Top End Health Service medication safety pharmacist, Tristen Pogue, has been awarded the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA) PL Jeffs Early Career Pharmacist Award for 2015.

The PL Jeffs Early Career Pharmacist Award is an encouragement award intended for the recognition of a young pharmacist who has made a significant contribution to hospital pharmacy practice in South Australia or the Northern Territory. This award recognises the significant contribution of Mr P. Lance Jeffs as a leading hospital pharmacist in South Australia, one of the inaugural members of SHPA, and its first president.

Tristen first came to the NT in 2012 and was critical to the implementation of the electronic medicines management system at the Royal Darwin Hospital. She was appointed as the first TEHS Medication Safety Pharmacist and is now recognised as a leader in the provision of Medication Safety practices. Tristen has been pivotal in the development of the TEHS Medication Safety committee not only in meeting requirements of the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standard 4: Medication Safety, but also in implementing quality improvement activities across the TEHS. She has also presented her work at a number of conferences and seminars and is a mentor for pharmacist nurses and medical staff in this area.

This is the second year that an NT pharmacist has won this award, Alice Gilbert, was recognised in 2014 for her work in Mental Health.

CONTACT: Fred McCue 0401 119 792