Australia’s first indigenous pharmacy graduate is continuing her pioneering work by participating in the Pharmacy Academic at University Departments of Rural Health (PAUDRH) project to promote the profession in rural and remote communities.

Faye McMillan has begun work on the project in far western NSW as part of the Rural and Remote Pharmacy Workforce Development Program (RRPWDP), which is funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing and managed by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia.

Supported by Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Biomedical Sciences and the University of Sydney’s Department of Rural Health, the project aims to promote awareness of pharmacy placements for students and pharmacy careers in rural and remote areas. 

The project will also provide research opportunities and continuing education programs for pharmacists in Broken Hill.

As part of the project, Ms McMillan recently went to Broken Hill with six third year CSU pharmacy students, who will undertake fortnight long placements in the area.

“I look forward to the opportunity to work in collaboration with the students, health professionals and other members of the project to highlight the valuable experiences of working outside the metropolitan centres,” said Ms McMillan.

“While it saddens me to see the state of my people’s health, I am privileged to be able to combine my unique talents as an Aboriginal pharmacist and academic with my passion for Indigenous health to improve the services for people in remote or rural areas.”

Not only is Ms McMillan the country’s first Aboriginal pharmacist, she was among the first batch of graduates to receive a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree from CSU in 2001.

As well as representing her profession and the University at conferences, Faye McMillan completed a pharmacy placement in Vancouver, Canada and recently worked as a pharmacist in the Tiwi Islands, 100 kilometres north of Darwin.