The Pharmacy Guild of Australia is pleased to announce that Luke Vrankovich is the Inaugural MIMS Pharmacy Guild of Australia Intern of the Year. Luke has been an outstanding intern at CHC Pharmacy, Coffs Harbour demonstrating patient-centred and innovative pharmacy practice.
The honour was announced today at the Australian Pharmacy Professional (APP) Conference on the Gold Coast.
The award recognises a Guild intern who shows integrity, honesty and professionalism in their work and who best demonstrates excellence in delivering patient-centred care and improving community health.
Relocating from metropolitan Perth to regional Coffs Harbour, Luke has grasped every opportunity and developed a strong network in the wider community, becoming a highly requested staff member. His popularity with customers grew out of his passion for primary and preventive health care and by showing enthusiasm and dedication to his profession.
Luke has contributed to the Coffs Harbour community by delivering educational presentations to nursing home staff, attending industry networking events, conducting health checks at various events and providing information about pharmacy to high school students at the Coffs Coast Career Expo.
One of Luke’s greatest achievements during the intern year was the implementation of coordinated mental health services within his pharmacy and the local community. Luke became qualified to teach Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) to others and has since provided this crucial training to other young pharmacy students and Lifeline counsellors in Coffs Harbour. Due to the success of the MHFA training in Lifeline Coffs Harbour, Lifeline is now rolling out national training for all counsellors in MHFA thanks to Luke’s innovative thinking.
One of the competition judges, Anthony Tassone, President of the Victorian Branch of The Pharmacy Guild of Australia and chair of the Academy Management Committee said “While the judging was incredibly difficult as we were stunned by the number of dedicated interns, Luke was a clear example of dedication to pharmacy. Luke clearly stood out due to his passion for innovation and making a real difference to his local community and also broader extracurricular activities. Luke demonstrates a great ‘whole package’ of excellence our future pharmacists could aspire to.”
The MIMS Pharmacy Guild of Australia Intern of the Year 2014 winner receives a $4,000 educational and travel grant to enable them to pursue their pharmacy career in Australia or overseas.
The competition is sponsored by MIMS Australia, supplier of independent medicine information to Australian healthcare professionals. More information about MIMS Australia can be found at www.mims.com.au/.
14 March 2015
National Secretariat
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