Peter Mac pharmacy department provides a diverse range of clinical, educational and quality use of medicine (QUM) placements. Placements are designed to ensure excellent patient care is maintained while fulfilling individual objects.
What we offer
The Peter Mac pharmacy department offer the following educational opportunities:
- pharmacy internships
- clinical placements for pharmacy undergraduates
- clinical placements for masters students
- QUM summer placements
- preceptorships for pharmacists
- placements for pharmacy technicians
- an aseptic cytotoxic preparation course, which is accredited by the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA)
Pharmacy internships
Each year there are two or three pharmacy internships available at Peter Mac. These start in January each year and run for 12 months.
Why choose Peter Mac for your intern year?
Peter Mac's internship program offers:
- a clinically focused program with rotations to all wards, the dispensary, medicines information and sterile unit
- weekly tutorials covering a wide range of general clinical pharmacy topics and over-the-counter treatments
- weekly group education sessions with opportunities to present
- participation in research including a QUM rotation, conference attendance and opportunities for publications
- support and exam preparation.
Recruitment is coordinated by SHPA's Victorian branch. Visit SHPA's website for more information.
Clinical placements for pharmacy undergraduates
Throughout the year, two- or three-week clinical placements are offered to third- and fourth-year pharmacy students.
Clinical placements provide pharmacy students with the opportunity to combine practical experience with the theoretical knowledge learnt at university.
Placements are organised in conjunction with the Peter Mac pharmacy department and university placement coordinators, rather than individual students.
These placements are offered to pharmacy students from Monash University, La Trobe University and RMIT.
clinical placements for masters students
Peter Mac is able to offer clinical placements for masters students on an ad-hoc basis. Individual requests from students will be considered if at least 3 months’ notice is given prior to the proposed clinical placement commencement date and acceptance will depend on preceptor availability at the time.
Masters Students wishing to undertake a placement as part of their degree should contact both Senthil Lingaratnam, Director of Pharmacy, and Tess Rivers, Deputy Director of Pharmacy,
QUM summer placements
Each year, Peter Mac welcomes two to three pharmacy students who are at the end of their third year to undertake QUM placements over the university summer holidays.
These four-week placements are designed to enhance the students’ knowledge on QUM, medication safety, the audit process and data analysis.
Recruitment is coordinated by SHPA's Victorian branch. Visit SHPA's website for more information.
Preceptorships for pharmacists
Placements are available on a case-by-case basis and tailored to achieve individual objectives. Pharmacists interested in undertaking such a placement should contact Senthil Lingaratnam, Director of Pharmacy.
Placements for pharmacy technicians
Placements are provided to technicians undertaking the Certificate III Hospital and Health Services course.
These placements provide the opportunity to combine practical experience with the theoretical knowledge gained throughout the course.
Placements are organised in conjunction with the Peter Mac pharmacy department and TAFE placement coordinators, rather than individual students.
Aseptic cytotoxic preparation course
Since 2000, the pharmacy department at Peter Mac has been providing an SHPA-accredited training program for the preparation of cytotoxic medications.
The course is available to pharmacists and technicians who require training in safe and aseptic manufacture of cytotoxic medications.
The five-day course consists of didactic lectures, visual demonstrations, hands-on practical experience, assessments and validations.
Currently there is an extensive waiting list for enrolment and all 2016 courses are full.
For further information, please contact [email protected].
Other educational opportunities available for oncology pharmacists
There are a number of oncology/haematology courses specifically available for pharmacists.
For further information visit:
- the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA)
- the Cancer Pharmacist Group (CPG) of the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA).
