The Pharmacy Guild of Australia is urging pharmacies to ensure their Guild interns are nominated for the 2021 MIMS / Guild Intern of the Year Award (IOTY) ahead of the Monday 31 January 2022 deadline.
Guild interns can self-nominate for the award. Alternatively, pharmacy proprietors, pharmacists and intern preceptors are encouraged to nominate an outstanding intern – the nomination process takes less than 10 minutes!
Created by The Pharmacy Guild of Australia and proudly sponsored by MIMS Australia, the IOTY offers pharmacy interns the opportunity to be awarded the prestigious title of Intern of The Year, receive a cash prize of $4,500 and receive flights, accommodation and full registration to attend APP2022 on the Gold Coast.
To be eligible for the award, pharmacy interns must have successfully completed The Pharmacy Guild of Australia’s Intern Training Program (Guild ITP) during the 2021 calendar year.
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia’s National President, Professor Trent Twomey, encouraged eligible interns who hadn’t nominated to put forward their case for industry-wide recognition.
“Being named the 2021 MIMS / Guild Intern of the Year is a prestigious accolade that provides a wonderful platform for an intern to launch their pharmacy career,” he said.
“Not only will the winner proudly hold the exclusive title of Intern of The Year, the cash prize of $4,500 will help offset some of the financial costs of pursuing a future in pharmacy.”
“Also, full registration to APP2022 will give the Intern of The Year great exposure to the best education resources, the latest and most innovative products and services in pharmacy, and an opportunity to network with industry leaders and peers.”
Pharmacy Guild interns can self-nominate or be nominated at internpharmacist.com.au/intern-of-the-year before 31 January.
Prof Twomey said efforts to streamline the nomination process for this year’s award have made the task less daunting for both interns and nominators.
“The nomination process is simple and takes less than 10 minutes to complete – just tell us why you deserve to be IOTY,” he said.
“Following the closing date, your submission will be reviewed by our judging panel against the award criteria and a deserving winner will be found.”
Nominees will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Angus Koerstz, who won the award in 2020.
Mr Koerstz was acknowledged for his focus on improving men’s health outcomes, specialising in post prostatectomy rehabilitation for patients who have suffered from prostate cancer. He was also lauded for setting up a satellite men’s health clinic in his hometown of Dubbo, NSW.
Professor Twomey said that the contributions of Mr Koerstz and other motivated interns were inspiring and left him confident the future of pharmacy was in excellent hands.
“We know there are some highly talented interns doing great things for their communities out there and we want to share in their accomplishments and career journey,” he said. “The IOTY Award is great way for the next generation of pharmacists and pharmacy owners to be recognised and rewarded for their efforts.”
Shortlisting will occur during February, with the Intern of the Year 2021 to be announced on Thursday, 24 March 2022 at the pharmacy industry’s pinnacle event, APP2022 on the Gold Coast.
