NAPSA Wildcard winner announced!
Friday 28th January 2022
The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) congratulates Renee Buckland on winning the National Australian Pharmacy Students’ Association (NAPSA) Wildcard Pharmacy Student of the Year (PSOTY) during last night’s PSOTY Wildcard Final at NAPSA Congress.
Ms Buckland, a 4th year Pharmacy Honours student from James Cook University, will go on to compete at the PSOTY National Final at PSA’s annual flagship conference, PSA22, held in July.
Sponsored by Viatris, the PSOTY award recognises and celebrates Australia’s outstanding pharmacy students. The award showcases the knowledge, skills and abilities of select students to the broader pharmacy profession, whilst giving them the opportunity to apply, and be judged on, their counselling skills.
PSA also acknowledges all Wildcard finalists representing pharmacy students from universities across the country:
- Daniel Odeshou (University of Sydney)
- My Phuong Ly (Phuong) (Queensland University of Technology)
- Christy El-Khoury (University of Sydney)
- Allysa Mariane Alea (Allysa) (University of Western Australia)
- Mahek Shah (Monash University)
- Jade Craig (Curtin University)
The event was judged by PSA Queensland Branch President, Shane MacDonald, NAPSA President, Verity Boustead, and PSA Early Career Pharmacist Community of Specialty Interest representative, Kate Wang.
PSA National President, A/Prof Chris Freeman, congratulated Renee and all of the Wildcard’s finalists.
“I congratulate Renee on her success and wish her all the best at the National Finals later this year,” he said.
“In what was another difficult decision for the judges, all of the finalists demonstrated exceptional counselling skills – and for this they should be proud.
“I congratulate all of them for making it to this stage of the competition. They all brought their own unique styles and skillsets to the event, making it a difficult one to adjudicate – and it is evident that the future of pharmacy is a bright one.”
Ms Buckland will join the state winners at the National Final at PSA22. At the finals, students will be tested with a real-life clinical situation, where a patient will present with signs and symptoms or a specific product request. Students are then required to use their clinical knowledge and emotional intelligence to identify the most appropriate course of treatment and tailor their counselling skills to provide the most appropriate advice. Here they will also be assessed by a judging panel.
PSA extends thanks to the PSOTY award sponsor, Viatris, for their ongoing support and is looking forward to partnering with them once again at this year’s National Finals.
Media contact: PSA media 0424 777 463
