It was Olivia Refalo’s own personal experience as a patient at Mackay Base Hospital that sparked her interest in the human body and ultimately a career in health care.
“Growing up with osteogenesis imperfecta (a brittle bone disease), I spent a lot of time in and out of hospital. It was this experience that inspired me to pursue a career in pharmacy,” Olivia said.
“One of my fondest childhood memories is receiving a microscope and human anatomy model on Christmas morning. Ever since then I have been fascinated by the human body.”
As a senior clinical pharmacist team leader at Mackay Hospital and Health Service (HHS), Olivia manages a team of pharmacists who take care of inpatients. This involves admitting, discharging and reviewing clinical inquiries. Depending on the day her team can be involved with providing care for up to 100 patients.
Olivia has a keen interest in women’s health and has focused her further studies and qualifications in this area.
“I’m particularly passionate about the pre and post-natal periods of a woman’s life. Having grown up away from the metropolitan areas, I’m also passionate about rural health.”
Olivia’s advice to women looking to entering the STEM field is simple; be ruthless and be passionate.
“When you find a career that you love you’ll make a difference in more ways than you can ever imagine.
“I’ve always enjoyed making a difference in patient’s lives. They come to us at a very hard time in their lives, feeling scared and overwhelmed and if I can just relieve a small amount of that anxiety then it makes my job worthwhile.
“I chose a career in pharmacy because I wanted to help people in the same way that I was (and still am) in the health sector.
“Returning to Mackay was important to me because I’ve witnessed and experienced the downfalls and disadvantages that women (as patients) experience in a regional setting and I wanted to be a part of that narrative changing.”
Olivia is currently involved in a statewide working group which is rolling out a new set of guidelines for the treatment of endometriosis.
“This is such an exciting project for me as I’m passionate about women’s health,” she said.
“I have big dreams for pharmacy services in our HHS and would love to see a dedicated women’s health pharmacist role created to help support the needs of women in our region.
“Like most of the healthcare sector, staffing deficits and retention is a massive challenge for our teams right now.
“However, it is so promising to see the advancements that women have made in STEM, and in the health sector not only for practitioners, but female patients as well.
“There is still a long way to go but we are heading in the right direction; more women are being inspired to take up careers in health and science – making a difference for our patients in big ways.”