2015 NAPSA congress coming up on the Gold Coast – by John Quinn & Rebecca Pryce
After a 10-year hiatus the NAPSA (National Association of Pharmacy Students Australia) Congress returned to Adelaide in 2001, and has been held at various Pharmacy Schools ever since, with the 2015 Congress being held at Griffith University on the Gold Coast. The Congress is planned by a committee of students and brings together 19 Pharmacy schools from across Australia. In 2015, the Gold Coast will play host to 360 pharmacy students, making it the largest congress to date. NAPSA Congress introduces students to various educational sessions relevant to their future career and countless networking opportunities with both pharmacy students and health professionals. The congress incorporates a social event for each evening, allowing students to network on a more casual basis, with a Gala Ball held on the final evening.
More than just licking and sticking
The 2015 Gold Coast NAPSA Congress will educate and prepare students for their future career; showing them that the pharmaceutical industry is revolutionising quicker than ever. The students will learn the pharmacy career is much more than just “licking and sticking bottles”, but the future of doing regular health checks like blood pressure and diabetes monitoring to being able to vaccinate within a pharmacy. The 2015 NAPSA Congress will be held from the 24th to the 30th of January at Griffith University on the Gold Coast.
Theme
The 2015 NAPSA Congress will introduce the theme “Step into the Future, a Future Beyond the Counter” with the aim to introduce topics that will allow students to excel in the ever-changing landscape of the pharmaceutical industry.
The keynote speaker for the Congress will be Ms. Rhonda White AO, the co-founder of Terry White Chemists Group. Ms. White has demonstrated visionary skills for the brand and exceptional commitment to the professional services of the brand. Focus on the brand has been the key component to growing this nationally recognised pharmacy business.
Education program
Further education sessions this year are set to include workshops from Lisa McGuinness from the National Stroke Foundation and Kristie-Jane Grenfell presenting “Sugar and Life Diabetes Management”. Other education seminars to be offered are from Brooke Myers who will present “Brooke Myers – A Pharmacist Far Beyond the Counter” who utilises her pharmacy skills overseas volunteering and aiding the under privileged. Chris Davis from the Institute of Glycomics at Griffith University will inform students on the problems that superbugs hold for the future of the health community. Compounding pharmacist Chris Testa will share his view on the compounding pharmacists’ role in the future. Alannah Priddle from the Pharmacy Guild of Australia offers her seminar: “Sexual Health in Community Pharmacy: A focus on Chlamydia and HIV” aiming to educate students on trials to minimise chlamydia and HIV. Gary Grant from Griffith University’s School of Pharmacy will showcase pharmacy technology of the future. These with many other education sessions from Daniel Rifkin, Ellen Pedler, Joyce McSwan, Fiona Miller, Denise Hope, Lindy Swain, the QPIP Team (led by Lisa Nissen from the PSA) and 5CPA Mental Health Team (led by Amanda Wheeler from Griffith University) will equip students well for their future careers and their current studies.
Trade show
Included in the Congress is a Trade Show Hall where students are given the opportunity to network with professionals, gain awareness of the pharmaceutical brands and support available, as well as leading edge healthcare options and product knowledge. 2015 is the third time that the Pharmacy Trade Show will be present at the NAPSA Congress, and thus far has proved more popular each year. Some of the trade show hall exhibitors include: the Australian Association of Consultant Pharmacy (AACP), Rural Pharmacy Support Network, University of Tasmania, Defence Force Australia, Amcal-Chempro, Chemist Warehouse, Australian College of Pharmacy (ACP), Chemmart, The Heart Foundation, Hydralyte, Ethical Nutrients, and many more. Some of the education speakers and Congress sponsors will also be available during the trade show, allowing students to network and ask further questions about their relevant fields of work.
Compounding challenge
In addition to the education timetable and Trade Show Hall, there will also be a Compounding Challenge amongst the delegates, as well as the Pharmacy Student of the Year (PSOTY) heats. The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia runs the PSOTY competition each year, where each state has a representative in the finals held at Pharmacy Australia Congress (PAC) later in the year. The PSOTY Heats at the Congress allows students to compete for a wildcard entry, pooled from all universities, to go into the final rounds. In combination with the trade show hall is the Compounding Challenge, which allows students to compete against each other and are critiqued on their product’s appearance and accuracy.
Sponsors
The NAPSA Congress is a major event on the NAPSA calendar, which is largely enjoyed by a vast amount of pharmacy students from all over Australia, from all different levels of study. This highly anticipated event however, would not be possible without the generous sponsorship of organisations within the pharmacy industry. This year, we have received an amazing amount of support from Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA), Griffith Health Group, Apotex, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia (TGA) (with Guild Insurance and Guild Super), Pharmaceutical Defence Limited (PDL), Alphapharm, Blackmores, Terry White Chemists, Australian Medicines Handbook (AMH) and the Society of Hospital Pharmacists Australia (SHPA). It is excellent to see such integral pharmacy industry bodies getting involved and essentially assisting in the development and growth of our future pharmacists.
2014 NAPSA congress – Bendigo, Victoria
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