Rate My Professor John Smithson

Associate Professor John Smithson is the Head of Discipline of Pharmacy in the College of Medicine and Dentistry at James Cook University. Holding qualifications including a Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm), Bachelor of Nursing Science (BNSc), and PhD, he is a registered pharmacist and registered nurse with over 30 years of clinical experience in public remote and regional hospitals, as well as private community and consultant pharmacy practice. With more than 14 years in academia, Smithson has progressed to senior leadership roles, including senior executive positions in the Faculty and Division. He has extensive experience in curriculum design, project management, and leading major curriculum redevelopment projects and new program launches. Notably, under his leadership as Head of Pharmacy, JCU has expanded its Bachelor of Pharmacy program to multiple campuses including Cairns and Mackay, contributing to surging enrolments and addressing workforce needs in northern Australia.

Smithson's research specializations focus on pharmacy and health professional education, including the integration of simulation and standardized patients in teaching to enhance student job readiness, improving teaching and learning quality through institutional processes, evidence-based prescribing, and expanding scope of professional practice. He has published over 21 works, including key publications such as the manual 'Rheumatoid Arthritis' (2009, Pharmaceutical Society of Australia), 'Standardized patients in pharmacy education: an integrative literature review' (2015), 'Benchmarking for the effective use of student evaluation data' (2015), 'Enablers and barriers to registered nurses expanding their scope of practice in Australia' (2019), and recent articles like 'Scoping the barriers to influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations from the perspectives of patients with cancer: is there a role for the pharmacist?' (2025). Smithson received an Office for Learning and Teaching Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning for blending high fidelity simulation into the pharmacy curriculum for counter prescribing and clinical assessment. His work has significantly influenced pharmacy education, particularly in regional and rural settings, through innovative teaching practices and leadership in program development.