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We have reached the end of another year, and what a year it has been! As the year rolls inexorably to its close, it’s hard not to reflect on the events of 2011.
A key memory for very many of us will be the rains, floods, and storms of earlier this year.
UQ, particularly at St Lucia, was rather severely affected but, here in PACE, we managed to get through this period pretty much unscathed. However, many of us will have very personal memories of loss from this time and our sympathies go to those individuals and families who suffered in this way.
The community response to the enormity of these events was phenomenal and we should pay tribute to all those tireless volunteers who helped in turning lives around.
The academic year is often defined by comings and goings; it seems like only a few weeks ago that we welcomed the new cohort of budding young pharmacists and here, just last week we said goodbye to our graduating class of 4th years.
This year we have also commenced a new program for the School – an Intern Training Program – and our first cohort is due to commence with us in early 2012.
Before closing I would like to pay tribute to all in the School, the academic and professional staff, the students and all our preceptors, who have helped to continue the great successes of the School of Pharmacy. It is these individual and collective contributions which make the School such a wonderful place in which to work. Thank you.
I offer my sincere best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to you all and look forward to seeing you in the New Year.
Regards,
Professor Nick Shaw
Head of School
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Congratulations, Class of 2011
 The School of Pharmacy's graduating Class of 2011 enjoyed a celebratory breakfast at PACE on December 15, prior to their 11:00am graduation ceremony.
The group was joined by their family, partners, friends and the School's staff, along with alumni and industry representatives.
The breakfast was generously funded by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Queensland Branch and organised by the UQ Pharmacy Alumni Network.
Among the group were thirty on-course honours graduates, who had completed an optional component during their 3rd and 4th years of study in the Bachelor of Pharmacy degree. This was the largest group of honours students to graduate from the degree, and represented a 50% increase from the 2010 honours cohort of twenty.
The School of Pharmacy would like to congratulate all its graduates, and extend a very warm thanks to the Pharmacy Guild of Australia for their generous support of this event.
Pictured Above: Professor Nick Shaw, Head of School, congratulates Class of 2011 valedictorian Mr Michael Fletcher
Pictured Below: The Class of 2011
Pharmacy Futures Appeal paves way for scholarships, research
The School of Pharmacy launched its inaugural Pharmacy Futures Appeal in April this year, with the aim to raise funds for valuable scholarships and research.
We are pleased to announce that through the generous donations of alumni and staff, the School has so far raised over $10,000, which will be used to establish two "Pharmacy Futures Scholarships", as well as supporting selected research projects within the School.
Scholarships
The "Pharmacy Futures Scholarships" intend to support students coming from non-traditional and disadvantaged backgrounds. The School's long term aim is to grow an endowment specifically to award annual scholarships to deserving students so that educational, financial and cultural disadvantage are no longer barriers to access an excellent pharmacy education.
As a first step to this long term aim, the inaugural round of scholarships will be advertised in early 2012 to the student body. Students in their second and fourth year will be eligible to apply, with priority given to students who:
- demonstrate financial need, and
- are the first in their family to attend university, or
- have lived in isolated or rural communities.
Research Projects
Research is clearly a priority among our alumni, with the majority of donors electing to give to pharmacy research. To honour this generosity, eight research projects have been selected for support by the School of Pharmacy's Research Committee, using an internal competitive grant process which assessed each project’s contribution to our improved knowledge.
The research projects were selected using the following criteria:
- overall quality of submission
- clarity and focus of the aims and objectives
- the significance of the project in relation to practice
A number of projects were evaluated in early December, and the following projects were successful.
- Investigations of the health literacy of mothers of young children and studies to improve information delivery
Lead researcher: Dr Therese Kairuz
- Identification of peptide fragments with opioid-like activity
Lead researcher: Dr Peter Cabot
- Infrastructure for pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data modelling and analysis to assist in optimum medicines usage
Lead researcher: Dr Stefanie Hennig
- Alzheimer’s Disease and the role of β-amyloid polymerisation
Lead researcher: Dr Benjamin Ross
- The use of saliva as a metabolomic matrix in children and neonates
Lead researcher: Dr Karen Whitfield
- Support for drug delivery studies in ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s Disease
Lead researcher: A/Prof. Allan Coombes
- Methods to assist the swallowing of oral solid dosage forms
Lead researcher: A/Prof. Lisa Nissen
- Instrumentation to measure DNA and RNA in cancer research
Lead researcher: Prof. Sarah Roberts-Thomson
Pharmacy research is crucial to improve the health of individuals in our community – local and global – whether it be research in drug development, medicines delivery and use, or innovations around the role of pharmacy professionals in the modern healthcare workforce.
The School of Pharmacy wishes to thank all the generous donors who have contributed to this ongoing appeal. As you can see, your gift is already making a difference.
To donate to the appeal, simply click the "Donate Now" button below, or for more information, visit the appeal website at www.uq.edu.au/pharmacy/giving.
Pharmacy program teaches Aussie slang
Pharmacy students from international backgrounds are learning Australian colloquialisms — as a matter of life and death.
“Someone might tell a pharmacist they have a gut-ache, had a chunder, caught a wog, chucked a sickie, couldn't eat brekkie or got bitten by mozzies,'' said project team leader Jacqueline Bond from the UQ School of Pharmacy. 
“These sayings can completely bamboozle pharmacists from non-Australian backgrounds.”
The innovative language program — offered to first-year pharmacy students — was this named as a winner in the 2011 UQ Teaching & Learning Awards.
“In a serious situation, someone might urgently seek advice from a pharmacist saying: ‘he's cactus, he's carked it, call the ambo!',” said Ms Bond.
“They might hear that someone has been out raging all night, got rotten, been on the plonk, on the turps or on the grog, had a liquid lunch, and now feels rooted or stuffed. They might complain about not being able to ‘eat' tea.
“A patient might ask a pharmacist if something is ridgy-didge or fair dinkum, or say: ‘are you having a lend?' They might offer to give something a burl, say a child has been screaming like a stuck pig, or that someone has gone troppo.
“Pharmacists deal with all sorts of questions – customers might ask about their old fella, their map of Tassie, whether they can buy some frangers or should see a gynie.
“They might get the wrong idea if someone said they were feeling upset because ‘the boss got up me today'.
“Pharmacists working in beachside locations might hear how someone got stung by a bluey or had a brush with a Bondi cigar.
“Someone might tell a pharmacist they don't like injections because they are a real wuss, or don't want a product because it is too exxy. Or something might be ‘a piece of piss'.
“If there are communication difficulties, the clients could be mad as a cut snake and accuse the pharmacist of being a drongo and having kangaroos loose in the top paddock!”
Ms Bond said the language program was developed as a multi-disciplinary collaboration between UQ academics in the fields of pharmacy, language and higher education.
“It's vital that pharmacists have excellent communication skills when they enter the profession, to ensure that medicines are used safely and effectively,” Ms Bond said.
“For cultural or linguistic reasons, some students face challenges in using both the colloquial language required for interactions with patients, and the clinical language required for interactions with other health professionals.”
The project team comprised 10 experts from the UQ School of Pharmacy, UQ's Institute of Continuing and TESOL Education, and the Teaching and Educational Development Institute.
“Unlike other generic language courses, students in our program develop their competence using scenarios that have been customised specifically for pharmacy, like talking to patients about medications for coughs and colds,” Ms Bond said.
“In these instances, we teach students the type of language that patients may use to communicate their symptoms, such as ‘I feel under the weather' or ‘I'm crook',” she said.
“In addition, we have created specific activities to ensure students learn the correct clinical language to work with pharmacists, doctors, specialists, physiotherapists and other professionals in health.”
The course was introduced in 2008 and students have since shown improved performance in oral and written exams, as well as greater engagement in their studies.
“A really important benefit is the students' increased confidence when they complete their placements in real pharmacies, in the community,” Ms Bond said.
“From a teaching perspective, it has been very rewarding to collaborate with language and diversity specialists to deliver learning outcomes that, eventually, impact the community's health.”
* Translations of all Australian colloquialisms mentioned in this article can be found here.
Pictured: International pharmacy student Shirin Hui Tan with project team leader Jacqueline Bond
UQ Pharmacy seminar series
The School of Pharmacy hosts weekly seminars throughout the academic year for all interested attendees including academics, RHD candidates, researchers & any UQ staff who wish to attend. No RSVP is required.
Guest speakers present 45 minute lectures, starting at 12:00noon each Friday during semester, in the PACE Seminar Room, Level 5, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba.
To view the program of upcoming seminars, visit www.uq.edu.au/pharmacy/public-seminars.
Enquiries and expressions of interest should be directed to the seminar coordinator:
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Pharmacy staff recognised for teaching excellence
School of Pharmacy staff have been recognised at the 2011 UQ Teaching & Learning Awards, held in October.
Awards for Programs that Enhance Learning
 Jacqui Bond, Dr Lynne Emmerton, Leigh McKauge and A/Prof. Kathryn Steadman were, together with staff from both the Institute of Continuing and TESOL Education and from the Teaching and Educational Development Institute, presented with a UQ Award for Programs that Enhance Learning for “Communication Skills Enhancement For At-Risk First-Year Pharmacy Students”.
In 2002 the University presented its first Awards for Programs that Enhance Learning (formerly Awards for the Enhancement of Student Learning) to recognise programs and services that enhance the quality of student learning and the quality of the student experience at The University of Queensland.
They are awarded to projects/services initiated by curriculum teams, groups or organisational units.
There are seven award categories with up to four awards granted each year. Each award winner will receive a grant of $10,000
Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning
Jacqui Bond was awarded a Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning for sustained excellence in teaching and the development of innovative e-learning approaches that promote student engagement and learning across multiple health scien ce programs.
Monica Moran from the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and A/Prof. Lisa Nissen, Rosalie Boyce and Jane Furnas from the School of Pharmacy, were also awarded a Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning for the HealthFusion Team Challenge and its contribution to interprofessional health education.
This category, introduced in 2006, recognises the diverse contributions that individuals and teams make to the quality of student learning, student engagement and/or the overall student experience at The University of Queensland.
Nominations were open to academic staff, general staff, sessional staff and institutional associates. Winners are selected at the discretion of the Teaching and Learning Committee and receive a grant of $4,000.
Congratulations to all those staff who have been honoured in these prestigious awards.
For further information on UQ Teaching & Learning week, visit www.uq.edu.au/teaching-learning/
Alumni made fellows of the PSA
Three UQ Pharmacy Alumni - Lisa Nissen, Bruce Elliot and Geraldine Moses - have been elevated to the status of Fellows of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia.
National President of PSA, Grant Kardachi, said Dr Moses was elevated to a Fellow of the Society for exceptional service to the profession of pharmacy and to the PSA through her contribution on the Queensland Branch Council and Committee over nine years and for her commitment to CPD across the state of Queensland.
“As well as providing leadership to the Queensland Branch committee, Dr Moses has presented to Queensland Branch members for more than a decade through MMR Stage 1 Workshops, Clinical Therapeutics Workshops and QUM in Aged Care workshops, activities that she developed with colleagues to ensure that members had access to frequent and quality CPD,” Mr Kardachi said.
“Professor Nissen, who is currently President of the Queensland Branch of PSA, has been elevated to a Fellow of the Society for her exceptional service to the profession and to the Society through her contribution as Branch President in her first term for three years and now in her second term.”
Mr Kardachi said the honour also reflected Professor Nissen’s enormous volume of contribution to various National and State PSA internal and external committees.
“As well, Professor Nissen is the only recipient of both the Young Pharmacist of the Year - 2002 and the Pharmacist of the Year-2008 awards from the Society,” Mr Kardachi said.
“Mr Elliot was elevated for exceptional service to the profession of pharmacy and to the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia through his contribution as Vice-President in the Queensland Branch for more than five years.
“The honour is also in recognition of his inspirational leadership during the Queensland flood disaster of 2011 during his term of Branch President as well as his significant volume of contribution to National and State PSA internal and external committees.”
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About the School of Pharmacy Alumni Network
The UQ Pharmacy Alumni Network was established in 2006, in order to re-connect with alumni and foster mutually beneficial links between graduates of the School, the University and the wider community.
The network allows graduates to stay connected with the university and take an active role in the rich university life of UQ through social, educational and intellectual activities
Some of the benefits offered to UQ Alumni include:
- Maintain valuable links with industry, allied health professionals, community organisations, fellow alumni and UQ
- Networking with past students, staff and industry professionals through invitations to alumni functions, professional seminars and conferences
- Opportunities for professional development through invitations to continuing education courses and lectures
- Stay connected with your graduating class through reunions, social events, school newsletters and Graduate Contact magazine
- Reduced rates for library access
- Email for life
- Continued access to UQ Employment Services
- Reduced rates for internet access via UQ Connect
- Reduced rates for membership of UQ Sport
- Membership of the UQ Staff and Graduates Club
The Alumni network is open to all graduates of The University of Queensland's School of Pharmacy. Associate membership is now being offered to current students as well. Membership is free, and you can request to leave the network at any time.
2012 Class Reunions - Start spreading the word!
The School of Pharmacy Alumni Network will run another round of class reunions during 2012. Make sure you register your interest so we can ensure you receive an invitation to your correct address.
2012 Reunions will include:
Reunions will be held at the School of Pharmacy's new home, the Pharmacy Australia Centre of Excellence.
As well as enjoying the party, guests will have the option of a guided tour of the facility.
All enquires for reunion can be forwarded to:
- Ms Stephanie Dunn
UQ Pharmacy Alumni Coordinator
Phone | 07 3346 1926
Email | s.dunn@uq.edu.au
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School of Pharmacy PhD candidate Felicity Davis and former PhD graduate Desma Grice, currently working as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Hunter Medical Research Institute in Newcastle, recently attended the New Horizons in Ca2+ Signaling Conference, held in Beijing. 
Sarah Roberts-Thomson.