Deirdre D’Souza

I guess I am what you would call a “mature-age” student…I graduated with a Bachelor of Pharmacy around 30 years ago and have worked as a hospital pharmacist ever since.

Early in my career I decided to specialise in oncology pharmacy. I was fortunate to have amazing mentors who validated the importance of clinical pharmacists in the multidisciplinary cancer team, we were relied on to ensure the accuracy and safety of complex chemotherapy regimens and play a pivotal role communicating with and educating patients on how to prevent and manage side-effects from often toxic treatments by appropriate use of supportive care medicines.

I currently coordinate clinical pharmacy services for cancer care patients at Westmead Hospital. We have one of largest cancer centres in the state, I am privileged to lead a fantastic team of dedicated young pharmacists & I also coordinate an education & peer support network for NSW oncology pharmacists.

On a personal note, I have been happily married for over 25 years and have two wonderful children who are now young adults - both are enrolled in undergraduate degrees at UTS! They are supportive of my return to university but have made me promise not to engage in UTS social activities around their campuses. Amidst the juggle of fulltime work, studies and family, I try and keep fit by running, relax by immersing myself in a good book and explore my creativity through mosaic art.      

I am passionate about social justice, health equity and patient centred care. The global pandemic has highlighted how strongly communities can come together in support and follow science but also disheartening to see public health messaging get distorted or denied by some self-interested and corrupt global leaders, creating division and disunity with life-threatening consequences. 

Quality palliative care is critical for many cancer patients when cure or control of the disease is no longer possible. I was inspired to study the master's in palliative care after personal experiences with family, and hearing from friends about the challenges with managing medicines when caring for someone with a life threatening illness. Our service had concentrated on the active treatment phases of cancer and I am hoping to understand how we can improve our service, particularly through better collaboration at transitions of care with our colleagues in community pharmacy.

I had planned on undertaking post-graduate studies after my youngest completed her HSC and had been considering a few options at different universities when I heard about the new Master of Palliative Care at UTS. I was interested in learning about a broader, public health approach and the course outline ticked all my requirements. I was also aware of the UTS IMPACCT unit’s commitment to developing an evidence-based approach in palliative medicine, which reassured me about the expertise and experience of the teaching team.

Being able to directly apply learnings in my practice and our service delivery has been the most rewarding aspect of the course so far. I have incorporated the business case and research proposal developed through the course into an actual project.  

I am still only half-way through and it has been tough keeping up with modules and meeting assessment deadlines. New ways of learning and submitting assessments using technology have been challenging but also rewarding when they work out!

In the more immediate future I hope to enhance and improve the holistic palliative care that my team provide to cancer patients and their caregivers once they no longer receive active treatment. I also hope to collaboratively engage with the inter-disciplinary team and primary care providers in our local area to improve medication transitions for this group of patients and their caregivers, promoting evidence based practice.   

In the longer term, I hope to use the knowledge gained through this course to contribute to improvement of palliative care medication processes and systems that better support patients and caregivers.

I would encourage clinicians from all disciplines with an interest in palliative care to consider undertaking this course. I think pharmacy and allied health clinicians will find this course stimulating as well as practical. There are times you might feel a bit out-of-your-comfort-zone, but the teachers are all very approachable and understanding. Although the course is online, there are engagement opportunities with group work that also help you get to know other students and develop a peer support network.

I would also advise fulltime clinicians to try and maintain a good work/home/studies life balance. I found reducing my course load really helped when things got too hectic, as it allowed me to maintain participation and engagement without feeling too overwhelmed.     

Find out more about studying Palliative Care at UTS