South Australian pharmacists recognised
15 April 2024
The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) has recognised outstanding pharmacists at its 2024 South Australia and Northern Territory Excellence Awards in Adelaide over the weekend.
PSA’s Excellence Awards recognises local pharmacists involved in innovative practice, those who are striving to raise practice standards, and those who, through their professionalism, provide a model of practice which others seek to emulate.
Awards were presented to:
- Natasha Downing, SA/NT Pharmacist of the Year
- Chloe Hall, SA/NT Intern Pharmacist of the Year
- Raymond Truong, SA/NT Early Career Pharmacist of the Year
- Peter Halstead, SA/NT Lifetime Achievement Award
PSA also awarded the Pharmaceutical Society Gold Medal, recognising the University of South Australia student with the highest grade point average (GPA) in the Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours) above 6.25.
Given the stringent criteria, the PSA Gold Medal is not awarded every year. It is our most prestigious student award, and the recipient joins a very impressive and select group of pharmacists. PSA has been awarding the Gold Medal since 1896.
PSA SA Branch is pleased to present the Pharmaceutical Society Gold Medal to Amelia Thompson.
PSA South Australia and Northern Territory President Dr Manya Angley congratulated the award recipients.
“The passion and dedication of pharmacists across South Australia and the Northern Territory is clear. It is our pleasure to recognise some of them tonight on behalf of the PSA.
“Natasha, Chloe, Raymond and Peter exemplify the highest level of pharmacy practice, from embracing every early career opportunity to driving positive rural health outcomes through to to a lifetime of professional excellence. I applaud Amelia’s achievements and look forward to what is in store for her.
“I’m proud to present these awards tonight, and congratulate each of the recipients on their awards,” Dr Angley concluded.
Media notes
Natasha Downing, SA/NT Pharmacist of the Year
Natasha Downing is a proud South Australian rural woman. She was born and spent her childhood in Jamestown, South Australia. After a high school education in Adelaide and completing her university studies, she returned to the area where she has been a community pharmacist since 2007. She has a deep commitment to ensuring all those who call the mid-North of South Australia their home can achieve best possible health outcomes.
Since her credentialing in 2015, Natasha has seized every opportunity to advance the integration of pharmacists across service delivery in the wider region. As a local, she has a deep understanding of her patients’ journies and needs. She came to the attention of the Goyders Line Medical Practice through her high-quality medication reviews (HMRs and RMMRs), and community pharmacist roles, and then was welcomed as one of the general practice team through a Primary Health Network (PHN) funded Pharmacist in GP practice opportunity.
Natasha has a warm, generous and empathetic nature and is an exceptional communicator which make her perfectly suited to health care and ensuring best patient outcomes via her person-centred approach and her ability to be an integral member of the team around the person. Across all her roles, Natasha connects well with patients from all walks of life and delivers the same respectful, caring, flexible and high-quality service to all. She goes above and beyond to meet the needs of patients and ensure they use their medicines optimally while considering the broader context of their health care. These skills are best applied in her palliative care role, which is an extremely challenging time for both the patient and their loved ones, where she ensures her patients can express choice and maintain dignity and comfort.
Natasha is both a trail blazer and a quiet achiever within our profession. She is an exceptional role model, especially for rural women. Natasha exemplifies PSA’s mission to embed, equip and enable pharmacists to be at the forefront of healthcare in Australia.
Chloe Hall, SA/NT Intern Pharmacist of the Year
Chloe Hall’s intern year has been a case-study in the power of self-belief. She started her intern year with plenty of fundamental skills and a desire to achieve, but maybe a little self-doubt. As the weeks went by, she continued to extend herself beyond her comfort zone, leading trainings, embracing opportunities for complex conversations with patients, collaborating with doctors, and conducting new pharmacy services.
The more she did these activities, the more evident were her abilities, and as she came to quietly recognise this herself, her practice leapt to an exceptional level. By the end of her internship, the quality of her work, initiative, knowledge and skills made her the pharmacist that patients were asking for and the pharmacist that more experienced pharmacists would consult and confer with.
Raymond Truong, SA/NT Early Career Pharmacist of the Year
Early Career Pharmacist Raymond Truong is a fierce advocate and true leader, with a particular focus on supporting and elevating the voices of Early Career Pharmacists.
Raymond is deeply committed to promoting opportunities for ECPs across all practice settings.
Raymond has been an active PSA member since 2016 and has taken full advantage of the leadership and mentoring opportunities PSA offers. In 2021, Raymond was a member of the SA/NT PSA ECP working group committee.
He joined the ECP Communities of Special Interest Leadership Committee in 2023. In the same year he became the ECP representative on the SA/NT Branch Committee (an observer role). He enthusiastically volunteers to represent our Branch to showcase our strengths and build interdisciplinary relationships with other professional groups e.g. Raymond has presented at interprofessional collaboration events between pharmacists and dentists (2021, 2023) and podiatric prescribers (2023).
In his community pharmacy roles, Raymond has driven vaccination services, administration of other medicines by injection and a broad range of other advanced professional services. He is a COVID-19 vaccination provider, influenza and whooping cough, a Medication Assisted Treatment for Opioid Dependence service provider, and has played a key role in integration of professional services including B12 administration, Take Home Naloxone, MS-2 dispensing, and expansion of vaccination services in his practice.
Raymond has made the most of every opportunity offered to advance professional pharmacy practice services. He has held the position of Pharmacist Manager at Terry White Chemmart Paragon (Modbury),and is currently Professional Services Community Pharmacist at Terry White Chemmart Findon (Part time) and is a Community Pharmacist at Chemist King, Klemzig (part-time).
In addition to focussed efforts to expand professional services in community pharmacy, embracing leadership roles within PSA, becoming credentialed to conduct medication reviews and establishing a private consultancy, Raymond was elected Chair of SA General Practice Pharmacist Peer Network (SAGPPPN), a Community of Practice of primary care pharmacists.
In October 2023, Raymond became credentialed to conducted medication management reviews and established a private consultancy, Pill Box Education Services. Raymond is regularly conducting residential medication management reviews (RMMRs) at Pennwood Village Aged Care Home and actively participating in Medicines Advisory Committee meetings in preparation to take on a role as an on-site aged care pharmacist when this program rolls out. He has also commenced conducting Home Medicines Reviews.
Peter Halstead, SA/NT Lifetime Achievement Award
Over his 40-year long career, Peter Halstead has made a sustained contribution to the pharmacy profession and associated organisations, dedicating himself to developing and advancing Australian pharmacy practice. Through these activities, Peter has made a significant contribution to patient care. He has been an advisor, mentor and friend to many members of our profession and epitomises the values of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia.
After graduating in 1980, Mr Halstead worked as a community pharmacist and was instrumental in developing new areas of practice and became a pharmacist adviser to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Drug and Alcohol Services and The Family Planning Unit at SHINE SA.
In 1996, Peter joined the School of Pharmacy as a research fellow involved with Professor Andy Gilbert and others in the development of new pharmacist roles, particularly in the area of Aged Care services.
In the period 2000 to 2001, Peter was the Education Officer of the Pharmacy Board of South Australia and from 2001 to2010 he was the Registrar of the Board, a position which he held with distinction until the formation of the National Pharmacy Board. During his tenure, Peter developed and implemented systems and procedures that allowed the formal assessment of the competency of recent graduates and others seeking registration as pharmacists in South Australia.
Peter was a Director of the Australian Pharmacy Council (APC) from 1996 to 2010 and since 2010 has been the Senior Pharmacist for the APC involved in the development of assessment processes for intern pharmacists as well as pharmacists from overseas seeking registration with the National Pharmacy Board. He actively supported many overseas pharmacists who were going through the formal process of seeking registration and became a mentor to many.
Peter was appointed as the General Manager of the Pharmacy Regulation Authority, South Australia (PRASA) in 2010, a position he held for 12 years until his recent retirement. During this period, he continued to engage with the Pharmacy Board of Australia on many issues affecting Australian pharmacy practice. Peter Halstead is a most deserving recipient of the PSA Lifetime Achievement Award.
Media contact: Georgia Clarke M: 0480 099 798 E: georgia.clarke@psa.org.au
