UTS honours Chambers

KIRRILY Chambers, who was the first ever credentialled diabetes educator (CDE) pharmacist in Australia, was honoured for her pioneering work earlier this month at the UTS Innovative Pharmacist of the

Year Awards.

Chambers campaigned for three years to become a CDE in 2009, and since then 220 pharmacists have followed in her footsteps, alongside hundreds more undertaking graduate courses in diabetes care.

The UTS Innovative Pharmacist of the Year Awards aim to recognise an individual or team that shares UTS Pharmacy’s passion for embracing innovation and implementing professional services.

Chambers (pictured) wins a medal along with $5,000 towards further professional development courtesy of AstraZeneca.

“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,” Chambers said.

The award was presented at a gala dinner in the UTS Great Hall presided over by Master of

Ceremonies John Bell, who is a Specialist Practitioner Teacher at UTS Pharmacy.

Ten students were also recognised for their dedication to study including Pauline Ngo, Samuel Wells, Nabila Chowdhury, Laura Stutchbury, Karan Patel, Antonia Dadic, Hassan Karnib, Tamara Badavi and Grase Orihuela, while second year Pharmacy student Daniel Barnaby took home the PSA and SHPA prizes.