PharmaCast

A key area within which pharmacists and pharmacy at large can have a real positive impact is that of substance misuse, with this taking the form of more straightforward activities such as the provision of advice and support, through to more complex initiatives which centre on the provision of substitute substances, needle exchange, and more.In this episode of PharmaCast, Dr Dan Corbett from the School of Pharmacy at Queen's University Belfast is joined by Johanne Barry (also from the School of Pharmacy), and Dr Denis O'Driscoll, Superintendent Pharmacist at LloydsPharmacy Ireland, to explore the topic of substance misuse, and the role which pharmacy can play in helping those affected by this issue.If you'd like to find out more about this topic, or access the resources referred to during this episode, check out the following links:Drugs.ieNHS Drug Addiction InformationHSE Addiction ServicesEMCDDANICE guidance on drug misuseChoice and MedicationSouth London and Maudsley substance misuse serviceDrugs and Alcohol NI

In the second of this two-part special centred on experiential learning (EL) placements within our MPharm programme here at the School of Pharmacy at Queen's, Dr Dan Corbett (Senior Lecturer (Digital Education) is joined by Fiona Hughes (Senior Lecturer (Education)), Prof. Sharon Haughey (Professor (Education), and Prof. Roisin O'Hare (Clinical Education Pharmacist Lead for Northern Ireland), who discuss EL from the practice supervisors viewpoint, including what they can take from these placements, what they can expect from the programme, how placements will work practically, and how they can prepare to welcome and work with placement students within their area of practice.

A key element of the MPharm programme here at Queen's are our experiential learning (EL) placements which students will undertake within both primary and secondary care pharmacy. We've recently significantly increased the time which our students will spend on placement during their degree, allowing them to put their learning into practice, and gain useful insights about professional practice in these sectors whilst learning from highly-trained professional pharmacists to an even greater extent, offering a range of benefits.In this edition of the podcast, Fiona Hughes (Senior Lecturer (Education), Patricia Holden (Senior Lecturer (Education), and Prof. Roisin O'Hare (Clinical Education Pharmacist Lead for Northern Ireland) will help you to find out more about why EL placements are so important, and if you're a student, let you know what you can expect your placments to be like, as well as how you can prepare fully to make the most out of them!

Research is one of the key activities which we undertake here at the School, and whilst the work that we do positively impacts patients lives directly, it also allows us to add to the vast range of academic literature out there which is related to our wide range of research themes. But, how does this research get out there, and is it all freely accessible so that other researchers and scientists can make the most of what we do to help them in what they do?In this episode of PharmaCast, Dr Dan Corbett is joined by Dr. Michael O'Connor (Research Data Librarian), Rebecca Clarke (Open Research Librarian), and Dr Sheiliza Carmali (Lecturer, School of Pharmacy), from Queen's University Belfast, as well as by Dr Jonny Coates, Associate Director at ASAPbio, who discuss how research publications make their way out into the world, and what is being done to make these more openly accessible, including via the publication of pre-prints!If you're interested in finding out more about the topics covered in this episode of PharmaCast, check out these links:You can click HERE to find out more about ASAPbio, as well as HERE to find out more about its fellows programme, and HERE to join the ASAPbio communityYou can find out more about Open Access from the Queen's University Belfast Library Services Team HERE...and you can find out more about how we manange research data here at Queen's HERE!

We're particularly proud of our alumni here at the School of Pharmacy, with our former students travelling the globe to undertake research, deliver education, and to undertake a range of other hugely impactful tasks, all of which make use of the knowledge, skills, and experience gained during their time as a student at Queen's.In this episode of PharmaCast, Dr Dan Corbett is joined by Professor Carmel Hughes, Chair of Primary Care Pharmacy at the School of Pharmacy, and by two of her former postgraduate research students - Dr Ameerah Hasan Ibrahim, now an Assistant-Professor in Primary Care Pharmacy at Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan, and Dr Hoa Nguyen, now a Lecturer at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam! During the episode, you'll hear more about how both Ameerah and Hoa came to be undertaking the PhD study with Carmel at Queen's, about the research that they did, and how challenges such as the COVID pandemic provided both hurdles and opportunities for them both, which they've now been able to draw from in the current careers.To hear more about Carmel's research, and her ongoing collaborations with her former students, why not listen to this podcast from the British Journal of General Practice!