Mavis Sweeney

Early years

Working years

Contributions to pharmacy

• Sweeney held numerous responsible offices in various pharmaceutical groups
• She was a founding member of the first Hospital Pharmacists Society in NSW in 1940. The group disbanded, however, after she left for overseas in 1949.
• Upon returning to Australia, Sweeney in 1958 arranged an inaugural meeting of pharmacists from hospital, academic institutions and industry.
• In 1962, she helped establish the New South Wales Branch of the Society of Hospital Pharmaceutical Chemists of Australia -today known as the NSW Branch of The Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia.
• Sweeney was also elected federal president of the Association of Women Pharmaceutical Chemists of Australia in 1967

  Special interest areas

• The multifaceted processes behind the development of hospital pharmacy into the future, including teamwork psychology and communication skills.
• Transition towards the customisation of pharmacy services through a greater emphasis on individual prescriptions.
• Liaising with medical and nursing staff to create a system of checking, to ensure drugs are used for intended purposes and under safe conditions.
• Implementing imprest systems for distributing drugs on the wards to save time for nursing staff while also ensuring quality use of medicines
• Drug information services and adverse event reporting
• Effective people management to better utilise pharmacy resources in the face of growing demands on services provision
• Contribution of pharmacy to drug committees in good decision making
• Careful planning and budgeting processes, including forecasting, as part of good inventory control
• Providing lectures and career guidance on pharmacy to interested individuals

  Impact on pharmacy practice in Australia

• Monitoring the use of drugs in patients
• Preventing medication errors
• Increasing the presence of pharmacy in hospital wards
• Adverse drug reaction reporting
• Discharge medication management
• Surveillance of drug usage