A Latrobe Regional Health pharmacist has become the 500th graduate of Advanced Pharmacy Australia’s (AdPha) Resident Training Program, marking a key milestone for the national pharmacy residency program.
Yue Kee Wong ANZCAP-Res (pictured), who completed the program as part of Latrobe Regional Health’s first cohort, is the latest pharmacist to graduate from Australia’s “first and only structured, formalised and accredited national pharmacy residency program”.
Ms Wong began her pharmacy studies at Monash University in Malaysia before finishing in Melbourne.
She started her career in community pharmacy and then transitioned to hospital practice.
Ms Wong says one of the highlights of the program was undertaking various 6-month rotations, which provided valuable exposure to different areas of hospital pharmacy.
Some of these areas included general medicine, perioperative medicine, orthopaedics, dispensary and chemotherapy, alongside a quality improvement project focused on unit-based pharmacy services.
“Coming from a community pharmacy background into a hospital setting, I was initially nervous about whether I’d be able to successfully transition my skills into a new environment,” she says.
“The AdPha Resident Training Program, with its structured rotations, along with the support from mentors and regular assessments, really supported me in this transition and helped me track and build my skills and knowledge over time.”
The recognition has been conferred through the Australian and New Zealand College of Advanced Pharmacy (ANZCAP), and marks a significant moment for both the organisation and advanced pharmacy in Australia.
Dr Kate O’Hara FANZCAP (Neonatol., Paeds), Chair of the ANZCAP Advisory Board and AdPha Board Director, says Ms Wong’s achievement reflects the impact of structured early-career training on both individual practitioners and the broader healthcare system.
“Through her portfolio, Yue Kee has demonstrated the real-world impact the AdPha Resident Training Program is designed to foster,” she says.
“We congratulate Yue Kee on completing the program, and the broader Latrobe Regional Health pharmacy department on their enthusiastic support of early career
pharmacist training.
“The milestone of 500 graduates highlights the growing influence of AdPha Training
Programs in shaping Australia’s hospital pharmacy workforce — supporting faster
career progression, including eligibility for registrar-level training and recognition — as well as the growing enthusiasm for specialisation we see in emerging practitioners.”
Established in 2017, the AdPha Resident Training Program facilitates practice-based
experiential learning and supports pharmacists in achieving competency aligned with
ANZCAP Pharmacist Resident recognition under the Australian Advanced Pharmacy
Practice Framework.
Latrobe Regional Health became an accredited training site in 2023, supported by an education partnership with Alfred Health.
Ms Wong has now commenced a subsequent AdPha Registrar Training Program, specialising in emergency medicine, continuing her professional development at Latrobe Regional Health.
