As HSC students finalise their university preferences for 2013, another cohort of Charles Sturt University (CSU) pharmacy students are finalising their transitions to full-time work.

 

CSU was the first non-metropolitan university to offer a Bachelor of Pharmacy from its Wagga Wagga campus in 1997, and has offered the degree from its Orange Campus since 2005.

 

Orange Pharmacy Program Leader, Dr Heather Robinson, said the pharmacy program was an example of the University’s focus on job-readiness, which delivers exemplary employment rates for its graduates.

 

“Many of our pharmacy students are employed casually in local pharmacies while they study, and those same pharmacies employ many of our graduates as interns,” she said.

 

“Not only are we attracting rural students who go on to work in the local health sectors, but some of the metropolitan students who experience rural life also choose to work in and around Orange and Wagga Wagga after graduation which has allowed us to make a real difference to both areas.”

 

Peter Smith Chemmart pharmacist Ms Kate Gray said CSU in Orange had forged strong relationships with local and regional pharmacies.

 

“The University is really proactive in getting students out into the community and encouraging them from first year to see the local pharmacists for assignments and placements,” she said.

 

“As a result, many of the students get some employment while they are studying and they experience the community aspect of pharmacy that is often missing in big cities.”

 

Ms Gray said the strong relationship between the University and the surrounding pharmacies benefited CSU, students and industry alike.

 

“Having all these enthusiastic students in town encourages the local pharmacists to provide placements and supervision, which then helps those students better prepare for full-time employment,” she said.

 

“The University fosters relationship by encouraging students to undertake placements in many country communities where they can gain practical skills.”

 

CSU graduate Mr Daniel Flavel, who is completing his intern year in Orange, said his classmates had all found internships.

“We had some great placements in third and fourth years that really gave us a good variety of experience,” he said.