Page 32 - Retail Pharmacy Assistants - November 2020

30 PATY STATE/TERRITORY WINNERS to come out of some of the harshest restrictions in the world. I most look forward to being able to take a deep breath, mask free, in my pharmacy, without concern for my fellow staff and customers’ health. I hope to achieve the implementation of more community-based services, such as my goal of a heart foundation walking group. How will you promote the industry and pharmacy assistants to the wider community over the next 12 months? I have already started with increasing our social media presence, promoting more social posts about our staff and the inner workings of pharmacy. My store is also located in a very diverse multicultural area with many non-English speakers – to help promote to this demographic myself and other staff members are learning a variety of languages. FROM PAGE 29 How will you promote the industry and pharmacy assistants to the wider community over the next 12 months? Education is the most valuable thing we can possess and to educate the community on the pharmaceutical industry would be the most effective way of promoting it. I hope to use social media as an educational tool, a platform to share information that can be widely accessed and easily available for the majority of the population to also share and become better educated on. Cody Marshall, Victoria – United Chemists Wodonga What have you learnt about yourself and the profession throughout the 2020 PATY process? That I am able and eager to take my career further – there are no limits to how far you can go in this ever- changing profession. We as pharmacy assistants are incredibly versatile and always ready to meet challenges with professionalism and empathy. What are you looking forward to most over the next 12 months and what are you hoping to achieve? As Victorians, we are just now starting Jaclyn Jensen, Western Australia – Wizard Rossmoyne What have you learnt about yourself and the profession throughout the 2020 PATY process? The initial PATY nomination questions were a great way to open the discussion of the future of pharmacy. Together with the pharmacists I work with, we often discuss products, health conditions and general advice for our customers but rarely do we speak of pharmacy itself. Based on the strong and supportive community response to my award, I’ve learnt what an impact we have on our customers and how I hope to see pharmacy evolve. What are you looking forward to most over the next 12 months and what are you hoping to achieve? Over the next 12 months, I’m most excited for e-prescriptions to be the most common form of prescribing. It is not only an advancement in technology, but I hope it will be the next step for a more environmentally friendly future. On a personal note, I will be continuing back at university next year, so I’ll be excited to celebrate my end of semester exams in 12 months. RETAIL PHARMACY ASSISTANTS • NOV 2020