The national winner of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia/Maxigesic National Pharmacy Assistant of the Year award has been officially announced with Colby Diek, representing Queensland, taking out the prestigious award.

Colby is one of eight state and territory pharmacy assistants who were competing for the coveted title in Sydney on Thursday at the national workshop.

Taking place at the Pharmacy Assistant National Conference, award judge, 2018 PATY Award national winner and Pharmacy Guild trainer, Alice Vanderpol said she was thrilled with the calibre of finalists.

The way the finalists presented themselves and spoke about their own personal experiences was admirable. I can see how dedicated and committed they are as pharmacy assistants. Every year the bar is raised in terms of the passion and commitment displayed and choosing just one winner is always an extremely difficult task. Congratulations to Colby!

“This year’s state and territory winners have demonstrated a strong commitment to their work and to the industry, and that is what this award is all about,” says Ms Vanderpol.

Colby has been awarded the $5,000 cash prize as well as flights, travel and accommodation packages to attend Guild conferences to support her career and professional development.

Congratulations to this year’s state and territory winners:

ACT        Anneliese Hoff, Discount Drug Stores Tuggeranong

NT          Bridget Honner, Blooms the Chemist Bakewell

NSW      Morgan Burnside – Priceline Pharmacy Beecroft

SA           Mikailee Weltman, The Barossa Pharmacist in the Mall

TAS        Jemma Denholm, Good Price Pharmacy Warehouse, Devonport
VIC         Amanda Carlyle, Malmsbury Pharmacy, Malmsbury
WA        Alicia Ward, TerryWhite Chemmart, Kingsley

PATY is the premier award for pharmacy assistants, recognising and celebrating the best of the best in Australian community pharmacy for their leadership, innovation, and community service.

Nominations for next year’s award will open in February 2024.