Who will be the 2018 National Pharmacy Assistant of the Year? NSW, support your State Winner Alice at the Pharmacy Assistant National Conference on 25-27 October 2018 at Sea World Resort, Gold Coast. Meet and learn from all of the State Winners on how they became the ‘best of the best’ during the Q&A session on 26 October. Then witness who will be announced as the National Winner at the Conference Dinner that night! Learn more at www.pharmacyassistants.com.
PATY NSW State Winner
Alice Vanderpol from Moama Village Pharmacy
- What was your reaction when they called your name as the NSW State Winner?
I’m really happy and proud of myself. You always fantasise about winning something like this but you don’t actually think that it could happen to you. I’m really proud of all the hard work and really humbled at the same time.
- How did you first get into pharmacy? Can you give me a brief overview of your career in pharmacy?
I got into pharmacy four and a half years ago after spending seven years at home as a stay-at-home mum. I was originally a Vet Nurse and then I had my children and decided to stay home with them. I then decided it was time to get back into the workforce. I was interested in the healthcare industry so I thought I’ll go to the local pharmacy and start from there.
- What qualifications do you have?
I’ve got my S2/S3 training, the long dispensary course, Certificate III in Community Pharmacy and I’m undertaking a Certificate IV in Dispensary at the moment.
- How do you think training has benefited you in your career?
It’s opened my eyes up to the vastness of the role – there’s so much to the role of a pharmacy assistant. It’s given me more knowledge on products which is really handy to be educated especially when customers walk in the door. It’s also given me confidence as well. I feel like I’m educated and confident to be able to speak to customers about products and conditions etc.
- Who did you complete your training with?
The Guild
- What are your career goals?
I would like to finish off my pharmacy assistant training and do as much as I can in the field. I have thought about going on and doing pharmacy. I’m a mum of three kids so that’s something that’s in the back of my mind but I do want to go as far as I can within a pharmacy assistant role.
- Tell us about your PATY experience so far? What was the workshop day like? What did you enjoy the most about the day?
It was really relaxing! I was a nervous wreck when I first arrived but I think everyone else was too. Once we got settled in and we got our seats, met the judges and heard Kathy the facilitator speak, it was actually really, really relaxing. They made us feel like you don’t have to worry and to just have fun and enjoy the experience. I enjoyed conversing with like-minded people that are in the same industry, learning about what they are doing in their pharmacy and taking away things that we could do better in my pharmacy. Just being able to be on the same wave length with them and being able to relate was great. To be able to broaden my exposure to different pharmacy experiences and different working practices outside of my pharmacy was really nice.
- Would you encourage others to participate in PATY in the future? Why?
Yes, absolutely! If you’re looking for a new challenge or next step in your career, PATY really helps to ignite the passion inside you and motivates you to do more. It really gives you that passion as you understand and believe that what you’re doing makes a difference and is important. You want to take all that back with you to implement brand new things into your pharmacy and make it so much better for your customers. I would encourage everybody, regardless of how short or long you’ve been in the industry, to give it a go.
- What have you gained from PATY so far?
I’ve gained a boost of confidence and I’ve gained purpose. I still feel like I am fairly new in the industry. I was trying to find my feet a lot this year in terms of trying to find out where I fitted within pharmacy, within the pharmacy assistant role and within my job. I think PATY has given me a clearer idea and purpose, as well as a confidence boost.
- Why would you encourage a person to nominate someone or themselves for PATY?
Regardless of where you are in pharmacy – having someone nominate you for PATY will give you the confidence boost and the self-esteem to step out and find your passion and purpose! Be brave! Because you’ll never become who you are unless you step out of where you are!
- What would you like to see change in pharmacy?
I would like to see better recognition of the role of pharmacy assistants. Also, to be able to enable pharmacy assistants to become more highly educated. I’ve been so blessed with my work that my bosses have funded all my study but not all bosses can do that. A better pharmacy assistant is an educated one. I really believe if there was some sort of system in place where we could help fund employers to help educate, that would be a really great step forward.
- What do you love about pharmacy?
I love the variety of the role. I love that there is no one day is exactly the same. I love the people too.