Rural Pharmacy

There is an acute shortage of pharmacists in Australia, particularly in rural and remote cities and towns. The shortage affects both hospital and community pharmacy practice. The Victorian College of Pharmacy has a firm commitment to the development and understanding of rural pharmacy.

Professional Experience Placement

Third and fourth year students spend 12 weeks in community and hospital pharmacies, and some other relevant locations. The scheme includes a compulsory three-week placement in regional areas for every student. The rural placement component of the scheme has a specific focus on issues relevant to health care in regional areas, such as pharmacy depots, health in regional areas, aboriginal health, the influence of information technology, veterinary pharmacy, issues affecting rural hospitals, and emergency services in regional communities. Students are encouraged to spend time away from the community and hospital pharmacies, including visits to other health care professionals, aboriginal communities and pharmacy depots. A structured workbook guides them through the activities, and preceptors are required to assess the students during the placements for communication skills, reliability, response to criticism, motivation and timeliness. Debriefing sessions after each placement, and feedback from both students and preceptors, have repeatedly indicated that the rural component of the scheme is popular and effective.

Pharmacy on the Farm - addressing an acute shortage.

Rural pharmacy academic

A hospital pharmacist, who also contributes to the educational and research activities at Monash University's Centre for Rural Health as a senior lecturer, is employed one day a week to assist the Faculty of Pharmacy to address rural pharmacy issues.

WILDFIRE

WILDFIRE (Working In Leading Development For Indigenous and Rural Education) aims to encourage and support both rural and urban students who have an interested in rural health and rural practice. WILDFIRE also has an active social calendar and students studying at Parkville are encouraged to join.

Veterinary pharmacy

The Bachelor of Pharmacy includes a compulsory component on veterinary pharmacy. The program covers a range of topics, such as zoonoses, common disease of both domesticated pets and farm animals, and veterinary dose forms, all of which are highly relevant to pharmacists practising in regional areas.

Rural research

A number of research projects have been conducted into aspects of rural pharmacy practice, including the provision of medication reviews in small rural communities and the impact of a shortage of pharmacists on the provision of clinical pharmacy services in rural hospitals. Two current interests are, firstly, the exploration of innovative new models of practice for rural pharmacies and, secondly, the patterns of employment of pharmacy graduates from city and regional backgrounds.