 
Pharmacist of the Futuresupported by Reckitt Benckiser
 Claire O'ReillyBoots, Belfast
With a bright, cheery and welcoming personality and exemplary pharmacy skills, newly qualified Claire O'Reilly from Boots in Belfast?s Donegall Place is one of the most refreshing and enthusiastic examples of a young pharmacist in Northern Ireland. Lauded by the judges for her passionate interest in the profession and her dedication to patient care, Claire is described by her seniors as being ?100 per cent dependable? and able to consistently show true commitment to the pharmacy business, her customers and patients.
"She has the confidence and ability to be a pharmacist who will make a real difference to the profession and she is already making a difference to her patient population," said Clarissa McSorley who tutored and nominated Claire. "We are absolutely delighted for her. She is always looking to gain and then apply professional knowledge, thus improving her professional capability. She has cemented relationships with local GPs and other healthcare professionals and communicates openly within our team of staff. I have seen Claire grow and develop into a true professional."
Claires involvement with her community has extended to establishing two very successful health promotion projects, firstly the Winter Health initiative and two separate wellbeing clinics, designed to raise awareness of the services available from the pharmacy, such as blood pressure monitoring and smoking cessation.
Speaking to NIPinF after the event, Claire said: "It was wonderful enough to have been nominated by Clarissa, let alone to have been named a finalist and to have won the Pharmacist of the Year Award. It truly was the perfect ending to the pre-reg year which was an extremely challenging time. However, Clarissa had worked just as hard to give me every opportunity and to help throw me into the situations where I can use and apply my skills in pharmacy."
"I am really, really pleased to have won the Award and I think that it?s a great idea to have a separate event for younger professionals, which gives us a great confidence boost and encouragement so early on in our careers. Thank you to all who were involved in organising the night."
Trevor Gore from the category's supporters Reckitt Benckiser also congratulated Claire on her success. "Reckitt Benckiser were delighted to support the Pharmacist of the Future Award,? he said. "This year's entrants and the eventual winner Claire O'Reilly showed that they are up to this challenge and will continue to drive and develop pharmacy for the benefit of the profession and more importantly the benefit of their patients and the communities in which they work. Congratulations to you all."
Tutor of the Yearsupported by AAH Pharmaceuticals
 Paula MorganOrchard Pharmacy, Portadown  Behind every excellent pre-registration trainee is an experienced, knowledgable, encouraing tutor. Considering just how many outstanding young pharmacists are shaping, evolving and excelling against the professionís very high standards, the quality of tutoring in Northern Ireland can be clearly and very favourably evaluated. Selecting just one tutor who stands out against the many others throughout Northern Ireland is not an easy task but there
"Paula has taken every opportunity to develop both my abilities and my confidence in using them," explained Noelle Cunning. "From the very beginning of my training year my tutor welcomed me into her pharmacy as a full member of staff and as a trusted and valued colleague. I was involved in the running of the pharmacy, the dispensing process and communicating with the public and other professionals from the outset. Paula also consistently increased my responsibilities as the year progressed in line with my experience."
Speaking to NIPinF after the Summer Ball and Future of Pharmacy Awards, Paula expressed her gratitude to Noelle and delight at being named a winner. "The Tutor of the Year Award creates an increased awareness of how important good tutors are to the profession and indeed to its future," she said. ìI am very grateful to have worked with Noelle and to have been recognised by both her and the judging panel in this way.
"I feel that I have a lot of experience to offer and therefore I find that tutoring can be very rewarding. It is wonderful to see a pre-reg student progress throughout the year and it is great to have someone in the dispensary wioth fresh knowledge. Often they are so enthusiastic and with excellent levels of up to date knowledge about medicines and the profession. I had a great relationship with Noelle from the very bgeinning which I feel is so important, particularly when creating the right environment for skills development. Noelle was a pleasure to work with and she has many qualities which are very important in a pharmacist; I can see her doing very well in her future career." Recognition of Excellencesupported by Danone Baby Nutrition
 Aileen McGladeKennedys Pharmacy, Dunloy 
The Recognition of Excellence Award was incorporated into the Future of Pharmacy Awards to honour one young pharmacist who has demonstrated outstanding levels of dedication and commitment to the profession which belies their tender years. Aileen McGlade, who has already helped to establish and develop pharmacy services, forged important relations between the pharmacy and GP practices and built important links with the community, impressed the judging panel with her business acumen and shrewd eye for how to enhance the delivery of healthcare to her community.
"I am absolutely delighted for Aileen," explained pharmacy contractor Patrick Kennedy who nominated Aileen. "This award is a great reflection of her professionalism and of the enthusiasm and hard work of her and her staff since the opening of the pharmacy in Dunloy in May 2009. Feedback from patients and customers has been very positive and they are very pleased to see pharmacy services being delivered within their village. We all look forward to continuing to deliver and develop these services over the coming years."
When Kennedys Pharmacy in Dunloy was first opened, Aileen and her team were presented with unique circumstances in that there was no GP practice or indeed no health service facility within the village. Despite this, Aileen had been extremely pro-active in establishing links with the local community and with those GP practices which did serve the area.
Aileen, who has delivered a number of talks to local community groups, admitted her shock to have been named the winner. "I am really honoured to have received the award and I was so surprised to hear my name being called out on the night," she told NIPinF. "When I arrived back at the pharmacy on Monday all the staff already knew about the success and weíre now looking forward to all teaming up for a celebratory meal soon. The Summer Ball and Future of Pharmacy Awards may be a new event but it already means a lot to younger pharmacists like myself and itís lovely to have a dedicated event for us, which also presents a great networking opportunity, especially for newly qualified pharmacists who may be doing locum work. Thank you to all at Pharmacy in Focus and the Ulster Chemists' Association!" Innovator of the Yearsupported by Martindale Pharma
 Marcus McCrackenMcCloys Chemist, Kilrea 
Absorbed so mercilessly as we are in this era of modern technology, having a keen eye for the benefits of the digital age and an instinctive understanding of the delivery of pharmaceutical care is a winning combination for a 21st century pharmacist. Marcus McCracken, a pharmacist based at McCloys Chemist in Kilrea used his IT literacy to yield greater efficiencies and modernise the ways in which the pharmacy cares for its patients and promotes itself to the community.
"I was really surprised but very happy to have won the Award," Marcus said. ìHowever, it is a shared reward. The whole team helped me to establish the clinic and while it is pharmacist-led, other team members help to contribute to its co-ordination and daily running. Our other pharmacist Karen Chambers has particularly supported me while our pharmacy technician Sorcha Draine has also helped to manage the workload of seeing between ten and fifteen people in our weight management clinic each day.
"This is the first time I have ever entered an awards event for pharmacy but I am so glad that I did get involved. It really does help to focus you and the reward of winning is a great incentive to keep growing as a professional. The night itself was also great fun and a good networking opportunity, so thank you to Profile, the event organisers." Marcus began with implementing new ideas into the pharmacy's existing weight management clinic. "With the patient's consent, a name and number database was constructed," he explains. "This enabled regular contact with a patient via the online text messaging service. The messages included information regarding forthcoming appointments, missed appointments and tailored information. The pharmacy technician and pre-reg pharmacist also provided support."
The pharmacy's retail side of the business also benefitted from a little added exposure and as part of a new marketing strategy, Marcus assisted in the construction of a Facebook site. "During previous promotional events I was involved in encouraging customers to sign up to the Facebook site which provided customers with weekly updates about future events and promotions," Marcus added. ìIn addition to pharmacist/patient counselling online, we gave patients the option to create their own personalised health wallet which is accessible from their home, via our website."
The weight management clinic has since built up a substantial customer base comprising of both local people and those residing beyond the locality. Both the Facebook and health wallet initiatives have helped to raise awareness about the services offered by the pharmacy and Marcus is confident that they will prove to be effective and useful resources in the future. "Moving forward I plan to hold information evenings for specific patient groups, such as diabetics, coeliacs and their family members," Marcus added.
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