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07 April 2025
Vinci Mizranita: Preparing Future Pharmacists to Work in an Ever-Changing World
Studying for a Masters and PhD in Australia has transformed Vinci Mizranita’s career in pharmacy and reshaped the education of pharmacy students at her university, giving them more practical and collaborative skills.
Vinci graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy from the Universitas Gadjah Mada in 2005 and began her career as a pharmacist at Kimia Farma. She had a passion for assisting customers with their health issues.
"Rather than developing medicines in a lab, I was more interested in the interaction between pharmacists and patients," Vinci explained.
She decided to pursue further education. Looking to her father, a PhD graduate from the University of Western Australia, as her role model, she decided to apply for an Australia Awards Scholarship. But it took several attempts before she was successful. In 2009, she was awarded the Australian Leadership Award to pursue a Masters of Pharmacy (Clinical Pharmacy) at Curtin University.
Although she grew up under the guidance of her father, a professor of accounting at the Universitas Diponegoro, Vinci admitted she struggled to adapt to the education system in Australia.
"I had difficulty understanding the professors' explanations in class, and there was a moment when I nearly cried during my first presentation at Curtin University," Vinci recalled, describing her early days of Masters study as a time filled with struggle and tears.
One big difference was the study culture in Australia, where students often studied independently and asked the lecturers directly if they had any questions rather than studying in groups. But after reaching out to the Australia Awards for help, she quickly got back on track.
“One of the things I appreciated was their promptness in helping me overcome the issues I faced,” she said. “To catch up in class, they provided me with a tutor.”
Seeking an Extraordinary Experience
In 2019, Vinci returned to the same university through the Australia Awards to pursue her PhD. Unlike her Masters degree, which required a period of adaptation, Vinci felt her PhD studies went rather smoothly, particularly due to the support from her supervisors.
"My supervisors constantly encouraged me to think and conduct research independently. Even ideas that I thought were trivial or silly were taken seriously,” she said.
"Through discussions with my supervisors, my thoughts would become more refined and focused. This educational environment allows students to freely express their opinions and think without always being dictated."
Vinci believes that the Australian education system can bring out the best in students. With no rigid boundaries between students and lecturers, there is space for critical and open discussions.
"Every advance I made in my research, no matter how small, was always appreciated by my supervisors. They also empathised with my personal situation as a mother who had to care for three children while studying in Australia," Vinci recalled.
As she approached the end of her PhD studies in Australia, Vinci mentioned to her supervisors that she was seeking some different experiences so that her life wouldn't solely revolve around research.
Her supervisors, Emeritus Professor Bruce Sunderland and Dr Tin Fei Sim helped Vinci secure an internship in Perth at an Amcal pharmacy, part of a large company with pharmacies Australia-wide.
"During my internship at Amcal, I learned about managerial skills, patient handling, standard operating procedures, vaccination injection protocols, and even received direct guidance from the management of Amcal in Perth. The internship program provided me with the opportunity to witness how the healthcare system operates in Australia,” Vinci said.
She even received certification training in toxin identification, CPR, and first aid.
Interestingly, Vinci's Masters and PhD studies at Curtin University ran parallel with her husband, who pursued his Masters and PhD at the same university but through Australian Government Research Training Program scholarships.
"This is a big family of Australia enthusiasts," Vinci joked, mentioning that her sibling had started a PhD program at the University of Adelaide in early 2024.
Boosting Pharmacy Student Competency
Before her PhD studies, Vinci worked as a lecturer for the pharmacy program at the Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS). There, she was part of a group that launched the Interprofessional Health Education Courses, a program to foster collaboration among future doctors, pharmacists, and midwives.[1]
Vinci said the program was influenced by her Masters studies when she interned at the Chief Allied Health Office (CAHO) in Western Australia. The organisation promotes interdisciplinary collaboration among healthcare professionals (pharmacists, optometrists, physiotherapists, orthopaedists, and others) in both clinical practice and research.
The Interprofessional Health Education Courses are conducted over six months in the final stages of the students' studies, involving medical, pharmacy, and midwifery students.
"Students from these three different fields are grouped together and deployed to community health centres (Puskesmas) to address patients' health issues,” said Vinci, who coordinates the program.
It took Vinci quite some time to pursue her PhD studies. For seven years, she contemplated the tangible contributions she could make to her students from her doctoral studies. Eventually, the idea came to discuss the competencies of pharmacists' practice in Indonesia as her PhD thesis.
"While working on my thesis, I often discussed with my supervisors the idea of developing the pharmacy curriculum at UNS to improve students' abilities in providing pharmaceutical care services,” she said.
"One of the suggestions given to me was to arrange the placement of courses in such a way that students have a more comprehensive understanding of clinical pharmacy.
"Coincidentally, I am currently the coordinator of clinical research in my program, and I am responsible for the curriculum related to clinical pharmacy. Currently, we are halfway through the curriculum overhaul, one of which is a course I included on basic life support practices."
Life Beyond the PhD
Having engaged in various fields of work – from a state-owned enterprise, a pharmacy in Australia, to being a university lecturer – Vinci emphasises the importance of keeping the curriculum up-to-date with ever-changing technological advances.
Her efforts to improve the quality of pharmacy studies at UNS continue to benefit from her Australian links. Her former supervisor, Dr Sim, who is an Associate Professor at Curtin University and the National President and Chair of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia Board, has given several public lectures on pharmacotherapy for UNS students since 2021 and returns every year-end.[2]
During her PhD studies in Australia, Vinci often spent nights on campus to work on her research. One morning, when she woke up, Vinci was surprised to see Dr Sim arriving on campus early for work. The academic discipline in Australia inspires Vinci’s work ethic.
"The attitude of professors in Australia impresses me because despite holding the highest academic title, they still discipline themselves to come to campus every morning," she said.
“All the experiences and knowledge I gained in Australia have immensely changed my lifestyle, especially my mindset, encouraging me to always think critically.”
Vinci is now determined to continue following in her father’s footsteps and become a professor in the field of pharmacy.
[1] https://spada.uns.ac.id/course/view.php?id=1964
[2] https://farmasi.mipa.uns.ac.id/kuliah-pakar/
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