YOUNG Tamworth pharmacist intern Alyce Northey has the prescription for success after achieving a unique milestone on her graduation from the University of New England.
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Mrs Northey graduated from UNE’s pharmacy degree in March after seven years of external study, and she took away more than a graduation certificate.
Each year the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia awards a gold medal to the most outstanding pharmacy student at each tertiary institution around the nation.
This was the first year a class of pharmacy graduates from UNE had been eligible and Mrs Northey was both surprised and delighted to learn she was the inaugural winner.
Mrs Northey also had the distinction of having her honours thesis on antibiotic use in regional areas published in the International Journal of Pharmaceutical Practice. The 26-year-old is now doing a 12-month internship with the Southgate Pharmacy, where she’s worked for the past eight months.
She said it was a privilege to be doing her internship with the business, given how difficult it was to find a pharmacy willing to take on graduates, particularly in smaller areas.
Mrs Northey undertook her university study while raising her eight-year-old daughter, with husband Brock, and working part-time.
She admits it was challenging sometimes, and she needed to be “very organised”, but she never considered throwing it in. With an interest in science through high school in Glen Innes, she started a bachelor of biomedical science at UNE before pursuing the pharmacy degree when it became available.
Her chosen career is everything she could want, utilising her passion for science and interest in people.
“It combines everything I love doing. It’s so satisfying to be able to provide information to someone at a time of real need and help them feel better,” she said.