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The Tablet
SHPA QLD Branch Newsletter December 2014
Queensland Branch AGM - The 2015 Committee
Following a very successful AGM there are some changes in the QLD Branch ExecutiveChair - Jennie O’Hare a newly elected member of the committee takes over the role of Chair and
brings with her wide ranging experience in many aspects of hospital pharmacy and advocating
on behalf of pharmacy services at state and national forums. She is a strong advocate for the
appropriate use of electronic medication management technologies within hospital services and
is passionate about the role of pharmacists and pharmacy support staff in providing medication
management services that are safe, appropriate and patient-centred.
Queensland
Branch
Executive
 Chair
Jennie O’Hare
 Vice Chair
Jess Lloyd
 Secretary
Lee Allam
 Treasurer
Sheryn Wang
 Committee Contacts
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Vice Chair - Jess Lloyd has stepped into the role of Vice Chair after being committed to organising
some of the best continuing education sessions for the last 3 years and will continue to provide
fantastic clinical knowledge and support to the committee.
Secretary - Lee Allam is the outgoing Chair and will take on a new role as Secretary. We would like
to thank Lee for his work on the committee as Chair bringing a focus to the CE program and delivering this in a reliable webinar format. Lee has also encouraged the self-assessment options
which now support the group 2 activity upgrade.
Treasurer – Sheryn Wang has been elected as a member and Treasurer after spending the last 2
years making a significant contribution to the Queensland CE as a committee observer.
Outgoing Executive - We would like to thank Jackie Costello for her time as Secretary keeping everyone in line with her unique organisational skills which she will be transferring to the CE coordinator role. We would also like to thank Arna Lancashire for her time and efforts in the role of Vice
Chair, she will continue representing Queensland on the Research & Development Grants Advisory Committee (RDGAC).
Our remaining branch committee members are Andy Lo, Emma Alder and Benita Suckling with
observers Courtney Vesey and Michelle Rothwell providing a much needed rural and remote perspective and Jesseca Eglington staying on after her intern year to provide an insight into needs of
Early Career Pharmacists.
We would formally like to thank the members who are stepping out or into observer roles after
their outstanding contributions over the years.
Elizabeth Currey with her calm demeanour, fantastic clinical knowledge and organisational skills will
be sorely missed in her role as CE coordinator though she will still be supporting as an observer
while juggling an addition to her growing family.
John Parke retires from the SHPA QLD Branch committee after 30 years of sharing his expertise,
wisdom, life experience and bringing fun and pizza to every meeting.
Joan Semmler steps away from the committee to focus on family life and she will be greatly missed
as the Technician representative.
With Ian Coombes and Trudy Teasdale as our Federal Queensland SHPA representatives we can look forward to an exciting year where the focus will be
on the 3 priority initiatives and challenges facing the pharmacy profession.
The committee would like to thank all who came along to be involved in the
AGM, those who cast their vote or nominated a proxy, and of course those
who participated in the Trivia Contest—The Gold Coast University Hospital
(pictured) managed to continue their winning streak, spectacularly downing
teams from the Princess Alexandra and the Royal Brisbane. Congratulations!
W. A. Harris Award 2014 Recipient—
Joan Semmler
Joan started out her career as a pharmacy technician in the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute in Melbourne in 1995, then in 1999 moved to
Queensland to become a pharmacy assistant at the Princess Alexandra Hospital
in Brisbane. After commencing work at Princess Alexandra Hospital, where Joan
is still employed after 15 years, attaining the position of Senior Pharmacy Technician in sterile production, Joan has a string of achievements to her name.
Joan joined the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia in 2002 and became
a member of the State branch of the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia
(SHPA) QLD committee in 2005 as a Technician observer, including serving as a member of the SHPA Oncology
Committee of Speciality Practice. She became a representative on the SHPA National Technician Network developing and implementing a continuing education program for pharmacy assistants and technicians. She continues to
be a member and work with the Community Service and Health Industry Skills Council Subject Matter Expert
Group for Pharmacy.
In 2013 she was a member of the organising committee for SHPA Medicines Management Conference in Cairns.
At four consecutive SHPA conferences Joan has played an integral part in organising the Technician Network
Breakfast sessions.
Joan has a special interest in medication systems improvement, particularly in sterile manufacture and aseptic
compounding of cytotoxic preparations. She was the co-investigator involved in a research project to identify levels of surface contamination with cytotoxic substances pre and post implementation of a trial using closed system
compounding devices for manufacture in the Pharmacy Sterile Production Centre. Her passion for quality, safety
and improvement saw her as the co-author of a poster “Finding Chemo- out of sight but not out of mind” which
was presented at COSA 2005. This patient information poster was later adapted in consultation with the SHPA and
a generic version published by SHPA in 2007. More recently she was an invited speaker at the SHPA Medicines
Management Conference in Melbourne.
In her acceptance speech, Joan made special mention to stress that nothing could have been achieved without
the unfailing support and encouragement of past and present Queensland branch committees over many years.
Joan believes that Australia is unique in the world where technicians and assistants are welcomed as members of
the national organisation representing and advocating for hospital pharmacists and the hospital pharmacy profession. She said it bodes well for the profession that support staff are recognised and encouraged as an integral part
of the pharmacy team.
Joan believes that Australia is unique in the world where technicians and assistants are welcomed as members of
the national organisation representing and advocating for hospital pharmacists and the hospital pharmacy profession. She said it bodes well for the profession that support staff are recognised and encouraged as an integral part
of the pharmacy team.
Joan has been honoured, overwhelmed and delighted to accept the award for her outstanding achievements and
commitment to expanding the scope of practice for pharmacy support staff.
The final word...
Finally, we would like to thank all of our
Queensland members for their ongoing support and involvement with the SHPA. Your
contribution through attendance and participation at our branch monthly CPD, discussion
groups, seminars and conferences will continue to grow our profession in the years to come. We look forward
to an exciting and productive year ahead, and wish you and your family a safe and Merry Christmas and a
Happy New Year. – The SHPA QLD Branch Committee