TERRYWHITE Chemmart's network partner Theresa Lambert (pictured) was the recipient of the Rhonda White Leadership award last week for her total dedication to her rural Qld community, and her clear vision of the future of community pharmacy.
"I really enjoy helping others and I want to show how rewarding it is to work in community pharmacy to the next generation of our pharmacy students," Lambert told Pharmacy Daily.
A pharmacist prescriber, pharmacy owner of TerryWhite Chemmart Sarina, James Cook University lecturer, mother and community volunteer, Lambert has packed in a lot already, and heading towards a clinical future she remarked is definitely where she sees pharmacy going.
"I sat the exams to be a prescribing pharmacist so I can work to an extended scope and provide better care and outcomes to my community.
"I certainly have become a better pharmacist," Lambert remarked.
She added that she understood the concerns of GPs about pharmacists' extended scope and that they would be "hesitant about it, but communication is key", and the biggest thing to learn.
"It's not that we are going against them but we want to work with them, so that we can provide better care for the patient.
"Learning to prescribe has really extended my clinical knowledge and will take a load off our GPs as we can take care of minor ailments," Lambert explained.
She mentioned how vigorous the training was and learning new critical thinking areas that covered physical assessments including respiratory and abdominal systems.
"This meant completely retraining your brain to think differently to treat people and to come to a probable diagnosis," said Lambert.
While the banner group has shown a lot of support to her, Lambert's main challenge, other than hoping to prioritise her family a bit more, has been to ensure her staff "are motivated and kept up to date and willing to jump on a change with me to always help move the pharmacy forward".
"That's probably the biggest challenge - getting everyone to go in the same direction."
Lastly, she mentioned she was humbled to win the award.
"Rhonda has been such an inspiration to me, it has been so rewarding, and I would not have been able to do this without my wonderful team, family and friends behind me." JG
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 06 Mar 24
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 06 Mar 24
