WHEN he is back home in Milton, pharmacist Dr Stephen Carter is putting his university research into practice, engaging with his customers with a view to increasing the use of pharmacists’ expertise in their medication management services.
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Dr Carter has owned the Milton Pharmacy for 25 years and was recently elected president of the NSW Branch of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia.
He also works full-time as an associate lecturer in the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Sydney.
While he enjoys spending most weekends in his beachside home at Mollymook, Dr Carter feels he is playing a significant role in educating existing pharmacists, as well as university students, about the importance of patient counselling and medication review, along with the more traditional aspects of professional practice and dispensing.
Dr Carter, who completed his PhD in 2012, was recognised internationally last year when his research paper, focusing on the use of the home medicines review program, won best paper in the Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy journal.
He said his research, coupled with his role on the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, allowed him to liaise with other pharmacists and government authorities about the design and delivery of pharmacist-provided services.
“I work with NSW Ministry of Health to facilitate hospital and community pharmacists’ involvement in better discharge planning and introducing pharmacist-provided immunisation, among other issues,” he said.
“I am helping to develop educational strategies for pharmacists, particularly in the area of communicating with clients and doctors.
“It’s all very well for pharmacists to have the knowledge, but also having the communication skills is vital.
“When I come home I definitely put my research into practice locally,” he said.
Dr Carter spends most weekends at home and, through the week, lives in Sydney with his son, Hugh, who is studying medicine at Sydney Uni.
“I miss playing soccer and playing with the town band, but it’s great to be able to spend time with my son and we bounce ideas off each other,” he said.
Dr Carter has a three-year contract with the university and said he had no concrete plans for the future.
His daughter Sally is studying medicine at Wollongong Uni and his other son Henry is studying arts, while his youngest daughter Annabelle has just started year 12 and will complete her Higher School Certificate exams next year.
