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.
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 first 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 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 Infirmary 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 benefit of patient care
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 first of many exchange visits between the two pharmacy schools. We agreed to set up this first 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 beneficial as important lessons and ideas are shared across borders and around the world which can only help improve patient care.”