Wed 26 August 2026
Vic celebrates its 2026 Branch Award Winners
AdPha's Vic Branch has announced the winners of its 2026 Branch Awards, recognising outstanding pharmacists, technicians and teams whose work has strengthened patient care and advanced the profession across the state over the past year.
Technician Award: Kirsten Westaway
Kirsten has been recognised with the Technician Award for her outstanding leadership, innovation and unwavering commitment to advancing the pharmacy technician workforce. As the Outgoing Lead Pharmacy Technician – Workforce Development at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, she has shaped a highly skilled and future‑ready technician team, strengthened departmental capability and championed technician role expansion across Victoria and South Australia. Her leadership in major initiatives, including the development of the Grade 3 Senior Upgrade Program and the implementation of an advanced credentialing pathway for technician accuracy checking, has delivered lasting improvements to medication safety, workforce development and patient‑centred pharmacy services.
Kirsten’s influence extends beyond RMH through her contributions to PTREC and multiple organisational committees, where she has driven collaboration, education, and systemwide change. Her work has enabled technicians to practise at advanced levels, supported pharmacists to focus more on clinical care and enhanced the quality and efficiency of medication management across the hospital. Now contributing to national technician education in her new role at SWC Training, Kirsten continues to shape the future of the profession.
Achievement Award: Jeremy Szmerling ANZCAP-Reg. (PainMgmt, Steward.)
Jeremy has been recognised for his exceptional leadership in analgesic stewardship, opioid safety and evidence‑based pain management across Eastern Health. As Senior Pain Management Pharmacist, he has driven the expansion of a pharmacist‑led Analgesic Stewardship Program that has transformed prescribing practices, strengthened multidisciplinary pain management and embedded safer opioid use across multiple hospital sites. His leadership in establishing stewardship rounds, developing high‑risk prescribing identification systems and delivering more than 1,200 targeted clinical interventions in the program’s first year has had a profound impact on medication safety and quality use of medicines.
Jeremy’s influence extends well beyond direct clinical care. He has shaped policy, governance, EMR optimisation, clinician education and stewardship reporting systems that support sustained improvements in analgesic practice. His research contributions, peer‑reviewed publications and national leadership through the AdPha’s Pain Leadership Committee have helped position analgesic stewardship as a critical component of modern hospital pharmacy practice. A respected educator and mentor, Jeremy has built capability across the workforce and championed safer, evidence‑based pain management at both local and national levels. His achievements over the past year exemplify innovation, collaboration and leadership.
Team Innovation Award: Pharmacy Education, Monash Team
Team Leader: Marianne Jovanovic, Education Lead
The Monash Health Pharmacy Education Team has recognised for their exceptional leadership in designing and delivering a transformative Train the Trainer (TtT) program. This initiative addresses a long‑standing gap in formal educational training for Team Leaders and Focused Pharmacists, equipping them with the skills, confidence and credentials needed to provide high‑quality mentorship, workplace‑based assessment, and structured clinical development. Through a carefully designed three‑phase program, combining pre‑workshop EPA standardisation, foundational adult‑learning principles, and competency‑based educator assessment, the team has strengthened the department’s educational capability and embedded education as a core pillar of effective clinical leadership.
Since its launch, the program has trained 52 leaders and received outstanding evaluation results, with participants reporting significant gains in educational understanding, practical application, confidence and assessment capability. The initiative has already demonstrated meaningful downstream impacts on medication safety, patient care, and staff wellbeing, supported by highly valued interactive simulations and direct coaching from Pharmacy Clinical Educators. This achievement reflects the Education Team’s vision, collaboration, and commitment to building a consistent, high‑quality learning culture across one of Australia’s largest pharmacy departments. Their innovative TtT program has set a new benchmark for workforce development.
Congratulations to all of this year's Vic Branch Award winners, and thank you to everyone who took the time to submit a nomination.