Pharmacy Daily | Hiring NZ Pharmacists

I have found that a Pharmacy may be approached by a NZ Pharmacist looking to cross the ditch and work in a larger Pharmacy Industry with more opportunities. The good news is that they are usually motivated and driven! There can be some confusion about the differences in Pharmacist practice between Australia and NZ, so I’m briefly covering the salient points. AHPRA registration: The Pharmacy Board (AHPRA) will immediately register a NZ Pharmacist via Trans Tasman recognition (paperwork processing can take up to 4 weeks). Done from NZ, they’ll be ready to start work upon arrival. Supervised practice: Unofficially, it is recognised that a NZ Pharmacist will need a 2-4 week period of working with another Pharmacist (not officially “Supervised Practice” but similar in effect) to acclimatise. Areas requiring initial support are: the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and Claims process; 5CPA programs (CIs, MedsCheck, Diabetes MedScreen, PPIs, etc); identifying differences in Scheduled Medications (S4/S8, etc); and Project STOP, etc. Let’s not forget the Dispensing Software – the main program in NZ is Toniq but there’s also LOTS whereas in Australia there’s more variety with FRED/WiniFRED, LOTS, Minfos, Aquarius, Amfac, etc. Fortunately these differences are not insurmountable and I’ve been involved in many success stories for both the employer and employee. Be prepared to nurture and mentor! This week’s contributor is David Shaw, Recruitment Consultant at Raven’s Recruitment.

---

The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 23 Sep 13
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 23 Sep 13