2 minute read
Winning care
The right remedy
She is a fan of scuba diving and boxing, but for community pharmacist Olenka Szewczyk, supporting patients’ health is her driving force
WORDS LIZ McGRATH
The most rewarding days for Olenka Szewczyk are when she solves questions around health concerns for her patients.
“I love the relationships I’ve built with my patients and their families,” the Brisbane-based community pharmacist says.
“If they bring in a question that I don’t know, I’ll take it home with me and research it so that I can help the next day. Contributing to better health outcomes is a really big driver for me and something I’m passionate about.”
Little wonder the 34-yearold manager of Chemist Warehouse Kedron took home the company’s inaugural Mario Verrocchi National Pharmacist of the Year Award in 2020.
Described by the Chemist Warehouse CEO after whom the award is named as “a standout” who’s “made an exemplary contribution to patient care and community pharmacy more broadly”, Olenka says she has always been interested in science and health.
“I knew I wanted to do something health orientated but the reason I chose pharmacy is because I would always be accessible to the public and to patients,” she says.
Olenka got her fi rst “on-thejob” experience while she was to nurture students and early career pharmacists, something she takes seriously.
“The ability to be a support person, someone for them to touch base with and to be able to provide encouragement and respond to questions, it’s really rewarding,” she says with a smile.
still at uni, at Chemist Warehouse in Beenleigh, before taking up an internship with the company.
Changing role
The days of a pharmacist’s work resembling that of an ancient alchemist, mixing ingredients to form powders, tablets, capsules and ointments, are long gone.
While advances in science and technology mean that many medicines are now produced by pharmaceutical companies, it also means, that with more drugs and drug treatment options available, there’s an increasing role for community pharmacists.
“What we do is way more than preparing and dispensing prescriptions. It’s about making people’s lives better every day through patient care, research and education,” Olenka says.
“You might be talking to patients about how their drugs will interact, giving advice about side eff ects or warning about possible allergic reactions.
“Chemist Warehouse is really good about exploring new modalities and services, things like off ering immunisations, which I’ve been trained in, and Covid vaccinations.”
At the time of her award, Olenka was also lauded for her care, passion and ability
Future goals
In her downtime, Olenka is kept busy with the two dogs she shares with carpenter husband Scott — Rhodesian ridgeback Zola and Belgian Malinois Igloo.
She also enjoys scuba diving — “when the water is warmer” — and boxing, as well as grabbing a coff ee at her local cafe when out walking the dogs..
For the future, Olenka is inspired by the theme of this year’s World Pharmacists Day on September 25: “Always trusted for your health”.
“We provide a good balance of everything and people do look for that, being able to access all of those services. Whatever my patients are experiencing, I want to be able to help.”