6 June 2006
Australia's oldest pharmacy school will celebrate 125 years of pharmacy education and drug research and development today with the unveiling of a commemorative plaque at one of its original sites.
The Victorian College of Pharmacy was established in 1881 by the Pharmaceutical Society of Victoria to help regulate the sale of medicines.
It moved to the former County Court building at 360 Swanston Street, now a part of RMIT University, in 1884, and to its present site at Royal Parade, Parkville, in 1960. The college became a faculty of Monash University in 1992.
Dean of the Victorian College of Pharmacy, Professor Colin Chapman, said the profession and the teaching of pharmacy had changed considerably since its beginnings.
"There is a greater emphasis now on providing medication advice and acting as a triage -- interacting with customers, assessing what their symptoms are and determining whether they can be treated on the spot or referred on," he said.
More than 90 people will attend the unveiling, including many of the college's graduates from across the years, with the national president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, Mr Brian Grogan; the chairman of Pharmaceutical Defence Ltd, Mr John Coppock; and Mr John Jackson, President of the Pharmaceutical Society (Victorian branch).
Chair of the Victorian College of Pharmacy Foundation and graduate of the college, Mr Alistair Lloyd AO, said the event provided an opportunity for graduates, particularly those who graduated before 1960, to celebrate their time as students.
"As apprentices we trudged through the city two or three times per week in our college blazers to gain our qualifications -- very different to today's students -- but no less an important part of the college's long history," he said.
"I started at the college just after the war, and at that time about 80 per cent of all medications were still being made up by the pharmacist, which took up most of our time. Now, probably 99 per cent of drugs come already manufactured.
"The pharmacist's role has gone from being someone who compounds medications to taking responsibility, alongside doctors, for making sure people have the right medications and are given the right advice on how to use those medications," Mr Lloyd said.
The plaque will be unveiled at 427 Swanston Street, Melbourne, at 10am today, Tuesday 6 June.
For more information or to arrange interviews contact Ms Diane Squires, Media Communications on 9905 9315 or 0417 603 400.
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