Purple Pen Podcast

Jane and Dan caught up with Professor Jason Roberts, NHMRC Practitioner Fellow at The University of Queensland and Consultant Clinical Pharmacist at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. Jason is a senior member of the Burns Trauma and Critical Care Research Centre within the University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research and is Director of the Centre for Translational Anti-infective Pharmacodynamics in School of Pharmacy where he is also Chair of the research Strategies Committee.  We could have talked to Jason all day. In part two of our two-part discussion on pharmacokinetic modelling of antimicrobials we talk about: different pharmacodynamic models for antimicrobials: concentration, time and AUC dependant  the clinical evidence for using pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic modelling future directions for clinical pharmacokinetics

Jane and Dan caught up with Professor Jason Roberts, NHMRC Practitioner Fellow at The University of Queensland and Consultant Clinical Pharmacist at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. Jason is a senior member of the Burns Trauma and Critical Care Research Centre within the University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research and is Director of the Centre for Translational Anti-infective Pharmacodynamics in School of Pharmacy where he is also Chair of the research Strategies Committee.  We could have talked to Jason all day. In part one of our two-part discussion on pharmacokinetic modelling of antimicrobials we talk about: Jason's pathway to a research career and the projects that his team are currently working on The patients and pathogens that benefit from individualised dosing of antimicrobials The narrowing therapeutic indices of some antimicrobials Some under-recognised adverse effects of beta-lactam antibiotics how to apply pharmacokinetics and individualised dosing in everyday practice

Dan caught up with NAPSA President Sandra Minas at the inaugural SHPA-NAPSA symposium in Melbourne on Friday. We discussed issues facing students, the results of the latest NAPSA survey and key programs being rolled out by NAPSA. We learn that despite concerns about graduate numbers, the rise of discounters and low pay, almost all pharmacy students are dedicated to their profession, and are looking forward to their careers.

Jane and Dan spoke to Horst Thiele from the Primary Care and Transitions of Care specialty practice leadership group. We asked Horst about the barriers and opportunities for pharmacists to assist patients at transitions of care and the evidence base for these services.

Dan and Jane are joined by Clarissa Rentsch to discuss updates on Inflammatory Bowel Disease with Clarissa Rentsch. Clarissa is the Senior Pharmacist - Gastroenterology at Alfred Health, and discusses new therapy for IBD, the developing role for TDM in the management of this disease and her innovative clinic based role at The Alfred. We discuss: Commencing therapy with and monitoring purine analogues Infliximab - its expanding role in therapy, and the emerging field of TDM for biologicals Clarissa's innovative role in the clinics, including dose adjustment and monitoring.

Jane and Dan spoke to Dr Manuel Serrano Santos, Lecturer of Pharmacy at QUT and member of the editorial committee for the third edition of Don't Rush to Crush. We spoke to Manuel about: his role as a specialist dysphagia pharmacist what goes wrong when medicines are modified inappropriately common reasons for making mistakes when modifying medicines

This is a reboot of our first ever episode: Antibiotic Allergies with Dr Jason Trubiano

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