Flynn Swift & Georgia Bridges - NAPSA President & Treasurer | Special conversation with the dynamic duo at the helm of the peak pharmacy student body

We're delighted to bring you a very special conversation. We have with us the dynamic duo at the helm of the National Australian Pharmacy Student Association, or NAPSA. Our guests are none other than President Flynn Swift and Treasurer Georgia Bridges who work tirelessly to support, guide, and advocate for pharmacy students nationwide.

They've been involved in numerous initiatives, supporting the professional growth of thousands of students, and they're here today to share their insights, experiences, and advice with you all.

We will be talking about their journeys in pharmacy school, what motivated them to take on these roles, and how being part of NAPSA has influenced their pharmacy education and future careers.

So whether you're an aspiring pharmacist, an early career pharmacist, or someone interested in student leadership, this episode is packed with insights you don't want to miss.

About Flynn Swift
Hi everyone, my name is Flynn and I'm the National President of the National Australian Pharmacy Students' Association (NAPSA). I am a 4th-year pharmacy student at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane.

About Georgia Bridges
Hi I’m Georgia, I’m a current 4th year pharmacy student. I’m the 22/23 outgoing treasurer of NAPSA, a position I’ve held for 2 years now as well as the vice president of the RMIT Association of Pharmacy Students. I came into pharmacy after pursuing another health career but have grown to love it and I’m excited to see it continue to expand and new roles for pharmacists emerge every day!

You can find Flynn Swift and Georgia Bridges on LinkedIn.

Do you have questions about your pharmacy career? Then contact us or meet our team.

Transcript

0:01

Welcome to Your Pharmacy Career podcast

0:03

proudly brought to you by Raven's

0:05

Recruitment Australia's leading

0:07

specialist Pharmacy recruitment agency

0:09

the podcast series is being created to

0:11

shine a light on the diverse and

0:13

inspiring careers of Australia's

0:14

pharmacists each episode will focus on

0:17

the varied career opportunities within

0:18

the pharmacy industry by exploring the

0:21

career paths taken by leaders in the

0:22

fields of Community Pharmacy Hospital

0:25

industry government and professional

0:28

organizations careers never follow a

0:30

defined path everyone's story is

0:32

different and unique in their own way

0:34

the podcast series will help you

0:36

discover the world of opportunities that

0:37

exist and reveal Pathways to achieve

0:40

your dreams and aspirations whether you

0:43

are a pharmacy student early career

0:45

pharmacist or simply looking for a

0:47

change at any stage of your career the

0:49

podcast series is designed to help you

0:51

navigate ways into a career and a life

0:53

that you love your host of the podcast

0:55

series is Allie Xu Allie herself a

0:58

pharmacist is now the founder of of

1:00

global Pharmacy entrepreneurs and a

1:02

passionate advocate for pharmacist to

1:03

grow innovate Excel and make a lasting

1:06

impact in the world it's now over to our

1:09

host Ali Sue welcome to another episode

1:12

of your Pharmacy career podcast the

1:14

podcast dedicated to providing a wealth

1:17

of information for aspiring and early

1:20

career pharmacists I'm your host Ali Su

1:23

here to help you to navigate the world

1:25

of Pharmacy one episode at a time in the

1:29

spirit of of reconciliation Raven's Your

1:32

Pharmacy Career podcast would like to

1:33

acknowledge the traditional custodians

1:36

of Australia and their connections to

1:38

land sea and Community we pay our

1:41

respect to the elders past and present

1:45

and extend that respect to all original

1:48

and torist state Islander peoples today

1:51

today we're delighted to bring you a

1:53

very special conversation we have with

1:55

us the dynamic duo at the helm of

1:58

national Pharmacy student Association or

2:01

napsa our guests are none other than the

2:04

president Flynn Swift and treasurer

2:07

Georgia Bridges who work tirelessly to

2:09

support guide and advocate for pharmacy

2:13

students Nationwide they've been

2:15

involved in numerous initiations

2:18

supporting the professional growth of

2:20

thousands of students and they are here

2:23

today to share their insights

2:25

experiences and advice with you all we

2:28

will be talking about their Journey in

2:30

pharmacy school what motivated them to

2:33

take on these roles and how being part

2:35

of napsa has influenced their Pharmacy

2:38

education and future careers so whether

2:41

you're an aspiring pharmacist an early

2:44

career pharmacist or someone interested

2:46

in student leadership this episode is

2:49

packed with insights you don't want to

2:51

miss without further Ado let's welcome

2:54

Flynn and

2:56

Georgia so Flynn have you always seen

2:58

yourself as a leader

3:00

so when I was in high school I applied

3:02

to be the school captain of sports when

3:05

I applied for that I had to do my speech

3:08

in front of my cohort reading in front

3:11

of everyone reading off a script I was

3:13

shaking I was trembling so public

3:16

speaking was definitely not something

3:19

that I was accustomed to in high school

3:21

so definitely something that I picked up

3:23

while at napsa when I just started to be

3:26

a little bit more confident when I went

3:27

to UNI I applied to be in my Student

3:29

Association

3:30

C Spa at Q I applied there I ran for a

3:33

role got the role and then transitioned

3:36

into napsa I've been on the board for 2

3:39

years before I was President while being

3:42

in that Professional Organization and

3:45

the support around me from like-minded

3:47

students it just made me into a more

3:50

confident person um and then I just

3:52

thought that it was my time to step up

3:54

and become president and really try and

3:57

advocate for all of our students and

3:59

going back to high school definitely

4:02

would not have thought that I would have

4:04

been in this position why are you so

4:06

passionate about pharmacy at what point

4:08

did you decide you want to become a

4:10

pharmacist and what made you so

4:12

passionate about helping other Pharmacy

4:14

students I never envisioned going into

4:17

Pharmacy before I got accepted I just

4:19

applied because it was um in the health

4:21

field um and then from there when I

4:24

joined my Branch's Student Association

4:28

it was just me and my mates like like we

4:30

all kind of joined at the same time and

4:32

we ran the Student Association and we

4:34

were like man this is really fun like

4:36

this is a fun thing to do we get to

4:38

cater to our friend group with the

4:41

Student Association in our friend group

4:43

we all had you know that student life we

4:45

all wanted to push for better Student

4:48

Pharmacy at a branch level they didn't

4:51

really want to continue with it whereas

4:53

I kind of found a passion in it so from

4:55

there I transitioned into napsa went a

4:57

little bit further I also went to ipsf

5:00

which is the international

5:02

pharmaceutical students Federation

5:04

wanted to see if I can even have an

5:05

effect

5:06

internationally however I like to see

5:09

the impact that I have with the people

5:11

around me like I see the direct benefit

5:13

with pushing advocacy and with the

5:16

Australian students for example we're

5:18

advocating for vaccinations at the

5:20

moment students in Queensland they can

5:23

vaccinate under supervision Victorian

5:25

student can't vaccinate until they're a

5:27

full pharmacist so they can't

5:29

vaccinating their internship either so

5:32

now I have a question for Georgia what

5:34

motivated you to pursue a leadership

5:36

role within napsa I think for me I

5:38

didn't enter Pharmacy straight out of

5:39

high school like I had other things in

5:41

the way and I entered as an older age

5:43

student I would say not too old but

5:44

older age than a lot of the others

5:46

during High School similar to Flynn I

5:48

never ever put my hand up for anything I

5:49

sat in the back of the classroom I asked

5:51

my mom I cried halfway through high

5:53

school and all through primary school so

5:54

I never ever stood up for anything when

5:56

in my first year uni my old degree and I

5:59

got push onto my student Society because

6:01

my friend was going on there and she

6:02

didn't want to go alone and I think that

6:05

showed me in that Network and then when

6:06

I did enter Pharmacy eventually I went

6:09

into my first ever AGM for rmit at RS

6:12

and no one else was there and I went in

6:14

his education chair came out as

6:16

secretary on the that and then similar

6:18

to napsa entered on a whim and then

6:20

didn't think I'd honestly get on the

6:21

first term came out as an executive

6:22

director so it was never a plan of mine

6:25

to be a leader but I think it comes and

6:26

I think the opportunities are provided

6:29

and then seeing the benefits and also

6:30

what you can do is everything on that

6:32

but it was never in my immediate plans

6:34

never thought I'd end up where I was

6:35

honestly so I think coming on to any

6:37

student Society or committee the word

6:39

treasure is always a scary one because

6:41

it's always the one that has the

6:42

financial implication behind it and

6:44

obviously in Pharmacy I didn't have a

6:45

business background so coming on to

6:47

treasury it's the one that you kind of

6:48

have to learn on the go it's not like uh

6:51

for example other committee positions

6:53

that are more centered around your

6:54

actual profession like Pharmacy centered

6:57

in naps are so much as well it was more

6:59

around learning in to manage a large

7:01

portfolio that I wasn't necessarily

7:03

expecting to do I came in very strong

7:05

for Education based approach um was a

7:07

learning curve but it's one that I

7:09

really enjoyed and I think in terms of

7:10

my future profession it's also showed me

7:12

the business side a lot more in that

7:14

kind of Realm of things both of you be

7:17

in the leadership with napsa two or 3

7:20

years what are some skills that students

7:22

need to develop to help them to create a

7:25

successful Pharmacy career students just

7:28

need to be confident I know it's a bit

7:30

intimidating when you go into a room

7:32

full of people who own multiple

7:34

pharmacies who have been in the

7:36

profession for a lot longer than anyone

7:38

has especially students cuz you know we

7:41

we haven't been in the profession yet we

7:42

we're still a student we haven't had any

7:45

responsibilities on our shoulders so

7:47

definitely confidence willing to learn

7:50

and accept the paths for student

7:53

Pharmacists and you know early career

7:55

pharmacists they were built for a reason

7:57

and you know we should use them as

7:58

guidance what are your thoughts Georgia

8:01

students need to surround themselves

8:04

with the right support in all of this um

8:06

I wouldn't be where I would be that many

8:07

of the mentors we found along the way

8:09

and the people you talk about the guild

8:10

and the PSA they've shown us a lot of

8:13

the ways and they help guide us and I

8:14

think students need to realize the value

8:16

of what they provide they're not talking

8:18

to us as students they're talking to us

8:19

as future Pharmacists and they're not

8:21

willing to undervalue you and they're

8:23

willing to have these conversations with

8:24

you it's not a hierarchy it's an open

8:26

table and they actually want to listen

8:27

to you and hear what you say and they're

8:29

willing to Mentor you and guide you into

8:30

these things like if you find the right

8:32

people it's a very good journey speaking

8:35

of confidence as the pharmacy students

8:37

early career pharmacist how can we help

8:40

other peers to become more confident and

8:43

do you have any advice how did you

8:45

overcome your fear so for me it was

8:49

pretty much you know with the

8:51

encouragement of my friends and my my

8:53

friend group we went through uni

8:55

together and still going through uni

8:57

together essentially get out of our

8:59

comfort zone say yes go to things go to

9:02

events reap the benefits because we

9:04

invest 50 Grand into our own degree and

9:07

it doesn't pay us back so by saying yes

9:09

you know we can kind of get things and

9:12

get extra experiences out of that so

9:14

yeah my piece of advice would just be

9:17

just to say yes to things you know be

9:18

open-minded go in there not have any on

9:22

your shoulders don't feel like you have

9:24

to perform in front of people you're not

9:26

going to grow if you're not truthful to

9:27

yourself that's my piece of advice what

9:29

are your thoughts Georgia I think it's

9:32

an interesting one cuz I've always been

9:34

an introvert and I was never a confident

9:36

person I still struggled with a lot of

9:37

my confidence on a day-to-day basis and

9:39

it's I think it's a matter of selfworth

9:41

and knowing what you're valued at but

9:43

also again coming back to the support

9:45

team so lifting each other up when Flynn

9:47

gives his presentations we're all in the

9:49

front row clapping him on like

9:50

surrounding himself with a group of

9:51

people so you're excited and inspired to

9:53

do it and you're all rising up together

9:54

and it's in putting confidence in others

9:56

and making them all feel supported as

9:59

well I think is really important yeah I

10:01

agree as a profession we need to lift

10:03

each others up and also I'm really

10:06

excited that you touch on this

10:08

selfawareness or self-worth that Clarity

10:12

that self-awareness is really important

10:15

have you encountered any of that on your

10:17

journey to rise become a leader any of

10:21

advice to help our Pharmacy students to

10:23

come out from feeling lost to have sense

10:26

of direction I think it's a topic I've

10:28

always struggled with and I've always

10:29

been a big advocate for mental health

10:30

and I think you can't achieve anything

10:32

if you're not secure and safe and happy

10:34

in your own environment and your own

10:35

mental head space and I think taking the

10:38

time out to yes engage with your profess

10:40

but also take the time to know where you

10:42

stand making sure you're okay like

10:43

focusing on your studies you can't do

10:45

everything all at once and you have to

10:46

acknowledge that sometimes it's okay not

10:48

to be okay and when you're sitting there

10:49

youve got to be able to acknowledge

10:51

those periods of downtime and take the

10:52

time to work through them and I think in

10:54

terms of direction as well it's going

10:56

out there and finding the information

10:57

exposing yourself to everything out

10:59

there so when you're looking at

10:59

Direction Pathways you got every

11:01

available piece of information that

11:02

you've done for yourself not what other

11:04

people are telling you so so last year

11:07

in August Ren recruitment sponsored

11:10

napsa to help send two representatives

11:13

to 67th International Pharmacy student

11:16

Federation conference in Egypt I'm very

11:18

excited to sit down with both of you

11:20

here to hear your experience there what

11:23

does that look like for pharmacy student

11:25

to be on the world stage so the ipsf

11:29

Congress Australia attended we had two

11:32

delegates myself and Georgia um so it

11:35

was an 8-day conference um where we

11:39

would vote on rights for essentially

11:43

students um around the world so we went

11:46

there to represent Australian students

11:48

and what Australian students want I

11:51

guess the international stage differs to

11:53

Every Nation because it's all the

11:55

countries coming together I think what

11:56

ipsf captures that naps and M not is

11:58

mainly the public Public Health Around

12:00

the World Health Organization the whs

12:02

and pushing at issues on a global level

12:03

so you're looking at issues like

12:05

antimicrobial resistance you're looking

12:06

at climate change looking at the

12:08

economic impact on health across many

12:10

different nations and I think seeing

12:12

that in all the countries at a student

12:13

level coming together to talk about it

12:15

that that early stage was quite a thing

12:17

to see and all of that and walking into

12:19

the room and you got all these countries

12:20

sitting around the table and all these

12:21

students have made the effort is quite a

12:23

amazing thing to see please share with

12:26

us last advice with our Pharmacy student

12:28

I think mine would be take every

12:30

opportunity that comes your way um I

12:32

fell into napsa I'll admit I wasn't

12:34

planning on running for board ever I

12:36

wasn't planning on it and I kind of fell

12:37

into it but I think I took the

12:38

opportunity and someone offered it to me

12:39

and I said yes and it just grew from

12:41

there so I think people have offered a

12:42

lot of their opportunities out there and

12:45

sometimes they fall into your lap

12:46

sometimes you have to go out and find

12:47

them but once you get them just say yes

12:48

to everything that comes your way and

12:50

experience it to all the fullest I guess

12:53

the best advice is what if it turns out

12:56

better than you can imagine so like what

12:58

if it turns out better than what you

13:01

expected no one's journey is paved out

13:05

each next step is new you never know

13:08

what you're going to get into you can

13:10

only do that by saying yes by getting

13:12

out there by expanding your network half

13:15

of the times it will turn out better

13:16

than what you expected and the fear

13:19

we're so scared of moving to different

13:21

states moving to to rural areas and

13:24

moving to a different even suburb what

13:27

are your tips on overcoming these fears

13:30

what do you do I guess my personal

13:32

experience is that I compare going to a

13:35

new job or getting out there as like

13:37

it's just a placement um you know we go

13:39

as students we go on mandatory

13:41

placements where we go to a new job

13:43

where we haven't met anyone we don't

13:45

know their systems you know so we as

13:49

Pharmacy students are already pushed out

13:51

into into a different area where we have

13:54

to adapt we have to change we have to be

13:57

accepting of the process and everything

13:59

like that and if you just compare that

14:01

to a networking event you know where you

14:04

have to adapt you have to accept you

14:05

have to take in other people's

14:07

perspectives it's a good way to get

14:09

yourself out there if you have I guess

14:11

something to compare it you can't expect

14:14

everything to be sunshine and rainbows

14:16

pretty much like there will be times

14:17

where you feel uncomfortable where you

14:19

feel awkward where you feel like you

14:20

shouldn't be there but time is valued

14:23

among everyone again it's a really hard

14:25

question cuz fear is something we all

14:26

struggle with internally and fear is

14:28

defined by what we fear like everyone

14:30

has different fears I don't think

14:31

there's one clear strategy to overcome

14:33

it it's working through it um I think

14:35

one thing took me a long term to come

14:37

terms with my journey and delay and

14:38

everything is that you can't change the

14:40

past things are going to happen you're

14:42

going to regret things are going to

14:43

happen that may impact on you negatively

14:45

but you learn from it but you can't

14:46

change what happened in the past there's

14:47

no point on dwelling on it it's moving

14:49

on and looking forward I guess so how

14:52

would you share with those students who

14:54

are scared of public speaking scared of

14:56

socializing I'll be honest I still

14:58

struggle with public speaking I remember

15:00

my year 12 English speech I threw up the

15:03

half an hour beforehand and half an hour

15:05

after and public speaking is still

15:06

something that doesn't come naturally to

15:08

me I still struggle with volume and

15:09

speaking to people and I shake before

15:12

nearly all the time I have to speak

15:14

publicly but it started to come more

15:15

naturally and it's not something that it

15:17

came to me you have to work at it um I

15:19

think acknowledging it's a weakness

15:21

acknowledging it's not something you

15:22

excel at and having people around you

15:24

telling you or you speak up or you put

15:26

more confidence into it um again valuing

15:28

yourself and knowing where it comes from

15:30

but it's not something that came

15:31

naturally you do have to work at it

15:33

there are people who can help you at it

15:34

there are things you can do but it's

15:36

always something you have to have in the

15:37

back of your mind when you're doing it

15:38

and realizing how you're coming across I

15:40

think thank you for listening to this

15:42

episode of the your Pharmacy career

15:44

podcast proudly brought to you by Ravens

15:47

Recruitment Australia's leading

15:48

specialist Pharmacy recruitment agency

15:51

if you enjoyed this episode and know

15:53

anyone else who you think would benefit

15:54

from it we would be grateful if you

15:56

could share it with them together we

15:58

help and more pharmacists develop a

16:00

career and life they love if you have

16:02

any questions or suggestions about

16:04

future podcast episodes please reach out

16:06

to us via email info@ravensrecruitment.com.au