Sue Bond, champion of pharmacy training

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia’s outstanding Head of Learning and Development, Sue Bond, has retired after 22 years’ service to community pharmacy training and education.

The National President of the Guild, George Tambassis, said: “Sue Bond has made an amazing contribution to community pharmacy nationally. Many thousands of pharmacists and staff have benefitted from the training courses and education programs Sue has overseen, and all at the Guild congratulate her on her career, and wish her well in her active retirement.”

Sue Bond commenced work in the Victorian Branch in 1998 as the Branch Training Manager and worked with the Victorian members in the areas of education and learning, Quality Care and workplace relations.

Later she joined the Guild’s National Secretariat where she worked for 12 years as the Guild’s leader in education and training for pharmacists and pharmacy staff.

“The Guild has provided me with enormous opportunities to meet community pharmacies and their staff around Australia and hear their stories about their impact on the lives of their patients daily, and how they contribute to their health and well-being, both physical and mental.  For that I am truly grateful,” Sue said.

“It’s been a challenge to develop community pharmacy qualifications for pharmacy and dispensary assistants that address the diverse needs across the country. We have pharmacy and dispensary assistants working in small pharmacies in rural and remote Australia through to those working in large, multi-tiered pharmacies - each with very different skill and learning needs. Creating education for this level of diversity has been problematic and I don’t think we have identified the right mix - but we are getting better.

“The creation of Guild Learning and Development some years ago brought together a team of highly skilled, professional individuals with expertise in community pharmacy, instructional design, technology and education and learning. The Guild now delivers over 100,000 courses to community pharmacists per year providing a vital service and a sustainable model of professional development.

“I am intensely proud of community pharmacy and the role that it plays in the health and well- being of every Australian. I have seen first-hand pharmacists and pharmacy staff working with their patients and providing them with a level of care, support and expertise that is exceptional. And they do this every day in a thousand different ways, despite pandemics, fires, floods, and many other challenges. Their patients come first, and they are treated like family. I will always promote and defend community pharmacy in Australia as I think it is one of the best in the world.

“The Guild is an extraordinary organisation that provides a level of service to its members and their teams that is unrivalled,” Sue said.