Practice Change Program

(News released by PSA)

The Practice Change Program is offering education and training sessions to support pharmacists as they navigate the changing communication needs in community pharmacy.

As the scope of community pharmacy broadens, there are increasing opportunities for pharmacists to provide professional services to the community. Effective communication is essential to the delivery of these services, and to building cooperative and collaborative relationships with patients and other health care professionals, including general practitioners.

The aim of this training course is to enhance and increase the knowledge and confidence of community pharmacists in the area of communication, people and interaction skills.

Pharmacists will also practicably cover the topics of understanding others, building relationships, managing conflict and negotiation skills.

The training sessions will be given by Wendy Poyser from syncHRonicity and Gabriella Horak from Facilitrain. Wendy has extensive experience in the area of business management and human resources, and teaches pharmacy management and business skills in the pharmacy school at the University of Sydney. Gabriella has many years experience in the corporate training sector, designing and delivering programs in communication, interpersonal and negotiation skills.

In most states and territories the course will be run over two sessions, each of 2.5 hours duration. Sessions begin at the end of May. Attendance is free for all courses run before 30 June 2010.

The Practice Change Program is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing as part of the Fourth Community Pharmacy Agreement, and managed by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia with the support of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia.