On January 16, 2024, Ms. Pretty Vinu, an alumnus of Amrita School of Pharmacy (M Pharm 2009 batch), gave an online informative talk to the students of 3rd, 4th and 5th year Pharm D regarding role of pharmacist in Australia and how to become a registered pharmacist in Australia.

Ms. Pretty Vinu is an AHPRA registered pharmacist working as the Pharmacist-In-Charge at Bunbury Drive-In Chemist, Bunbury, Western Australia since July 2022.

The talk began with Ms. Anika Mehta, (Pharm D fourth-year student) welcoming and introducing Ms. Pretty to the audience. Ms. Pretty Vinu began with imparting her knowledge on how to begin working as a registered pharmacist in Australia.

She started with the eligibility criteria and how to prepare for the KAPS (Knowledge Assessment of Pharmaceutical Sciences) exam, what to do prior to it like appearing for the OET, IELTS or TOEFL. She stressed on how one should provide accurate details when applying for the eligibility for writing KAPS exam. She detailed on the KAPS exam format which consists of 200 questions delivered over two-hour sessions (a total of 4 hours of assessment) with a 60-minute scheduled break in between. The syllabus for the exam was shared and how each subject need to be tackled and their weightage were specified. The passing score were mentioned.

After qualifying the KAPS exam a supervised internship of 1500 hours is mandatory and later the candidate have to appear for a written and oral assessment. Completing this, they can work as an independent pharmacist in Australia. The fee structure regarding all the exams were explained too.

End of the session also provided space for raising questions and putting forth students’ doubts. Ms. Pretty Vinu’s involvement and eagerness to answer and interact with the students was noteworthy. The talk ended on a positive note with students benefiting with the knowledge provided and happy to gain more insight into the same.