Innovative pharmacist Kirrily Chambers was honoured at the UTS gala dinner for her pioneering work as the first credentialled diabetes educator pharmacist in Australia.
After campaigning for three years, Kirrily Chambers broke new ground when she became Australia’s first pharmacist to become a Credentialled Diabetes Educator (CDE) in 2009. Since then, 220 pharmacists have followed in her footsteps, with hundreds more completing graduate courses in diabetes care and education.
She was recognised for this contribution to the profession on December 13, 2018, at the UTS Innovative Pharmacist of the Year Awards in Sydney.
Now in its seventh year, the awards are sponsored by AstraZeneca, and recognise an individual or team that shares UTS Pharmacy’s passion for embracing innovation and implementing professional services. Ms Chambers wins a medal, $5,000 towards further professional development and the opportunity to share her innovation with the rest of the profession.
“Like many chronic health conditions, diabetes is often misunderstood and there’s a lot of misinformation, so increasing the capacity of pharmacists to provide support and knowledge to people with diabetes is very powerful,” Ms Chambers said.
“As a CDE, I use my Medicare provider number to offer bulk-billed diabetes care and education services to people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. I have my own clinical rooms within a community pharmacy setting. This model of care makes it very accessible for people to get the information they need,” she says.
In addition to the overall winner, 10 UTS Pharmacy students were selected to receive awards and scholarships for dedication to their studies including Pauline Ngo, Samuel Wells, Nabila Chowdhury, Laura Stutchbury, Karan Patel, Antonia Dadic, Hassan Karnib, Tamara Badavi and Grase Orihuela.
Second year Pharmacy student, Daniel Barnaby, walked away with two awards: Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia prizes.
