NEWS NEWS IN BRIEF
UROLOGY AWARENESS MONTH
From Tasmania to Aberdeen:
Pharmacy practice not worlds apart Two pharmacy students from Australia recently completed a summer exchange at Robert Gordon University (RGU) which has given them an international perspective of their profession.
Numark is helping its members support their customers with bladder problems for Urology Awareness Month in September 2015.
Member pharmacies will automatically receive a pharmacy poster and patient leafl ets on urology conditions and urology cancers which have been produced through a charitable donation by Numark to The Urology Foundation (TUF) http://
www.theurologyfoundation.org/. Throughout September the symbol group will also be communicating messages via emails, twitter feed and the weekly member newsletter.
Michael Stewart, one of Numark’s information pharmacists, says, “By raising awareness of ‘red fl ag’ warning signs (blood in urine, pain when urinating, unexplained weight loss) and referring patients to their doctor it is hoped that cancer will be detected earlier and treatment more successful. Patients with less worrying symptoms can be given practical advice on managing symptoms effectively.”
Bladder problems include a range of diseases and disorders, from bladder and prostate cancers to incontinence and urinary tract infections. Every year, over 10,000 people are diagnosed with kidney cancer and more than 5000 people die from the disease. Over 10,000 new cases of bladder cancer are diagnosed each year in the UK and 41,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer. It is estimated that 46 per cent of the world’s adult population experience symptoms of urinary incontinence.
Michael continues, “The pharmacy team are in an ideal position to identify people with bladder problems, refer onwards when necessary and provide practical support for coping with daily life. Establishing a relationship and providing support at an early stage can create long term customer loyalty and promote your business within the local community.”
8 - SCOTTISH PHARMACIST
University of Tasmania students (UTAS) Bianca Jones and Erin Chettle (both 22) travelled more than ten and a half thousand miles from their homes on the Australian island to Aberdeen to learn more about pharmacy practice in Scotland.
The six-week trip, which is the fi rst pharmacy exchange between the two universities, saw the students work in RGU’s School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences on a number of teaching and learning projects which will be integrated into the course for students this semester.
They also made several instructional videos on topics including inhaler technique and dealing with emergency hormonal contraception (EHC) requests in a pharmacy.
Bianca said, “We’ve had a great time in Aberdeen and it’s been good to work with our friends at RGU to learn more about pharmacy practice and how it compares to our experiences in Australia.
“Scotland is leading the way in developing the role of the pharmacist so it’s been an invaluable experience for us and we hope to implement a lot of what we’ve learned when we’re back home.”
Erin added, “Everyone has been really kind and supportive and it’s clear the lecturers at RGU are passionate about student learning. The technology and facilities here allows for new teaching methods which are very interesting.
“We certainly feel as though we made the most of our exchange visit which
CMS Survey
Community Pharmacy Scotland are keen to obtain opinions on the Chronic Medication Service (CMS).
CMS was launched in 2010 with the aim of allowing patients with long- term conditions to register with a
Dr Ruth Edwards, Erin Chettle, Bianca Jones and RGU Pharmacy lecturer Alyson Brown
has helped us prepare for working as pharmacists after we graduate later this year.”
During their time in Scotland Bianca and Erin had the opportunity to observe pharmacy in several different settings, including: Turriff, Inverness, Orkney as well as spend time at Aberdeen Royal Infi rmary and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in Edinburgh. As well as reinforcing the many similarities in pharmacy practice in Scotland and Australia, the students also highlighted several key differences between the two countries.
Bianca said, “Being able to compare pharmacy practice in both countries has been very interesting and there aren’t as many differences as you might expect, a lot of the work and patient focus is very similar.
“However, pharmacists are not able to prescribe in Australia which would be a good step to take for us to use our skills and work alongside doctors for the benefi t of patient care
community pharmacy of their choice for the provision of pharmaceutical care as part of a shared agreement between the patient, community pharmacist and general medical practitioner.
This research work is being carried out in conjunction with Strathclyde University. The results
Erin added, “We also don’t have clinical pharmacy technicians in Australian hospital wards and they seem to help carry out a lot of tasks which frees pharmacists up to focus on patient care.”
RGU Pharmacy Course Leader Dr Ruth Edwards helped establish the exchange link with the University of Tasmania following a visit from Felicity Veal, Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice in UTAS, as part of RGU’s internationalisation strategy.
Dr Edwards said, “Bianca and Erin have enjoyed their time with us in Scotland and we hope it will be the fi rst of many exchange visits between the two pharmacy schools. We agreed to set up this fi rst visit as a pilot and it has been a huge success which we are keen to build on.
“Being able to offer students observational workplace experience to learn about pharmacy practice in other countries is benefi cial as important lessons and ideas are shared across borders and around the world which can only help improve patient care.”
of this survey will be used to inform future thinking on service development and CPS discussions with the Scottish Government on the pharmacy contract.
The survey should only take 5-10 minutes to complete. Visit
www.communitypharmacyscotland.org.uk
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