Professor Melissa Baysari[/caption]
Michael Bakker MPS[/caption]
For pharmacists who do not have this knowledge from primary experience, seeking these reflections from colleagues or through careful listening with patients is essential.
Mr Robinson identified that consumers who, at short notice, book a trip to south-east Asia and don’t plan a GP visit have particularly welcomed his travel health consultations.
The rise of zoonotic diseases
Dat Le MPS 
In a survey of patient adherence to medicines for chronic diseases, 60% of participants stated forgetfulness was the reason for missed doses.5 The study found that missed doses were more commonly reported by patients with vitamin D deficiency, followed by hyperlipidaemia.5 
Identifying whether a medicine is time-critical requires knowledge of the half-life of the medicine, as it is a major determinant of the fluctuation in inter-dose concentrations at a steady state.14 Half-life serves as guidance for making informed recommendations on what to do when a dose of medicine is missed. Four to five half-lives is a general rule of thumb used to approximate the time needed for a medicine to be considered eliminated from the body. At that time point, the plasma concentrations of a given medicine will reach below a clinically relevant concentration.15
2. Other methods 
Strategies to prevent a missed or delayed dose
A strong morning routine gets Chemist Warehouse Education Pharmacist Jala Moushi MPS in the right mindset to coordinate nationwide intern training.
Why pharmacy?
At the end of high school, not sure what I wanted to do, I was drawn towards science and commerce, thinking I’d pursue something in health or finance. My older sister and cousins, who are pharmacists, encouraged me to consider pharmacy, because they find it so rewarding.
The day before preferences were due, I took the plunge – my fascination with the human body and helping people won, so ‘pharmacy and commerce’ it was. The rest is history. Now, here I am with a fulfilling career I never initially envisioned!
How do you instil in interns necessary skills and knowledge for success?
The Pharmacy Education team and I evaluate our intern program continuously, taking a tailored approach to training. We share a common mindset committed to responding to the learning needs of interns, as well as preceptors.
Our unified approach allows flexibilty and adaptability – ensuring our training evolves alongside practice changes and remains tailored to our interns’ learning needs.
Delivery methods are adapted for different learning styles and individual preferences, embracing evolving technologies with a mix of lectures, interactive workshops and practical group activities to support skill development in clinical and operational practice.
What is an important skill to teach pharmacy students today?
We have focused most recently on developing soft skills for enhanced communication. These are vital for building enduring relationships with patients and delivering personalised care. They play a key role in fostering trust and collaboration within multidisciplinary teams, as well as with colleagues.
What do you enjoy about educating and training pharmacists?
One clear highlight is being part of the intern journey, watching them develop skills and grow into competent pharmacists. Training, mentoring and coaching are integral to our profession, and I’m lucky I can contribute to all three on a national scale. Our intern program attracts the largest number of interns annually, which makes it all the more critical to provide quality training, mentorship and coaching. There’s nothing quite like the opportunity to positively impact future pharmacists on this scale.
I also really value the broader impact of my role. By shaping our intern program, I’m helping to meet the evolving care needs of the communities we service across the country.
Staying relevant in my practice allows me to continually adapt our program to respond to those needs, and ensure we equip our interns with skills to provide exceptional care.
What does the future have in store for community pharmacy?
Exciting times. There’s already been significant transformation in the last 5 years, paving the way for more.
While dispensing and counselling will always be at the heart of practice, it’s exciting to see change. We will continue to see legislative changes supporting pharmacists to expand their scope of practice, leading to more specialised community pharmacist roles. I would also like to see changes to support roles like dispensary technicians, allowing them to broaden their scope to better enable community pharmacists to focus on clinical aspects of their role, practising at the very top of their skillset. Now, generative AI tools have emerged, presenting potential opportunities to improve standards of care.
Any message for aspiring pharmacists?
Embrace continuous learning, adaptability and resilience. Every change is an opportunity to build skills. Personal and professional growth is a lifelong journey and our profession is constantly evolving.
Stay curious and up to date with the latest evidence, therapeutic advances and guidelines to remain an expert in medicines management. Even when things feel challenging or uncomfortable, have faith, stay optimistic, and focus on what matters most: ensuring high-quality, safe and effective care for patients.
