Congratulations to Ita Fitzgerald and Joanne Hainsworth on successfully credentialing with the College. They have demonstrated their expertise in the field of mental health pharmacy.
Ita Fitzgerald
Ita Fitzgerald is Senior Psychiatric Pharmacist at St Patrick’s Mental Health Services.
The CMHP Registrar complimented Ita’s work in research, her work towards improving cardiometabolic adverse effects and the impressive depth of her portfolio.
We invited Ita to say a few words about her role and interest in mental health pharmacy. She said: “I currently work as both a senior clinical pharmacist and researcher in psychiatry in Ireland. In undergraduate training I was taught about psychiatric medications by mental health pharmacists. This really inspired me to specialise in this area. I have been working in mental health since qualifying in 2016 and started doctoral training in 2021 to advance my research skills and increase research output by psychiatric pharmacists and on topics with international relevance in psychiatry.”
She went on to say what motivated her to go through credentialing: “My motivation to go through credentialing came from attending the conference with colleagues in the UK and being inspired by their level of knowledge and skills in mental health pharmacy practice. Other colleagues in Ireland have also gone through the process. They encouraged me to pursue credentialing and so, with their advice and support, I decided to undertake the challenge.
“I would really recommend colleagues doing undertaking credentialing with the CMHP and feel proud to have completed the process. It has increased my confidence in practice and added further legitimacy to my role in multidisciplinary teams. I am confident that having the status of credentialed member of the CMHP will expand my role and scope of practice in psychiatric practice in Ireland and ultimately, improve the quality of care provided to individuals living with mental illness.”
Joanne Hainsworth
Joanne Hainsworth is an Advanced Clinical Pharmacist and independent prescriber at Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
She has a particular interest in older adult mental health, but works across a variety of services.
The CMHP Registrar complimented the variety of Joanne’s portfolio and highlighted her impressive work in older adult mental health.
Joanne tells us what motivated her to go through credentialing: “After working in mental health services since qualifying as a pharmacist, it was important to me to complete the credentialing process to be able to recognise my achievements and those of the service. Completing the portfolio gave me the opportunity to be involved in new workstreams and processes within my role in different specialist services.
“The external feedback from assessors helped me to reflect on new areas that I would like to work on, particularly continuing to improve medicines optimisation for older people with complex mental health needs."
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