Pharmacist - Mental Health

• Full time permanent position 
• Utilise your skill and experience and grow your clinical skill within a passionate team of pharmacy professionals
• Based at Hillmorton Campus

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is firmly grounded in the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is committed to building a health system that serves all New Zealanders.

About the Role

Ngā Ratonga Kēmihi. Te manawanui he kaupapa; he rongoā e arotahi ana

Our Pharmacy Services are patient centred: medicines focused

We are seeking a pharmacist to join our Mental Health pharmacy service within the Canterbury hospital system. This role is focused on providing specialist medicines support to mental health services, while actively developing expertise and contributing to service improvement.

You will work closely with mental health clinicians and multidisciplinary teams to support safe, effective and patient-centred use of medicines across inpatient mental health settings. The role includes clinical pharmacy activities, medicines optimisation, and providing advice to prescribers, nursing staff and consumers.

This position is suited to a pharmacist who is committed to developing advanced practice in mental health pharmacy. You will be expected to actively build specialist knowledge, stay aligned with best practice and contribute to the development and improvement of mental health pharmacy services over time. This includes involvement in guideline development, quality initiatives and service design.

You will be part of a supportive and collaborative pharmacy team, with strong links to the wider Canterbury pharmacy service. Peer support, professional supervision and ongoing learning are built into the role, alongside opportunities to work with other specialist pharmacists.

We actively support pharmacist development at all stages of practice. Prior mental health experience is desirable. Pharmacists with a strong interest in mental health who are motivated to grow into a specialist role will be well supported.

We are looking for a pharmacist who is clinically curious, reflective and committed to improving care for people using mental health services. This role suits someone who values relationship based practice, is comfortable with complexity, and wants to contribute to the evolution of mental health pharmacy services.

Key tasks include

• Provision of a team based full clinical pharmacy service including medication reconciliation, therapeutic drug monitoring and answering medicines information enquiries.
• Involvement in interdisciplinary education
• Supervision, training and support of technicians, interns and students
• Medication supply
• Provision of specialist medicines advice for mental health consumers
• Participation in quality improvement activities, audits and service evaluations
• Contribution to the evolution of mental health pharmacy practice within the service and wider organisation

About You

You are a qualified pharmacist with an interest in mental health pharmacy and wanting to grow your skills in this space. 

To be successful in this role, your skills will include:

• Excellent communication skills and ability build strong working relationships
• Demonstrates a positive learning mindset
• Comfort working with clinical uncertainty and complexity
• Motivation to develop specialist knowledge and maintain currency in practice
• Interest in developing and improving services
• Competency with te ao Māori, tikanga, and te reo Māori or a commitment to starting your journey and taking ownership of your learning and growth
• Hold New Zealand registration and a current Annual Practicing Certificate

Working for Health New Zealand

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is dedicated to ensuring excellent healthcare for the people of New Zealand. We embrace a workforce that is diverse and inclusive so that we are better positioned to understand and service our community. We welcome applications from our diverse Māori, Pacific, disabled, and rainbow communities. 

How to Apply

To apply for the role please click “apply now.” All applications must be submitted through our online careers portal before 11:59pm on 8th February. If you have any questions about the role, please contact Alex Jay at Alexandra.jay@tewhatuora.govt.nz