Future in pharmacy

Since completing work experience at a pharmacy when she was in Year 10 at school, Amanda Walsh wanted to be a pharmacist.

While she has managed to fulfil that dream, her job is one that regularly has evolved over the years and looks set to change further.

“When I first graduated, the main focus was on dispensing scripts,” she says.

“It is now changing to enable us to use our knowledge about medications for other things as well as dispensing medications.

“There is an increasing opportunity for pharmacists and hence their pharmacies, to offer much more health-related services.”

Ms Walsh says pharmacists also are involved in home medication reviews and dose administration programs, allowing them to visit homes to help customers and, in the process, act as in intermediary between the traditional role of a pharmacist and general practitioner.

“We are lucky in our pharmacy situation that we have three pharmacists all qualified to do these extra services which enables us to have the time to be able to do them,” Ms Walsh says.

“We have recently joined a banner group, Pharmacist Advice, which is a very health-focused, forward pharmacy model.

“It will allow us to be price competitive in the market place, which is very important, as well as offering health-based promotions.”

Ms Walsh, however, says, it is important pharmacies still stand apart from retail chains, something which the industry is battling. “There is a big push for the big retail chains to be able to have access to pharmacy ownership,” she says.

“If ownership was unregulated I think the retail emphasis would outweigh the health care/health outcomes focus. Unfortunately, there are some large pharmacy groups that now are being run, with too much retail and very little heath care focus. That could happen to pharmacy as a whole.

For now, Ms Walsh’s working environment – Coleman Pilla & Walsh Chemist at Hampstead Gardens, South Australia, reflects the ethos of the industry and allows for work-life balance. “People often query why I would want to work 12 1/2 hour days but I am able to work 30-plus hours a week and be home with my kids four to five days a week. It works well for me,” she says.