Purple Pen Podcast

For our special 50th Episode we first discuss some things we've learned from making the podcast. Then Jane caught up with Dr Jason Trubiano, an Infectious Diseases Physician from Austin Health. Jason appeared on our first episode, and in Episode 50 we get an update on the world of antibiotic allergies and bust some more myths. We're also re-releasing Episode One as a special 50th Episode treat.

Jane caught up with two members of the writing group for the recently updated Therapeutic Guidelines: Cardiovascular. Confusingly, they are also called Jane and Dan! Jane O'Connor is an Editor at Therapeutic Guidelines and Dr Daniel Scherer is a Cardiologist and PhD Candidate at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute.

Dan discusses PREPx with three experts: A/Prof Edwina Wright from The Alfred, Monash Uni and The Burnet Institute, Alison Duncan, Lead Pharmacist for HIV at The Alfred and Luxi Lal, Pharmacist and Scientist from the Burnet Institute. We were so fortunate to have Edwina - who ran the pivotal Australian trials and was so kind in sharing her knowledge with us. We learn about: How the key Australian studies were set up and run Novel dosing modalities Information for pharmacists and key counselling points for dispensing PREP Side effects and monitoring with PREP How PREP is changing the paradigm of HIV prevention

Jane and Dan talk Specialty Practice with Courtney Munro and Suzanne Newman from SHPA and Susie Welch from St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney. We talk about: Development of standards of practice How involvement in specialty practice can form part of your CPD plan What can be gained from involvement in a Specialty Practice Stream Hot topics in Emergency Medicine

Jane and Dan spoke to Bronwyn Clark, CEO of the Australian Pharmacy Council and Catriona Bradley, Executive Director of the Irish Institute of Pharmacy. Bronwyn is the Host Committee Convenor and Catriona is a keynote speaker at the upcoming Life Long Learning in Pharmacy Conference. We discuss different models for assessing pharmacist competence, how to measure and develop competency in soft skills and what patients want pharmacists to be doing.

Dan is joined by eminent physician, pharmacologist and former pharmacist Prof  Dave Juurlink from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. We talk about: Why Tramadol is a bad choice of analgesia Why Codeine upscheduling is a good idea for Canada and Australia How scheduling impacts medication choice How a 100-word "paper" in NEJM contributed to the opioid epidemic

In the lead up to International Women’s Day 2018, Jane sat down with three Pharmacy Leaders: Sue Kirsa (Director of Pharmacy, Monash Health), Nicole Dirnbauer (Assistant Deputy Director of Pharmacy, Monash Children’s Hospital) and Marisa Hodgkinson (SHPA Victorian Branch Committee Chair).   We talk about: Challenges and things that have helped build a career Whether a mentor is necessary for success Whether we still need to be talking about women in healthcare leadership   At the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA)’s International Women’s Day Breakfast Debate, members can make up their own minds as thought leaders from Australian clinical pharmacy debate: Priority or luxury? Flexible hours in clinical pharmacy practice.

Jane and Dan spoke to Janelle Penno, Perioperative Medicine Pharmacist at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne. Janelle's paper "Improving Medication Labelling - Patients Driving Their Information" was awarded best paper at the MM2017 conference in November. We spoke to Janelle about: Patients' preferences for medicine instructions Principles of Plain English communication Useful resources to help improve the way that health professionals communicate with their patients

ane talks to Benita Suckling, a clinical pharmacist with the Opioid Stewardship Service at Redcliffe Hospital in Queensland. We spoke about: A model for an opioid stewardship service, and why it is beneficial Risk factors for inappropriate opioid use post discharge Strategies to optimise pain management on discharge SHPA members can join the Pain Management Specialty Practice stream to connect with other pharmacists working in this area

Jane and Dan spoke to Garth Birdsey, Senior clinician pharmacist at Barwon Health. We asked Garth about: Real world experience with DOACs in special patient groups  Concerns about under-dosing patients with DOACs Optimal use of beta-blockers and why metoprolol 12.5 mg bd is often inappropriate in IHD

In our final MM2017 episode, we speak to Rahul Singal Associate Chief Pharmacist - Operational Productivity at Kings College Hospital in London. Rahul was a keynote speaker at SHPA MM2017. We talk to Rahul about: The future for pharmacists in the UK and Australia How pharmacists can improve patient safety at transitions of care Models for pharmacist prescribing Professional responsibilities and expanded roles

Jane and Dan spoke to Dr James Edwards at MM2017. James is a Senior Staff Specialist in Emergency Medicine at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, he is also the founder of www.onthewards.org which is designed to assist medical practitioners in their earliest days of postgraduate practice. We spoke to James about: FOAM (Free Open Access Medical Education) Different models of education for health professionals Dissemination of research and digital scholarship Quality control issues for open access information

Jane and Dan caught up with Professor Zubin Austin at the recent MM2017 SHPA Conference where he was a keynote speaker. Professor Austin is the Murray Koffler Chair in Management at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on the professional and personal development of the health human resources workforce. ' We spoke to Zubin about: Culture shock Defining a professional culture How understanding the culture of different health craft groups can improve the relationships between them

Jane and Dan caught up with Natalie Tasker and Kristin Xenos, two members of the MM2017 Conference Scientific Program committee for a recap of the conference.

Live from Day 2 of the SHPA MM2017 conference, Jane and Dan caught up with some notable attendees: Amanda Horiniak, Resident Pharmacist at Alfred Health and newly awarded Resident of the Year Andrew Matthews, General Manager, Workforce Transformation at SHPA Stephen Bazire, author of the Psychotropic Drug Directory.

In the first of our special series of episodes live from MM2017, we are talking to A/Prof Thomas Gottlieb, Senior Staff Specialist in Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at Concord Hospital in NSW. A/Prof Gottlieb's presentation at MM2017 is titled "Do More AMS, Pearls from Years in the Life of AMS". We spoke to A/Prof Gottlieb about challenges and wins in antimicrobial stewardship, engaging clinicians and patients and driving behavioural change.

In a preview of the upcoming SHPA Conference, we have two guests this week: Emeritus Professor Kim Oates, Director of Undergraduate Quality and Safety Education at the Clinical Excellence Commission in Sydney. Prof Oates is presenting a Plenary about patient safety. Fiona Doukas is an Antimicrobial Stewardship Pharmacist at Concord Repatriation General Hospital in Sydney. Fiona is on the conference organising committee. Medicines Management 2017, the 43rd SHPA National Conference is in Sydney for 16-19th November full MM2017 program is here: https://mm2017shpa.com/ 

Jane spoke to Paul Tait, lead Palliative Care Pharmacist for the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network We spoke about: The differing presentations of palliative care patients. Interventions to improve access to end of life medicines for community palliative care patients. Useful resources for health professionals.

Jane and Dan spoke to Kate O'Hara, Lead Pharmacist for Women, Youth and Children at The Canberra Hospital. We talk about: The many ways that paediatric patients are different to adults Pharmacokinetic differences between adults and children Off-label use of medicines in paediatrics and the associated practicalities

At the recent 2017 SHPA Residency Symposium, Dan joined Beth Ward, Foundation Program Manager at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and Ian Coombes, SHPA Vice President and Director of Pharmacy at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital to discuss plans and programs to support and develop our workforce.