HOSPITAL pharmacy opens doors to a growing number of specialties, dynamic career paths, and a future contributing to team-based, multidisciplinary care - the direction of modern health care.
Speaking ahead of the 2025 Pharmacy Careers Summit, President of Advanced Pharmacy Australia (AdPha), Tom Simpson (pictured), reflected on his career in hospital pharmacy and the evolution of the practice.
"When I started in hospital pharmacy - more years ago than I care to admit - it looked very different," Simpson told Pharmacy Daily.
"Clinical pharmacy services were still evolving, specialty practice existed without training pathways, and scope was clear, but constrained.
"Today, things change quickly: pharmacist-led innovations are improving patient care in every state and territory, we're more connected than ever and new specialty roles are created everyday as scope of practice expands."
Simpson said there is an agility to hospital pharmacy that will present "untold opportunity" to today's pharmacy students.
When the Society of Hospital Pharmacists Australia changed its trading name to Advanced Pharmacy Australia (AdPha) last year (PD 28 Aug 2024), Simpson explained it was a nod to an evolving reality today, as well as tomorrow.
"The practice we have known as 'hospital pharmacy' is no longer constrained by the physical walls of hospital buildings," he said.
"We work, innovate, and deliver safer and more effective care to Australians, at their most unwell, in and around our hospitals.
"Our medicines expertise is woven into the patient journey at every step, navigating complex clinical situations, working with clinicians from every discipline, and making decisions that change patient outcomes for the better."
Most medicines start being used in hospitals, before their use ripples outwards to the community, and advanced therapeutics will change the way pharmacists practice over the next decade, as well as changing patients' lives.
"Being a part of this revolution in medicines, and in care provision, is exciting - it's cutting-edge practice, and pharmacists are expanding the boundaries of it all the time," enthused Simpson.
"The hospital setting is often one half of the transitions of care 'handshake'.
"As patients move between care settings, hospital pharmacists are essential to optimising medication safety, patient education and empowerment, and communication between care teams."
Simpson said he is looking forward to spotlighting at PCS25 how students can plan a deeply rewarding career through the connection, inspiration and recognition of the AdPha community.
This includes the Australian and New Zealand College of Advanced Pharmacy (ANZCAP), pharmacist resident and registrar training programs, specialty practice groups, Australia's pre-eminent pharmacy education program and AdPha's scientific pharmacy conference.
"We're building for the future - a future that is yours," he concluded.
Learn more about PCS25 HERE. KB
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