Study Pharmacy at Otago

Awanui Waaka:

Kia ora. My name is Te Awanui Waaka and I am in my third year of studying Pharmacy at the University of Otago. My experience studying at Otago has been amazing and it has opened many possible opportunities that I did not think of.

Pharmacists are the medicine experts within the health sector and are often involved in supporting the health of the people in the community. That is where my primary interest lies. It involves versatility – being able to both teach and help a patient, as well as make a difference in their day-to-day lives. You also get to work closely with other practitioners such as doctors, nurses, dentists and many others.

Hauora is a Māori philosophy that encompasses the four aspects, which are the physical, mental, spiritual and social dimensions of health. Otago University is unique, in that within Pharmacy you are taught how to apply these concepts within a real-life setting so that he can prove the service of a patient.

As a Māori, I am studying Pharmacy because I want to improve health outcomes for Māori and achieve health equity across New Zealand.

Professor Carlo Marra:

Hi, I’m Carlo Marra. I’m the Dean of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Otago. Why study Pharmacy? Well, Pharmacy is at the ideal time for people to begin their careers in this profession. It’s in an exciting time where pharmacists can do more than they’ve ever been able to do, and on a daily basis they’re increasing their scope. They can administer vaccines, many can prescribe, and they can do a vast array of healthcare interventions and healthcare consultations with health professionals and patients to improve patient’s health.

At the University of Otago, the School of Pharmacy, we have a very innovative program. We have a brand new curriculum that really focuses on patient care and on teaching pharmacists how to deal with patients and how to improve health outcomes.

So we start with foundational sciences in the first semester in that sort of, at the University of Otago what sets us apart from other programs, we have a very state-of-the-art professional practice laboratory, which is among the best that I’ve ever seen across the world. And we also have a patient care clinic where pharmacists interact with patients with high medication needs who come in, and we solve medication-related problems. Students are an integral part for both of those environments, and they get integrated into those environments to learn and to participate in patient care.

Once you receive your Pharmacy degree, you have a vast array of career opportunities available to you. You can practice in community pharmacies and do many of the exciting things that I’ve already mentioned. You can practice in hospitals, interacting with healthcare teams, interacting with patients, and really being the medication-related expert within the hospital setting.

You can work for government, you can work for the pharmaceutical industry, in health policy and funding and medicine reimbursement. And you can also go on to your graduate training to improve your clinical knowledge or improve your knowledge such in a way that you can do research.

So in summary, I would just want to impart that doing Pharmacy is a very exciting career. There are some myths that exist about Pharmacy – that it’s very chemistry focused. I would like to dispel those myths and tell you that it’s very patient care focused, and it’s the application of science and patient care to improve outcomes.