Graduate Careers

Barwon Health offers six Intern Pharmacist positions each year (government-funded).

Barwon Health recruits interns through the Society of Hospital Pharmacists (SHPA) recruitment method. The timeline for recruitment is available on their website. 

About Barwon Health’s Pharmacy Intern Program

The intern program is a balance of structured learning and practical training rotations. Throughout the first 33 weeks, the intern will spend time in:

• Introductory clinical rotations (clinical orientation)
• Dispensary, as well as familiarisation to aseptic services, medicines information, medication safety, antimicrobial stewardship, oncology and radiopharmacy
• Clinical rotations through specialised ward services such as cardiology, gastroenterology, renal, neurology, aged care, as well as general medical and surgical wards
• Allocated research week

Independence (under supervision) will be strongly encouraged in the final 4 months of the intern year, as interns will be integrated into pharmacy services with their own patient load and responsibilities. Elective rotations (e.g. paediatrics, emergency, psychiatry, oncology, ICU, maternity) will also be available.

In total, interns will spend approximately 80% of their intern program on clinical wards.

At Barwon Health we are committed to providing positive employment opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and encourage internship applications from candidates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background.

Other key features of the program

• Dedicated education team led by an experienced full-time Lead Education Pharmacist and supported by two additional enthusiastic educators, including an Intern Coordinator
• The education team provide professional and/or mental health support, regular and ongoing feedback and follow-up.
• Individual mentor pharmacists allocated to each intern to provide additional support
• Planned intern meetings are held once weekly for one to two hours. These sessions are steered by pharmacists within the department, as well as guest speakers, including community pharmacists and specialist nurses. The interns are expected to prepare for and contribute to sessions.
• Dedicated preparation for oral and written exams, including in-house practice exams
• Barwon Health is an accredited Monash University ‘Intern Foundation Program’ site with Credentialed Clinical Educators. This program, in conjunction with the Monash Intern Training Program allows interns to complete either a Graduate Certificate or complete the Monash MPharm. 
• Case presentations – Interns contribute to the educational activities of the department
• Interns gain experience in conducting a research project, alongside a skilled pharmacist supervisor. In the past, a number of these projects have been presented at conferences.
• Interns will be rostered to work half days on weekends (Saturday) on a rotational basis.

More information

• Barwon Health – Intern Pharmacist FAQ 2025
• Barwon Health – Intern Pharmacist Position Description 2025
• Barwon Health – Intern Pharmacist Selection Process 2025
• Barwon Health – Intern Pharmacist Rotations 2025
• Barwon Health – Intern Pharmacist Tutorial Timetable 2025

About the Barwon Health Pharmacy Department

The Pharmacy Department is staffed by 119 FTE staff (including 74 FTE pharmacists) across the acute site (University Hospital Geelong), the rehabilitation and aged care site (McKellar Centre) and the private hospital (St John of God).

The Department provides clinical pharmacy services, aseptic and oncology preparation, HITH and outpatient services. A high degree of specialisation exists in clinical pharmacy roles (e.g. cardiology, emergency, gastroenterology, general medicine, infectious diseases, intensive care, neurology, oncology, paediatrics, palliative care, psychiatry, renal and surgery), clinical trials, medication safety, medicines information, antimicrobial stewardship and radiopharmacy.

There is a dedicated education team, led by an experienced full-time education pharmacist and supported by two additional enthusiastic educators.

The Pharmacy Department is actively involved in undergraduate and postgraduate pharmacy education. Pharmacy practice research is a focus, with local and collaborative projects with universities, and other healthcare facilities.

Pharmacy is innovative in its approach to practice with electronic discharge prescribing and a robotic dispensing and inventory system. Quality use of medicines and medication safety activities are led by pharmacy across campuses. Pharmacy technicians support clinical pharmacists and undertake sterile and oncology preparation.

Find out more about the Pharmacy Department