THE sixth annual Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) Tasmanian Pharmacist Dinner in South Hobart this week saw Tasmanian pharmacists honoured for their outstanding contributions to the health of Tasmanians in the Tasmanian Pharmacist Awards.
Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA) President Peter Fowler (pictured right) from Launceston, was the recipient of the Tasmanian Pharmacist Lifetime Achievement Award.
SHPA Chief Executive Kristin Michaels said the prestigious award befits Fowler's position leading Australia's hospital pharmacists and technicians at a transformative time for the profession.
Fredrik Hellqvist, owner of Dover Pharmacy, Dover, and founder of Small Pharmacies Group, was announced Tasmanian Pharmacist of the Year.
Hellqvist emigrated to Australia from Sweden in 2005 and managed a compounding pharmacy in Orange, NSW before moving to Tasmania in 2013, where he purchased Dover pharmacy.
The Small Pharmacies Group was founded within a year, initially as an online community, giving a voice to 300 pharmacists in small pharmacies.
The Tasmanian Early Career Pharmacist Award was presented to Dana McLennan (pictured below) of New Town, whose career started in a range of community pharmacy and hospital roles.
McLennan joined Lenah Valley Calvary Hospital, a 400-bed facility, as the sole clinical pharmacist in late 2016.
In this role, McLennan introduced clinical services and multi-disciplinary team meetings to liaise with the nurse unit managers to identify the priority and at risk patients.
This initiative was then taken up with other allied health within the hospital and has resulted in improved patient care.
She was also instrumental in developing the on-call training service for all pharmacists with mobile resources and references for when on call.
These training modules are now used as mandatory training for all pharmacists joining HPS sites in Southern Tasmania.
The awards, jointly hosted by the Tasmanian branches of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia and the University of Tasmania, recognise outstanding achievement in supporting the quality and safe use of medicines.
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