Pharmacist

Shaunagh O’Connor

If the building industry had been in better shape in the 1980s, Angelo Bonacci might now be checking building plans instead of health-care plans.

The Melbourne pharmacist thought he would become an architect when he began tertiary study at the start of the 1980s.

“But at the time, the building industry was going through some problems and I chose pharmacy by chance,” he says.

His father had a fruit business and retailing was in the blood, so Angelo now combines his knowledge of pharmacy with running a small business at Southgate Pharmacy, where he is a partner-owner.

And what do pharmacists do behind the counter when they take those prescriptions we hand over?

Because most medications are now pre-packaged, , it is a matter of labelling the medicine and making sure it is the right type.

“We check with interactions with other medication the person might be taking, we check that it’s appropriate for their condition and we check dosages,” Bonacci says.

Record-keeping is a big part of the job, keeping track of medication dispensed and the needs of clients.

“Pharmacy in its current format has survived for so long because it’s customer service-oriented, which is what distinguishes us from several retail outlets,” he says.

“We pride ourselves on that here, and so do most pharmacies. That’s why are rated fairly highly in terms of trust among customers and I think it’s because of the personalised service we can offer.”

Bonacci qualified as a pharmacist in 1984, trained at a pharmacy in Acland St, St Kilda, then worked at various suburban pharmacies until he became an owner of Southgate Pharmacy nearly five years ago.

“There was also a time when I was working part-time doing medication reviews, which is something open to pharmacy graduates and pharmacists,” Bonacci says.

“That’s where you’re employed by a pharmacy to visit people in their homes and discuss their medication and look for better health outcomes, see if there are potential problems with the medication they’re taking, liaise with their doctor and ultimately get a better health outcome for the patient.”

Pharmacy is a fast-moving industry with new drugs constantly hitting the market.

“That involves a lot of reading, and pharmacy organisations like the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia offer professional development courses and lectures,” Bonacci says.

Job Lot – requirements

The majority of pharmacists work in community pharmacies-chemist shops -and the Pharmacy Act (1964) requires all community pharmacies to be owned by pharmacists.

So though pharmacists dispense drugs, they may also manage the store, and need the business acumen to do so.

Southgate Pharmacy’s Angelo Bonacci says pharmacists are often lucky small-business owners when it comes to after-hours and holiday work, because locum pharmacists are available to step in and take over at these times.

“Not many small businesses have that service; not many small-business owners can organise their time like that,” Bonacci says.