Page 18 - RPA May 2020

16 INDUSTRY EDUCATION
CELEBRATING
outstanding CONTRIBUTION
BTy C o l m M a g u i r e , G r o u p E x e c u t i v e , M e m b e r S e r v i c e s and Innovation Group, Pharmacy Guild of Australia.
he value of pharmacy pharmacy workforce. assistants to the successful She says that although running of a community she had worked hard pharmacy and to improving towards the award, and
the health outcomes of patients been very keen to win it,
is immeasurable.
Pharmacy assistants are a vital part
of every pharmacy team. In recognition of this, every year an annual award, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia/Maxigesic Pharmacy Assistant of the Year, is presented to the best of the best of these tireless workers.
The Pharmacy Assistant of the Year award is the premier award for Australian pharmacy assistants, recognising and celebrating the ‘best of the best’ in community pharmacy.
Each year, the Pharmacy Guild searches the country to find the most skilled and knowledgeable pharmacy assistants to share their experiences and passion for the industry.
This award recognises the important contribution pharmacy assistants make to the pharmacy industry and
is a chance to celebrate their passion and commitment.
The award is entering its 14th year and represents a truly national recognition of the outstanding contribution that pharmacy assistants make to the community pharmacy industry.
For consumers, pharmacy assistants may represent the face of the pharmacy. They are often the first point of call, and just as often the last. The consumer’s pharmacy experience will be heavily reliant on their interaction with the pharmacy assistant and this critical role is reflected in the Pharmacy Assistant of the Year award.
A previous national winner was Alice Vanderpol from Moama Village Pharmacy in NSW.
In a podcast/audio interview available on the Guild’s Pharmacy Business & Career Network Podcast website, Ms Vanderpol talks about her career, experience of the award and where she sees the future of the
being announced as the overall winner was met with disbelief by her.
As she points out,
there were initially 750 nominations for the award,
so the competition was tough.
But when she was nominated for the award she hadn’t known all that much about it.
“I asked the pharmacists if this
was a massive thing,” Ms Vanderpol said. “They were like, ‘Yeah, it’s huge!
It’s such an honour’. At first I just didn’t understand the magnitude of the award.”
She says the process from there was quite simple and straightforward. She had to fill out a form and answer some questions, after which she was chosen in the top 20 of the 750 nominations.
Her approach to the questionnaire provides good guidance for those who may be nominated this year.
“When I filled out the forms, I decided to just be me,” she said. “If it’s good enough, that’s great. We’ll just see what happens.”
She also stresses that the workshops associated with the competition were invaluable: she learned so much from the process.
Her advice to those who may be nominated this year?
“Just go with it,” she said. “You’ll learn so much and get a lot out of the process. Being able to sit in the same room with like-minded people who do the same job as you do is so refreshing. It gives you a new passion.”
Ms Vanderpol is a great ambassador for the role of all pharmacy assistants.
I encourage all pharmacies to think about nominating their exceptional pharmacy assistants for the award this year. Just being nominated is an honour in itself
– not just for you but for all your pharmacy assistant colleagues.
RETAIL PHARMACY ASSISTANTS • MAR 2020