 community pharmacies across Australia, it is our goal to ensure pharmacy’s across the nation help play a vital role in supporting the health of all Australians. This includes being a defibrillator access point should a member of the public nearby need it.

Joining us in this episode is Scott Carpenter, Business Manager for Heart 180, and Nick Salkeld from Community Care Chemist to share his experience.

Enjoy.

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