ks_Index

Ken Stafford - a "potted history"

Ken.Stafford@dva.gov.au

Go To Ken Stafford Article Index

I graduated from the Victorian College of Pharmacy in the 1960s, making me somewhat of a pharmaceutical "dinosaur".
After a number of years in the community sector I moved into hospital pharmacy, where I found I could apply a lot of what I had learned at university and doctors even LISTENED to the advice being offered.
Collaborative medication management practices actually existed - a shock to my system! It was in this environment that I found that I enjoyed being an educator, instilling professionalism in the many pre-registration students passing through the Victorian public hospitals in the 1970s became a challenge.
In 1982 Western Australia beckoned and I became the first lay Chief Pharmacist of St John of God Hospital, at that time the largest private hospital in Australia.
It was a shock to the system having to deal with the PBS again after so many years.
If you think community pharmacy has problems with the system, try working in a tertiary care private hospital.
After eleven years in Subiaco I moved to the Department of Veterans' Affairs as part of its Quality Use of Medicines programme. My three months trial has now extended to eight years.
During this time I have acquired Fellowships of the Society of Hospital Pharmacists, Pharmaceutical Society of WA, post graduate qualifications in clinical pharmacy and public sector management and accreditation by the AACP as a Consultant Pharmacist.
Over the years I have also acquired a wife and two children, one a hospital pharmacist, currently on a working holiday in Britain, the other a fourth year pharmacy student.
The future of pharmacy is thus very important to me-my children's careers are dependent on a vibrant, viable profession, hopefully where the pharmacist is seen to be a respected member of the health care team. I hope to challenge you to move our profession in this direction.

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	Ken Stafford - a "potted history" Ken.Stafford@dva.gov.au Go To Ken Stafford Article Index I graduated from the Victorian College of Pharmacy in the 1960s, making me somewhat of a pharmaceutical "dinosaur". After a number of years in the community sector I moved into hospital pharmacy, where I found I could apply a lot of what I had learned at university and doctors even LISTENED to the advice being offered. Collaborative medication management practices actually existed - a shock to my system! It was in this environment that I found that I enjoyed being an educator, instilling professionalism in the many pre-registration students passing through the Victorian public hospitals in the 1970s became a challenge. In 1982 Western Australia beckoned and I became the first lay Chief Pharmacist of St John of God Hospital, at that time the largest private hospital in Australia. It was a shock to the system having to deal with the PBS again after so many years. If you think community pharmacy has problems with the system, try working in a tertiary care private hospital. After eleven years in Subiaco I moved to the Department of Veterans' Affairs as part of its Quality Use of Medicines programme. My three months trial has now extended to eight years. During this time I have acquired Fellowships of the Society of Hospital Pharmacists, Pharmaceutical Society of WA, post graduate qualifications in clinical pharmacy and public sector management and accreditation by the AACP as a Consultant Pharmacist. Over the years I have also acquired a wife and two children, one a hospital pharmacist, currently on a working holiday in Britain, the other a fourth year pharmacy student. The future of pharmacy is thus very important to me-my children's careers are dependent on a vibrant, viable profession, hopefully where the pharmacist is seen to be a respected member of the health care team. I hope to challenge you to move our profession in this direction. PREVIOUS ARTICLES The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same Doom, gloom and the end of life as we know it? Perception is Reality-or is it? Told You So! A View to the Future? A Breakthrough at Last Trust-A Fleeting Moment or Pharmacy's Greatest Weapon? Communications is the Name of the Game! A Kaleidoscope of Pharmaceutical Thoughts Pharmacy- A Brave New World? Perceptions are reality? With Friends Like Ours Who Needs Enemies? Ten Tribes of Pharmacy? Pharmacy as a Profession - a Matter of Perception It Always Amazes me That..... Frustrations and Fast Food! Pharmacy, a Highly Rewarding "Profession"? The Health Care Team??? A Pharmacist's Dilemna A Slow Learner Perhaps?