My name is Gareth Wheeldon. I'm a community pharmacist working in the ACT. I studied at Charles Sturt University in Wagga, moved to Canberra where I'm practicing now. I did my intern year, with the pharmacy group that I'm currently working with and basically just progressed from there. Certainly these days there is a range of other options to be able to access pharmacy training.
When I first started, vaccination was something that pharmacists wouldn't do. I was scared of needles, I hate needles. But now that's kind of the thing that I enjoy the most about the role now. I'm doing more, I suppose, community engagement with different vaccination services throughout the community. There's a bit of a gap at different times in terms of accessibility to different range of health care services.
So we try to to help out and take a bit of pressure off. So enabling people to get timely access to vaccinations, timely access to some of the other screening services that they may need, to make sure they have, continued, good health. We, went down the path of some inclusivity training, which basically provide a range of support and outreach services to LGBTQi+ community as well as those suffering from HIV and a range of other, sexually transmitted infections, and giving them that option to access health care in a slightly different manner than what they may have done in the past.
Being able to to go outside of the pharmacy walls, to be able to, work with people in a community, perhaps an isolated community, doing these sorts of things, you certainly do feel a sense of satisfaction, a sense of achievement. To be successful in pharmacy. Be a good person. It's something that being able to talk to people change, with the differing needs of the community, differing needs of pharmacy.
Don't be afraid to to ask a question, because usually if you're asking that question, somebody else wants to know the answer as well. Met my wife, in pharmacy school down in Wagga Wagga, working closely to make sure that people get healthy, stay healthy and basically just help where we can. The joy of pharmacy is that essentially is that customer service part of the role as well?
Sometimes people aren't their best when they come in. You certainly do feel a sense of satisfaction, a sense of achievement. And it is a lovely feeling to know that you've made a difference. Yeah, it's certainly a good feeling each day.