Pharmacy Daily | Smirk best in the West

PERTH-BASED Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) Clinical Advisor Pharmacy, Richard Smirk, has been named the Pharmceutical Society of Australia's (PSA's) Western Australia Branch Pharmacist of the Year (PotY).

Presenting the award at the PSA's WA Annual Therapeutic Update conference last week, PSA WA Branch President, Dr Fei Sim, hailed Smirk's dedication to the profession over the last 40 years.

"Richard has given so much to the profession since 1981 and has never asked for recognition or recompense," Sim said.

"The enormous volume of work he has produced and his wide scope of practice deserves acknowledgement.

"He has devoted so much of his time and energy to improving the processes around registration of pharmacists, examining intern pharmacists and framing the governance around the WA Pharmacy Students' Association's restructure.

"We owe him a debt of gratitude."

The PSA also recognised University of WA Director of Pharmacy and Head of School (Allied Health), Professor Rhonda Clifford, with the organisation's Lifetime Achievement Award, while general practice pharmacist, Kate Fulford, was named as the PSA WA's Early Career Pharmacist of the Year, with Ashtyn Pitts taking the Intern of the Year title.

Sim noted that the four award winners had all gone above and beyond for their patients and colleagues during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"As pharmacists and frontline health professionals, our routines have been altered and many changes have been made in the last year," Sim said.

"Our profession has shone during these difficult times and we can add the words 'resilient', 'excellence' and 'collaborative' to our expertise.

"The winners of this year's WA PSA awards have all demonstrated PSA's vision and excellence. Whether it was empowering pharmacists to be more responsible for medicine safety, demonstrating working collaboratively within a healthcare team, or providing support and education to the next generation of pharmacists."