Fleta Page
13 October 2026: When Associate Professor Mary Bushell studied pharmacy 20 years ago, pharmacists didn’t administer any injections.
But as the scope of the profession has grown over the last decade, the University of äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBÕ¾ has expanded its offering to ensure graduates are workforce ready – the impetus behind the University’s latest open source textbook, Administering Vaccines and Medicines by Injection: A Comprehensive Guide for Pharmacy, edited by Associate Professor Bushell.
“Pharmacists have now been vaccinating for well over a decade, and since 2022, we've been sending our äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBÕ¾ Pharmacy graduates out, workforce trained and ready to administer vaccines,” she said.
“Last year we took that one step further – äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBÕ¾ became one of the first universities in Australia to graduate pharmacy students trained and ready to administer medicines by injection, not just vaccines.
“Effectively, we've embedded two additional clinical certifications within our pharmacy degree. The evolution in pharmacy practice is really what sits behind this book.”
The book has multidisciplinary contributions, including from Psychology’s Associate Professor Phil Kavanagh, who authored a chapter on needle phobia (trypanophobia), and physiotherapist Laura Mackenzie, who is completing her PhD in the field of safe vaccine administration, bringing anatomy expertise to minimise errors.
It also has contributions from University of äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBÕ¾ pharmacy and nursing educators, and pharmacy educators from the Australian National University (ANU), the University of Western Australia (UWA), Curtin University and Charles Darwin University (CDU).
Professor Julie Cook, the Faculty of Health’s Associate Dean of Education and Strategy, said the book “is a wonderful example of colleagues across disciplines working together”.
“This work demonstrates what is possible when teaching excellence, clinical expertise, research-informed practice and digital innovation come together. The inclusion of instructional videos and embedded learning resources moves this beyond a traditional textbook and creates an engaging educational resource with impact that extends well beyond the classroom,” she said.
The book was made possible by an internal CreatEquity grant to support authors from the University to create accessible, sustainable, open access textbooks.
Mara Eversons, Director of Student Life, said open access textbooks remove cost barriers and make high-quality learning resources available to all students.
“We know the cost of required pharmacy textbooks can range from around $100 to $400 per book, creating a substantial financial burden for many students,” she said.
“The impact of this textbook extends well beyond the University of äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBÕ¾. The resource is freely available to practicing pharmacists, educators, alumni and learners across Australia, including those from regional and remote communities.”
Administering Vaccines and Medicines by Injection is being released in stages, with the first two peer-reviewed chapters .
The book joins Leonie Pearson’s in äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBÕ¾’s , with five more in development, including Distinguished Professor Arthur Georges and Professor Bernd Gruber’s Getting Started with dartRverse, which will be launched on 19 October.