Australia

My name is Erin Cooper and I am an Intern Pharmacist from Canberra, Australia. I am extremely passionate about pharmacy and have been heavily involved with the profession from the beginning of my studies. 

During my time at university I was involved with my local university branch which allowed me to attend the National Australian Pharmacy Students’ Association (NAPSA) annual conference from my first year. Attending these conferences opened my eyes to the passion of pharmacy students from all across Australia. 

In my third year of studies I gained the role of NAPSA’s Publications Chair. This role involved managing NAPSA’s social media platforms, writing media releases and publishing our bi-monthly newsletter the ‘ePlacebo’. This role allowed me to become more involved in NAPSA and with the Australian pharmacy community. Through this role I was able to attend a large number of Australian Pharmacy conferences and meet members from professional organisations all across Australia. 

In my final year of university, I was lucky to of been elected as the NAPSA President. This role came with a lot of work and stresses but overall has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my pharmacy career thus far. In this role I gained knowledge in teamwork and leadership skills from working alongside my team of Executive Directors who were from universities all around the country. 

During my time as President I had to opportunity to meet with and discuss student issues with leaders and members of all the prominent pharmacy organisations across Australia. This has been an incredibly rewarding experience in networking and allowing the student voice to be heard. 

Since handing over the role in the past month I have now stepped into a mentor position for the incoming President and new NAPSA committee. This will allow for a successful hand over period for the new board as well as allowing me to develop new skills in mentorship.

I am currently halfway through my internship in a Community Pharmacy and enjoying every minute. Spending all day talking to patients and providing all of the professional services my pharmacy offers is incredibly rewarding and something I look forward to doing for the rest of my career. I also am still very active within Australia’s proactive Early Career Pharmacist (ECP) network and will continue to ensure our voice is continuously heard.