Richard’s End of Year Round Up 2025

Throughout the year, Richard’s Roundup often closed with encouragement, and that’s how I’ll close this year too: PSWA thrives because of you — your energy, your ideas, and your support which strengthens the profession and benefits the health of our WA community through initiatives such as the J M O’Hara Research Fund.

PSWA sends its deepest condolences to our Jewish community after the tragic events at Bondi Beach. We reaffirm the commitment of our profession to supporting your health and wellbeing at this distressing time.

As many of us pause for a break, I hope the festive season brings joy to you and your families. Let’s carry forward the spirit of connection into 2026, building on what we’ve achieved and embracing the opportunities ahead.

With the year drawing to a close, I want to thank each of you for making 2025 a year of progress, connection, and shared success. I’d like to reflect on some of the highlights that 2025 brought us:

Board & Governance: We welcomed Kerry Whitelaw to the Board and thanked David McKnight for his dedicated service as he stepped down.

Eric Kirk Memorial Award Winner Announced: We were pleased to announce the winner of the Eric Kirk Memorial Award for 2025 is clinical oncology pharmacist Naomi van Hagen.

Member Morning Tea: Attendees heard about the rewards and challenges of working on Christmas Island from early career pharmacist Grace Orr-Young.

PSWA Innovation Night: The event has become a highlight of the year, featuring presenters who showcase unique and innovative approaches to pharmacy practice. The 2025 event drew a large number of pharmacists from a range of areas of practice.

Pharmacy Celebration: This was a fantastic evening of celebration of the profession and all that PSWA does to support it. The combination of interesting and emotional speeches, delicious catering and great networking made for a memorable evening.

Increased social media presence: PSWA has increased its activity across social media to better share updates, events and opportunities with members. This work is supported by pharmacist Jemma Rossi, who has joined the team in the role of social media specialist. We encourage members to follow PSWA on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram for regular updates.

Coming soon - Grant announcement: Keep a look out for the anticipated announcement of the recipient of the 2025 JMOHRF grant recipient. This is an exciting project that will support the expansion of practice of pharmacists in WA.

Looking forward to 2026: The Board are exploring restructuring opportunities for PSWA and the JMOHRF to streamline management, reduce costs and optimise returns on our invested capital.

Warm regards,
Richard Smirk
Chair, PSWA