The Guild Dispensary

We speak with recently elected Guild National President, Trent Twomey and gain some insight into his first 100 days in the role.

Trent discusses the highlights, challenges, and opportunities facing the sector and the vision for community pharmacy as we work towards the Guild’s centenary in 2028.

We also learn more about the man himself, his career pathway, the people who have supported his journey, and his experiences as a regional community pharmacist.

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Ian Shanks has been a pharmacist for over 40 years, is owner of the Fullife Pharmacies Group and CEO of the Fullife Foundation, an Australian charity focusing on the health of women and children in Ethiopia.

Ian has had a lifelong interest in philanthropy, and through his pharmacies has been able to raise awareness and to support many charities both locally and internationally over the years.

With the support of managing partners in his pharmacies now, Ian is able to focus on integrating his dual passions of continually developing the Fullife Pharmacies’ model as one of wellness and health management, with the complete integration of the Fullife Foundation, to help those he serves live a full life.

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For those who work in the health care space, there are quite a few rules and regulations that apply to how you promote and communicate services and products. For services, the rules are set down by Ahpra (the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency), but for products, particularly those deemed of a therapeutic nature, the Therapeutic Goods Administration has an Advertising Code.  The Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code ensures that the marketing and advertising of therapeutic goods is conducted in a manner that promotes the quality use of the product, is socially responsible, and does not mislead or deceive the consumer.

That Code has a legislative Act and in 2019 the penalties attached to that Act were significantly increased.  The penalties apply to the organisation that’s publishing the advertising material, so it’s particularly important that our community pharmacies are aware of the Code and how they can comply – and not incur penalties.

In this episode, we chat with Emi Gosling, Principal consultant from e-MAS about how advertising and marketing of therapeutic goods is regulated for health practitioners, and how community pharmacies can adapt their clever content for use on social media all the while ensuring materials sit on the right side of all the rules.

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The words ‘unprecedented’ and ‘pivot’ have become the buzz words of the past year and for good reason. The world is still coming to terms with immense and rapid change and so too is community pharmacy. Community pharmacies stepped up to provide frontline healthcare and support to their patients and the wider community during the pandemic and they continue to be engaged, willing, and equipped to play an integral role in the response to Covid 19.

In this epsiode, we speak with Andrew Pattinson, Head of Strategy and Partnerships for Pharmacy Platform, a business that assists pharmacies to build customer engagement by improving their marketing, retail, professional services, and HR performance.   Andrew discusses the challenges, opportunities, and learnings of 2020 and how to manage change in order to ensure community pharmacies continue to evolve into health hub destinations. We chat about change management principles, how to put them into practice and how to empower teams to champion change.

The Guild is dedicated to supporting community pharmacies on their change journey. Guild members can access the CP2025 Framework for Change document at www.guild.org.au and for more information and support contact your local Guild branch.

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We’re living in a digital world and this means that a website is crucial for all business. Community pharmacy is no exception. Consumers today are more likely to visit a website before they visit the shop, and they’re looking for all the information they can get to make an informed impression. 

Businesses also need to engage their customers online and this is where social media comes in! Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn allow community pharmacies to build relationships with customers, increase market reach, and develop their brand voice.

Today, we welcome back Aaron D’Souza, pharmacist and General Manager of Guild Digital, to run us through the importance of an online presence for community pharmacies. An expert in enabling pharmacies to realise their business goals through digital technologies, Aaron provides his best tips and tricks to make the most out of websites and social media.

This episode is brought to you with the help of the Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, Small Business Digital Champions project. Further information can be found at https://www.business.gov.au/Grants-and-Programs/Digital-Champions

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International Women’s Day is celebrated around the world as a day to recognise the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. It’s a great opportunity to help accelerate gender equality and raise awareness and visibility of this cause. This year’s International Women’s Day theme – Choose to Challenge – is one that resonates closely with community pharmacy; we saw time and again during 2020 the way our industry challenged itself to respond and lead, and it’s pharmacy’s opportunity again to step up and challenge for a more inclusive world.  

In this episode, we welcome Kirsten O’Doherty to discuss some of the themes around International Women’s Day. Kirsten originally qualified as a hospital pharmacist before joining the pharmaceutical industry, moving from clinical research and medical roles into commercial and senior leadership positions. She has extensive board and committee experience and was appointed to the Australian government’s COVID-19 Vaccines Science and Industry Technical Advisory Group.  

We also welcome Michelle Bou-Samra. Michelle is a practicing pharmacist, management consultant and Strategic Director of Fullife Pharmacies, with 30 years' experience in the industry. She currently holds the positions of President of the Australasian College of Pharmacy, PDL Queensland local advisory committee member, and is a Director of the Fullife Foundation. 

Over the years, Michelle has represented the profession extensively on a range of committees, industry bodies and within organisations, culminating in her involvement in the preparation for the Fourth Agreement negotiations, and currently as a Guild Pharmacy of the Year Judge and AHPRA Mentor. 

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The National Student Business Plan competition is the perfect way for pharmacy students to develop their entrepreneurial spirit and bring innovative ideas to the forefront of community pharmacy. The competition contributes to the development of a dynamic and vibrant pharmacy industry and makes a genuine difference to the health and wellbeing of local communities. 

However, what can it do for pharmacy students? There is no better way to answer this question than by checking in with two of our past competition winners in Jess Cahill and Wally Maguire. Jess and Wally have enjoyed fantastic career progression and networking opportunities since their involvement in the competition and, today, we chat about their experience as pharmacy owners and what it takes to succeed in community pharmacy. 

The opportunity for the 2021 Student Business Plan competition is now underway. For more information on eligibility, how to enter, and other resources, visit guild.org.au and search ‘student business plan competition’. 

The Guild also acknowledges the competition’s primary sponsors Symbion, ProPharma, PDL and Gold Cross. 

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Benjamin King, from Alice Springs Pharmacy in Northern Territory, has won the Pharmacy Assistant of the Year for 2020!

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia/Maxigesic award win recognises Benjamin’s outstanding contribution through his skills, knowledge, and leadership in community pharmacy across a 12-month period.

Benjamin was selected from over 460 nominated pharmacy assistants, and eight state winners, who competed in a virtual national judging day during 2020.

In this episode, we chat with Benjamin about his pharmacy career, the journey to the Pharmacy Assistant 2020 competition, and what’s on the horizon for 2021 and beyond.

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Buying a pharmacy can be one of the biggest investments a pharmacist can make during their career. In our current economic climate, it’s never been more important for prospective buyers to take careful, considered steps when preparing to purchase. Whilst we know that pharmacists are outstanding clinical professionals, this doesn’t always translate into business expertise, and the long road to pharmacy ownership can seem quite daunting for many prospective owners! Fortunately, the Guild is committed to supporting new owners of community pharmacies, and partners with industry experts to deliver the latest information and advice.

Today we welcome back one of these experts, Natalie Sirianni, Director of Attain Pharmacy Brokers, to help guide us on the pathway to community pharmacy ownership. A pharmacy business expert, Natalie provides aspiring owners with the highest level of service and support during the buying process.

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In 2020, we had some fantastic guests on the show who have shared some amazing stories, experiences, insights, and advice with us and I know we are all truly grateful that they found some time in their busy schedules to come on the show.

With each show kicking off with a short snippet from a guest, an interesting part of the conversation to look forward to, we thought that it would be a good idea to go back through the episodes and pull out the question and full answer for you and pull them together into some more best of episodes.

As such, you can expect two shows full of short and sharp advice from each of our guests, as we look back at 26 shows, those being episodes 38 to 63, and we will do that in two lots of 13. 

In this episode, we cover episodes 51 to 63.

Enjoy.

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