Also Award for sustained excellence in tertiary teaching

Senior Lecturer, School of Pharmacy, University of Otago

"Challenging future pharacists to be the best".

Rhiannon Braund aims to 'future proof' her students for the new roles developing for pharmacists as experts in medicines. She also sets high standards to ensure they graduate as safe, caring and competent professionals. She adopts innovative problem-based learning strategies, where students are encouraged to 'solve the puzzle for themselves'. Authentic assessment is designed to help students determine key information, make diagnoses and decide on treatments. A student affirmed she encouraged independence by 'not giving us the answer, but pushing us in the right direction to get it'. She inspires her students, one of whom wrote: 'I think we learn the best with you'.

Students rate Rhiannon as approachable and 'up for a laugh'. She readily shares her own experience and models the concern for others she expects of her graduates as professional pharmacists. She encourages students to put patient needs before their personal beliefs. An empathetic lecturer, Rhiannon nevertheless challenges students to look at situations from all angles. She also mentors colleagues in designing and evaluating pharmacy teaching and 'how to approach challenging situations from lecturer and student perspectives'.