PSA’s 2026 Early Career Pharmacist of the Year Pooja Sharma MPS is committed to delivering patient-first care.
For Ms Sharma, pharmacy has always been about building trust, improving health outcomes and ensuring every patient feels seen and heard.
As an accredited pharmacist, pharmacy manager at Priceline Pharmacy South Yarra and director of Pharmacist Review and Embedded Services, she works across community pharmacy, Home Medicines Reviews (HMRs), aged care and preventative healthcare.
‘At the heart of everything I do is a simple goal – I want to help people live healthier, safer lives through the better use of medicines,’ she says.
Her journey to practicing pharmacy in Australia began long before registration. In 2019, she was balancing full-time work as a pharmacy technician and raising two young children under 5 while preparing for the Knowledge Assessment of Pharmaceutical Sciences (KAPS) examination.
Like many internationally trained healthcare professionals, Mrs Sharma was rebuilding her career from the ground up.
‘I look back now and realise every step taught me resilience, gratitude and the importance of never giving up,’ she says.
Ms Sharma has extensive experience in dispensary, inpatient and outpatient services, ward pharmacy and medicines management – laying the foundation for the broad clinical role she performs today.
Although initially drawn to pharmacy through an interest in medicines, it was the emotional side of the profession that solidified her passion.
‘I always hoped to take on a career where I could genuinely make a difference in someone’s life,’ she says. ‘Pharmacy is about much more than medication. Every patient has a story – sometimes they need clinical advice, and sometimes they simply need someone to listen.’
Among her proudest achievements is receiving the 2026 PSA Victorian Early Career Pharmacist of the Year
award, just a few years after gaining Australian registration.
Yet it’s the quieter moments which define her career. These range from conducting HMRs around a patient’s kitchen table, improving medicines safety alongside general practitioners, or travelling to remote communities in the Northern Territory every 2 months. The most rewarding experiences
stem from seeing the difference pharmacists can make.
‘If I’ve helped even one person feel safer, healthier or more confident because of the care I’ve provided, then I know I’ve made a difference,’ she says.
Engaging in continuous work in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities has reinforced the importance of equitable healthcare access. ‘These experiences remind me that pharmacists have an important role in improving health outcomes, particularly for people living in rural, remote and underserved communities,’ she says.
Ms Sharma believes that pharmacists are becoming the most accessible healthcare professionals, and she hopes pharmacists continue to be recognised as essential clinicians who work alongside broader healthcare teams to deliver timely, patient-centered care.
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