A dedication to the profession of pharmacy, and a motivation to practice within the profession, has seen a UQ School of Pharmacy alumnus and PhD student, Chris Freeman, named the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia's (PSA) Young Pharmacist of the Year for 2011.
Mr Freeman is renowned for his commitment to collaborative health care and his PhD aims to investigate integrating a pharmacist into a primary health-care team with an overall goal to increase the quality use of medicines.
For the past two-and-a-half years, he has worked in such an integrative environment at Camp Hill Medical Centre in Brisbane, and has facilitated other pharmacists into this environment across Australia.
"I am honoured and humbled to receive the PSA Young Pharmacist of the Year Award," he said.
"Looking back at the previous recipients, I am encouraged by the impact they have been able to have on our profession.
"I hope that my career will also positively influence the pharmacy profession. I would like to thank the many people who have acted as a mentor and a guide during my career. It is through their good grace that I have been able to achieve what I have to date.
"I believe it is an exciting time to be a young pharmacist. With the evolution of the health system, we are ideally placed to extend our roles and ultimately provide positive health outcomes for patients."
Associate Professor Lisa Nissen, PSA (QLD Branch) President paid tribute to Mr Freeman: "This is a fantastic reward for Chris's innovative work in expanding the scope of practice for pharmacists in primary care."
"He has demonstrated great leadership and initiative, stepping out of the comfort zone to carve out this new role and has earned the respect of not only the team he is working with at Camp Hill, but also the medical and pharmacy professionals more broadly.
"He is clearly a leader of the future and I look forward to seeing him make more and more of an impact on practice in the coming years."
Mr Freeman joins a list of other UQ alumni who have previously been awarded both Young Pharmacist of the Year and Pharmacist of the Year, including Dr Nissen, who is the only person ever to have received both titles.
Media: Stephanie Dunn at s.dunn@uq.edu.au or 07 3346 1926.
