Katherine Blake

I have been working in Goulburn Base Hospital Pharmacy since July 2018. During that time, I have completed a certificate IV in Hospital/Health Services Pharmacy Support and acted in a senior Pharmacy Technician role. I have extensive experience with imprest management including both restocking and reviewing imprest inventories and was the lead technician in charge of setting up all medication rooms in the new Goulburn Hospital CSB. I have engaged in tasks such as manufacture of prepacks, stocktake and inventory management, dispensing of medications, S4 and S8 medication dispensing and refrigeration/cold-chain audits.

I have extensive experience in charging and crediting medications, expiry checking and monthly safe checks.

I pride myself on being a senior member of the Goulburn Base Hospital pharmacy department and wider LHD pharmacy team and enjoy being able to assist those around me to complete all tasks to the best of their ability to ensure that the SNSWLHD Pharmacy service is a professional and enjoyable workplace.

I have excellent communication skills, and this has been reflected in my work and resulted in two staff member of the year nominations in 2017 and again in 2024. I am confident when speaking to others both professionally and personally and can engage in difficult conversations with maturity, compassion and always take a solution focussed approach. I enjoy mentoring others and passing on my knowledge, but I also really enjoy learning new things. I like to push myself, ask questions and absorb information and skills from those around me.

The pharmacy department is a high-pressure environment where time is critical on almost every task. Whether its delivering medicines to wards, getting deliveries out on time or engaging in other tech tasks time management and attention to detail are imperative.

In the Pharmacy Purchasing role, I have to manage ordering deadlines for all sites and ensure that all orders are in before the cut-off times. I have learnt all these deadlines by heart and prioritise the ordering to ensure that orders meet the deadlines. I need to be aware of various clinics running throughout the hospital and specialty surgery lists and have all medicines ordered, dispensed, and delivered on time. I have a very high attention to detail and information recall that allows me to work effectively and accurately in high pressure situations.

Attention to detail is imperative in all tasks within the pharmacy. Taking time to check the accuracy of your work whilst also working in a high pressure, fast-paced environment takes a calm and controlled approach to tasks and being able to ask questions and problem solve on the run. I demonstrate all these qualities throughout my work every day through effective communication, meeting of tight deadlines and accurately completing complex tasks.

• Certificate IV in Hospital/Health Service Pharmacy Support
• Nomination award for Collaborative Staff Member of the Year 2024
• Runner up for the 2017 employee of the year for Professional Diligence
• Certificate IV in Alcohol and Other Drug Work
• Higher School Certificate