UniSA’s SA Pharmacy Student of
the Year

by Rachel Broadley

A UniSA final year pharmacy student will vie for the title of Australia’s Pharmacy Student of the Year after winning the South Australian title.

Twenty-two-year-old Rebecca Barrett (pictured), won South Australian Pharmacy Student of the Year, which was awarded by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia on March 15.

Winning the title involved students undertaking a range of pharmacy-related tasks in a competition format. The first stage of the competition involved students writing a paragraph about what they thought made a good pharmacist.

Finalists were then selected to compete in front of an audience of 50 people in a role play scenario.

An actor played the part of a patient, who approached the students with a condition such as a headache. The students then had to ask the patient questions and work out the best treatment and whether they needed a doctor’s referral.

Rebecca said it was a nerve-wracking experience.

“It was a bit scary to get up in front of 50 people and all of the important people in pharmacy were there. Quite a few lecturers were there and people from the Pharmaceutical Society,” said Rebecca.

“The first consultation was quite tricky. It was scabies, and all three of us thought it was scabies but we weren’t 100 per cent sure and we didn’t want to alarm the patient so we sort of treaded slowly.

“People skills were important as well as knowledge; it was all about making the patient feel comfortable as well, so they would give you more information so you could get more out of them about their condition.

“I was a bit shocked to win as I wasn’t really expecting it.”

Rebecca’s prize was a trip to Melbourne worth more than $1600. She will travel there in October for the national final of the Australian Pharmacy Student of the Year competition.

In Melbourne she will compete against seven other finals representing the other states and the Northern Territory, and a student from the National Australian Pharmacy Students’ Association.

The winner of the national competition will be flown to Egypt next year to attend the International Pharmacy Student Federation Congress.

Rebecca said she is looking forward to her trip but is already feeling the pressure ahead of the final.

“South Australia has never won before, so my lecturers are putting me under pressure to win!,” she laughed.

“I think it will take a lot of hard work to make sure you know which questions you need to ask and know specific referral points; there’s a lot to know.

“I’ll just take it as it comes. I wouldn’t mind a free trip to Egypt though!”

Meanwhile, the School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences hosted their annual Prizes and Awards event on March 30.

The Intern Pharmacist of the Year Award, given to the intern who has shown the most outstanding professional approach and overall achievement in the UniSA Pharmacy Intern Training Program, was awarded to Claire Jones.