Lauren Marks from Cooper's Pharmacy Group Taree has been awarded NSW Pharmacy Assistant of the Year

The national award will be named in late October.

Lauren and 300 other pharmacy assistants were nominated for the State award. She was then listed as one of 10 finalists where she was announced the winner.

After growing up on a hobby farm at Dyers Crossing, Lauren started her career in pharmacy at the age of 14 at Nabiac Pharmacy, where she worked for five years. When she was 19 Lauren moved to Dubbo, where she worked for a pharmacy for eight years.

As a pharmacist assistant, Lauren said she has worked on the shop floor, helping with Webster packing, stock control, dispensary and assisting with weight loss clinics.

"It is important that we are no longer seen as retail pharmacy assistants and rather community pharmacy assistants,'' Lauren explained.

Now her role of overseeing around 40 staff involves working on the front line of the pandemic, administrating COVID vaccines to the Manning community.

READ MORE: First Moderna doses to arrive in Australia

Lauren, 29, said her success has been largely due to having "passionate role models" who have continually shown her there is a huge role for pharmacy assistants in community pharmacy.

"The award is a community effort, particularly the team I work with everyday.

"I am very proud to be representing NSW at the national finals and will be using my platform to help encourage and network with other pharmacy assistants as much as possible," Lauren said.

From bushfires to floods and now a global health pandemic, Lauren said the judges sympathised with her when she outlined what the Manning community has gone through in the past two years.

Lauren will attend the national award's first-ever online ceremony with the other State award recipients on October 21, when the national award winner will be announced.

The criteria for the national winner will be based on the State winners' written journal article and a presentation that outlines the importance of community pharmacies, Lauren said.

On Monday, September 27 Lauren was involved in the pharmacy's first day of the Moderna COVID vaccine rollout. Cooper's Guardian Pharmacy Taree administrated 48 Moderna doses during the day.

"We are not here to save the world, but we are here to help in any way we can,'' Lauren emphasised.

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