THE Australasian College of Pharmacy has acknowledged the winner of the 2025 MIMS/College Intern of the Year, Ruby Schembri from Gilgandra Pharmacy in NSW.
Presented with the award at APP2026, Schembri was recognised for her outstanding commitment to community health, education and preventative care, and her exceptional contribution to improving health outcomes in regional Australia.
The judges highlighted Schembri's work delivering contraception and sexual health education to students in Years 9-12 at the local high school in Gilgandra, a regional community with one of the highest birth rates in Australia.
She also ran a medication management seminar for patients and healthcare professionals at the local hospital to improve medication safety and understanding, and increased vaccination uptake in the town by 20%.
Schembri's work exemplifies the vital role community pharmacists play in regional areas, where accessibility, trust and local engagement are key to improving health outcomes.
"Throughout university, I was often told that the intern year would be one of the toughest of my career - and that proved to be true," Schembri said.
"Balancing fulltime work and study was challenging, so my main goal was simply to get through the year - winning MIMS / College Intern of the Year came as a completely unexpected bonus."
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