Q&A with UQ School of Pharmacy lecturer Jacqueline Bond
If you’re planning to attend the Bachelor of Pharmacy Honours program at the University of Queensland, then you already know you’ll be studying with the industry’s best.
Meet UQ School of Pharmacy lecturer Jacqueline Bond, whose passionate and innovative approach to education has led to curricular reform that inspires students and prepares them for future roles as “medicines experts.”
You have been recognised as an excellent educator since joining UQ’s School of Pharmacy in 2001. Why did you decide to move into teaching after more than a decade working in government and industry in Australia, and at a university research centre overseas?
I have had a most non-linear career trajectory, beginning my professional life as an industrial chemist. Prior to graduating, I worked for two summers at an oil refinery and loved every minute of being on-site.
After graduating, I moved on to quality control, research and development (R&D) and formulation roles in other industries. I was content for a few years, before succumbing to an intense case of wanderlust.
I packed up and moved overseas to work at the Florida Center for Heterocyclic Compounds (University of Florida). During this period, I wanted a break from ‘the bench’, so I became an editorial assistant for a major chemistry journal called Advances in Heterocyclic Chemistry; edited a book called Heterocycles in Life and Society (1st edition) by Pozharskii, Soldatenkov and Katritzky; and oversaw all of the research publications of our centre. It was an incredible experience, and my first exposure to academia.
When it was time to come home, I moved to Canberra with little idea about what the next phase of my career would involve. Unexpectedly, I ended up working at Canberra Institute of Technology, teaching forensic chemistry to police! This led to my next position in a government forensic toxicology unit in Brisbane, analysing post-mortem samples for prescription and illicit drugs.
A chance encounter with one of my old chemistry classmates at a shopping centre led to the offer of a research role in UQ’s School of Pharmacy, as they were seeking someone with experience in drug analysis. Once at UQ, I began to give toxicology and medicinal chemistry lectures when colleagues went on leave. Over time, the lecture load increased, and so I eventually transitioned into a traditional academic role with teaching and research responsibilities. In the ultimate example of doing my career back-to-front, I started my PhD in pharmacy education just after my fortieth birthday.
What were your goals when you started teaching, and have they changed over time?
To be honest, it was terrifying to stand at the front of a cavernous auditorium in the early days. Initially, I was selfishly focused on myself and surviving the ordeal. As I relaxed into the role, I began to reflect more on the experience my students were having. I realised that preparing them to become health professionals was a very different proposition than training them to become scientists.
As I committed deeply to understanding the professional context in which my students would ultimately practice, I learned that beyond being knowledgeable about drugs, they would require skills as caregivers, decision-makers, communicators, lifelong learners and teachers in order to deliver pharmaceutical care to patients.
How do you hope to influence the student experience at UQ?
My teaching philosophy is reflected in a wonderful quote from Maya Angelou: “I’ve learnt that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” I want my students to feel that someone cares profoundly about who they are now, and the kind of health professionals they are in the process of becoming. It’s the little things, like learning names, initiating chats at the coffee cart, remembering past conversations and, most importantly, being real in the classroom, that allow for genuine connection.
What is your vision for UQ pharmacy students and graduates?
That they ‘pay forward’ our love, attention and investment in them by taking the very best care of their patients in the future. And that they find meaning through their professional lives.
How important are partnerships and industry collaborations to the pharmacy profession?
Critical. One of our obligations as academics is to drive the profession forward. We can’t do this from an ivory tower. Rather than ‘publish or perish’, I prefer the mantra ‘partner or perish’.
UQ Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours)
The Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours) program is a well-established, professionally accredited learning framework that is well received by both students and the profession. The program has evolved into one of the country’s most comprehensive and well-respected pharmacy degrees, both domestically and internationally.
Program: Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours)
Location: Brisbane, Queensland
Semester intake: February
Duration: 4 years
Application deadline: November 15, 2015; however, late applications may be accepted by UQ Pharmacy School.
Credit Transfers!
In order to be eligible for credit transfer consideration, candidates must first submit a complete application. If you receive an offer to the Bachelor of Pharmacy (Hons) program, you may then begin the application for credit process.
Gather course lists and course descriptions that best match the above courses. A short, one-paragraph description of the course won’t be enough. The university needs to determine if your studies match the UQ equivalent. The information should contain an overview of numbers of lectures, practicals, tutorials, etc. in the course, list of learning objectives if available, lecture titles and descriptions, practical titles, timetable to indicate the number of contact hours of the various types in the course, summary of assessment, etc. If you have questions about application for credit, please let us know—we’re here to help!
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