March 27, 2025Northern Health’s Pharmacy Department has recently introduced Registrar Training Programs through Advanced Pharmacy Australia (AdPha) to expand pharmacists’ scope of practice.
AdPha’s two-year Registrar Training Programs are targeted towards pharmacists with general foundation level expertise and experience in hospital practice seeking to advance their practice towards Australian and New Zealand College of Advanced Pharmacy (ANZCAP) Registrar recognition.
Northern Health has demonstrated one of the fastest-growing pharmacy registrar programs nationally, with eight new programs approved in the past 12 months.
These include streams in Education, Medication Safety, Emergency Medicine, Transitions of Care, Pharmacy Informatics, Mental Health, Gastroenterology, and Infectious Diseases. Notably, Northern Health is the first healthcare organisation in the country to offer a Registrar program in the Gastroenterology stream.
Jeff Khoshaba, Lead Pharmacist – Education, Development and Research, is the Registrar Program Lead, who says, “The Registrar programs support pharmacists’ education, specialisation, and advanced skills, aligning with the needs of our growing health service.”
Each Registrar candidate is supported by a pharmacist mentor with expertise in their practice area and receives additional input from an external mentor (e.g. specialist medical practitioner, senior nursing staff) to provide external support and insight into their role and performance. Candidates follow a designated work plan that aligns closely with their defined practice area, offering diverse learning experiences to enhance their skills and professional development.
Enise Kunduraci has recently been appointed as a Registrar Candidate for the Emergency Medicine practice area pathway at Northern Health.
“I am excited to commence my role as an Emergency Medicine Registrar candidate in Victoria’s busiest Emergency Department. I look forward to expanding my critical care knowledge, further developing skills in management of high-risk medicines and collaborating with the multidisciplinary teams to deliver patient centred care.”
The pharmacy team looks forward to expanding the Registrar programs into new specialties, aligning with the organisation’s growth and evolving needs.
