Two students from Canberra University, Juliet Contrera and Garima Gahlawat, recently completed Pharmacy placements supported by Flinders NT, in multiple pharmacies around Darwin, Palmerston and Berry Springs.

The students experienced a wide range of pharmacy practice, including supplying medication to the renal unit at the Royal Darwin Hospital, using dose administration aid packing robots, compounding medication at the only compounding pharmacy in Darwin (which also manufactures compounded medications for ships), visiting nursing homes and learning about the IMPREST system, and packing medication supplies for remote health clinics.

“It was fascinating to see how the pharmacies respond to the challenges that rural and remote communities and health clinics face, in accessing health care resources including medications”, said Juliet.

“There were many opportunities during our placement, including taking part in the annual Barunga Festival in an Aboriginal community near Katherine and about 4 hours from Darwin. This is usually a closed community, so it was a great opportunity to learn about Aboriginal culture, community, lifestyle and challenges”, said Juliet.

The students summed up their experience saying, “Overall, our placement was an eye-opening and amazing experience and we are definitely going to do a rural placement again next year! We would highly recommend this placement location!!”.

Read about other placement experiences with Flinders NT