AS THE mantle of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) presidency officially passes today to Professor Mark Naunton, Associate Professor Fei Sim (pictured) shared with Pharmacy Daily some of the highlights from her four-year tenure as president.
"What leaves a smile on my face, and what really matters, is that we are a more united profession moving forward, and that pharmacists are recognised by the health system and by Australians as essential healthcare providers across all areas of practice," she opened.
Sim pointed out that pharmacists' impact grew exponentially during COVID, and as it continues to do so with further scope expansion, unity is more important than ever.
"I've always felt that our profession might be small, but we are mighty," she said.
"But because we're such a small profession, we need to have as much alignment, as much unity, as much collaboration as we possibly can within our profession.
"I really feel that over the past four years we've come through a journey, and I'm really proud to see that that's going from strength to strength."
In terms of milestones, Sim said her "number one" would have to be the PSA acquisition of the Australasian College of Pharmacy.
"That didn't happen overnight, and I'm really glad to see where we are now," she said.
"There is going to be another chapter ahead of us, but it is a significant achievement, and not just for the PSA - it really is for the profession.
"What it means is that within a resource-constrained environment, we will be able to focus our resourcing and invest in education and training and upskilling of our workforce in areas that are required, so that together our workforce can build a capability and capacity and be agile to meet the fast evolving practice landscape affecting pharmacists and pharmacy assistants."
Another highlight was the establishment of the PSA Foundation in 2023.
"We're really pleased and proud to see that the foundation now has over a million dollars in total assets under management, and is currently in the position where we are fully operational.
"We have successfully undertaken a number of philanthropic activities through the foundation, including the training of Mental Health First Aid training for 26 pharmacists in Queensland, as well as partnering with the Wilson Foundation to distribute the Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines."
Sim was also proud to note that PSA membership numbers have surpassed 21,000 for the first time.
"Seeing more and more pharmacists building loyalty towards the PSA, and seeing the PSA as their home, means a lot to me," she said.
The PSA has invested heavily in education and training, including the development of training for pharmacist prescribing, aged care onsite pharmacists, and medication management reviews, as well as modularised training to support scope expansion.
With quality use of medicines (QUM) and medicine safety as a national health priority area, the PSA has prioritised growing projects and partnerships in the space.
"And we in 2025 alone, we delivered over 40 projects with over 30 partners, and our projects our growing exponentially," Sim said.
"So that's something that I'm quite proud to see, because these partnerships and projects are critical - they often drive innovation, but they also generate the evidence our profession needs to demonstrate the impact of our work as pharmacists in driving QUM and medicine safety."
With a focus on looking after priority and vulnerable patient groups, Sim also highlighted some of the medicine safety reports completed during her tenure, including those on disability care, mental health and paediatrics.
Finally, Sim pointed to the signing of the historic Strategic Agreement on Pharmacist Professional Practice with the Federal Government, underpinning "how we would lift the bar and promote professionalism to meet the evolving needs of the health system and our patients in Australia".
Sim concluded with three key messages for pharmacists:
"Stay united as a profession - it's the responsibility of every single one of us; try to make a positive impact at every opportunity as our profession and our work continues to evolve; and think and act like a clinician - because we are." KB
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