Page 10 - Pharmacy History 33 November 2007

A career determined by chance
by Colonel (Rtd) Bill Kelly, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Association of Consultant Pharmacy
Winning the lottery in the late 1960s or early 70s in Australia had a somewhat different connotation than what it does today. Winning the lottery or Lotto or Pools or any of the myriad of gambling opportunities that present themselves today would certainly be something
to look forward to. Yet it isn’t so long ago that being a winner in a certain lottery was something that most young Australian males could happily do without.
Participation in Australia’s last bout of conscription for National Service - used primarily to enable Australia to support the war in Vietnam - was indeed determined by a lottery. For many 20-year-olds or rather 19-year-olds when the draw actually took place, having the marble, with their birth date listed on it, drawn out of an old hand-tumbled style lottery or raffle barrel, sealed their fate in one or many ways.
For many, this turned out to be the ultimate sacrifice of their lives in a
war that, though far from the minds
of many Australians at the time, has now turned out to be a significant watershed in Australia’s political and military history and indeed its national conscience.
For a 19-year-old early in his final
year of pharmacy at the University
of Queensland, success in the first quarter National Service lottery of 1967 determined a somewhat unique career path that today sees him still prominent in a profession and an era noted for its high fliers and outstanding talent.
Bill Kelly’s military career started following his graduation and registration as a pharmacist and some initial employment in hospital and community pharmacy in Brisbane, Queensland - and after deferring his National Service call-up to enable completion of this pharmacy training. It ended some 32 years later in the rank of Colonel in an Army Reserve posting as the Colonel Consultant Pharmacist to the Surgeon General of the Australian Defence Force. It was indeed a career - albeit a long one - that was determined by chance.
10 ■ Pharmacy History Australia
The early days
Following an initial six-month stint enduring the rigour of basic military and officer training in the wilds of places such as Singleton, Bonegilla and Healesville, his initial posting, after being commissioned into the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps (RAAMC) as a Lieutenant, was as
the senior (and only) pharmacist in a 100-bed Military Hospital in Ingleburn Sydney. The 2nd Military Hospital, or 2 Mil as it was known, was used mainly to provide medical and hospital treatment for NSW-based soldiers and also as part of the evacuation and treatment chain for those wounded in Vietnam.
In the military the pharmacist in a hospital setting was more than just
the ‘hospital pharmacist’ with all professional duties that go with such
a role. Military hospital pharmacists were also medical quartermasters
and responsible for all the medical equipment in the hospital - from tiny Spencer Wells forceps through to anaesthetic machines and everything in-between. Stocktaking, auditing, internal checking, writing off damaged and deficient stock along with a crash course in identifying medical equipment and military stores accounting with
its emphasis on generic, oblique and obscure names and country-unique NATO-inspired 13 digit identification numbers (skills that by the way came in handy in a later part of his career working with a number of foreign armies) became second nature and a skill that developed by necessity in parallel with an equally quickly gained pharmacy experience.
A military pharmacy career doesn’t necessarily always start the way described above but circumstances at the time meant some newly-commissioned officers were given fairly senior and responsible appointments first up. A typical career pattern could involve hospital, medical centre pharmacy,
field medical unit, junior and senior medical stores officer, medical logistic management, and administration
Bill Kelly
and senior management with related increases in experience and rank. Depending on circumstances and ability, overseas postings and detachments
or even employment in areas outside
of your immediate area of expertise (non-corps appointments) await - in this case, a final two-year posting in the Regular Army as the Army’s Director of Occupational Health and Safety. And a first real glimpse at the versatility and utility of pharmacy degree at use in a non-pharmacy setting and in a strategic and policy-setting environment.
Training and experience second-to-none
The military provides its officers
with excellent training, experience
and on-the job training second to none. Whether this be in the areas of administration, personnel management, logistics, discipline, leadership, financial management, contract negotiation, industry liaison, policy development and implementation, staff selection
and performance assessment or non- pharmacy appointments to vary the role and enhance experience. Never was this more evident than in an early posting of considerable seniority and responsibility as the Commanding Officer of the mixed military and civilian-staffed organisation responsible for the supply of medical and dental stores to the Army, Navy and Air Force in all overseas deployments - as well as the non- medical company which looked after their foodstuffs, petrol oil and lubricants and ration packs. Arguably, a long long way from Pharmaceutics 1 prac.
volume 4 ■ no 34 ■ February 2008