With over a decade of experience, my core interests lie in education, research, patient care and clinical pharmacy services. I have worked as a senior pharmacist in both acute and chronic coronary care, geriatrics and surgery within the hospital setting. I was awarded a Health Research Board Collaborative Doctoral Award and through this worked in general practice as part completion of my PhD surrounding role expansion for pharmacists within the Irish healthcare system. I lecture in SETU in both pharmacology, clinical services and pharmacy practice and am actively involved in new and current programme development. I have expanded my role in academia as an honorary lecturer with the Irish Pharmacy Union and the Irish College of General Practitioners, focusing on clinical pharmacy and problematic prescribing.
I am a lecturer in Pharmacy Practice and I have lectured pharmacy technician students in SETU Carlow in pharmacology and clinical pharmacy services. I have lectured both undergraduate and postgraduate pharmacy students on advanced pharmacist roles and research, alongside facilitating clinical and professional communication skills workshops in RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. I have also supervised students undertaking research projects as part of the Masters in Clinical Pharmacy in Trinity College Dublin.
I have completed a PhD through the Health Research Board Collaborative Doctoral Award in Multimorbidity. I have published papers from my PhD including a systematic review with a meta-analysis, whilst also presenting at national and international conferences. My research focused on role expansion for pharmacists within the general practice setting. My PhD involved health services research combining the coordination of a professional working environment during a pandemic, and the ethical, practical and clinically safe behaviours necessary to protect patients during this time. Public and patient involvement was a core component of my PhD programme which provided invaluable input and perspective on my research.
I worked in community pharmacy for 9 years up to supervising pharmacist level. I also worked as a senior clinical pharmacist in a combined geriatrics and coronary care role. My work as a general practice-based pharmacist was novel within the Irish healthcare setting and has contributed to guiding the development of this role.
I have been a member of the Expert Peer Review Panel, for the National Pharmacy Internship Programme’s (NPIP) licensure examination the Professional Registration Examination (PRE). The expert panel is tasked with peer reviewing the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) questions and scenarios for accuracy, clinical relevance and fairness. I am also an examiner for the PRE since 2015 and an assessor for the medical student OSCE examinations.
Croke A. The General Practice-Based Pharmacist Medications Optimisation Programme: Key findings & recommendations. 04/06/2024, RCSI Clinical Partner Evening.
Croke A. The General Practice-Based Pharmacist Medications Optimisation Programme: Key findings & recommendations. 24/11/2023, Health Research Board (HRB) Collaborative Doctoral Award in Patient-focused Research Dissemination event.
Croke A. The General Practice Pharmacist Medicines Optimisation programme. Update and networking event. 24/06/2021, Online dissemination meeting.
Croke A. The General Practice Pharmacist Medicines Optimisation programme. Collaboration and feedback dissemination event. 09/02/2021, Online session.
Supervisor for the research component of the Clinical Pharmacy Masters Trinity College Dublin
Croke, A. The effectiveness and cost of integrating pharmacists within general practice to optimise prescribing and health outcomes in primary care patients with polypharmacy: A systematic review. 07/11/2023, All Ireland Pharmacy Conference.
Croke, A., Cardwell. K,. Clyne. B,. Moriarty. F,. McCullagh. L,. Smith. SM,. The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of integrating clinical pharmacists within general practice to optimise prescribing and health outcomes in primary care patients with polypharmacy: A systematic review. 29/03/2022. 8th SPHeRE Network Annual Conference, ‘Wicked Policy Problems-Pulling Back the Curtain’. Online conference.
Croke, A., Cardwell. K,. James. O,. Clyne. B,. Moriarty. F,. Smith. SM,. The effectiveness of integrating clinical pharmacists within general practice to optimise prescribing and health outcomes in primary care patients with polypharmacy: A Systematic Review. Interim findings poster. 30/06/2021-01/07/2021. SAPC Online Annual Conference; Living and Dying Well.
Croke, A. General Practice-Based Pharmacist Medicines Optimisation Programme: Protocol. 12/03/2021, AUDGPI Conference, RCSI.
Croke, A. Advanced pharmacist practitioner roles. October 2019. AUDGPI, Early Career Showcase, RCSI.
Croke, A., Cardwell, K., Clyne, B. et al. The effectiveness and cost of integrating pharmacists within general practice to optimise prescribing and health outcomes in primary care patients with polypharmacy: a systematic review. BMC Prim. Care 24, 41 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-022-01952-z
Croke A, Moriarty F, Boland F, et al. Integrating clinical pharmacists within general practice: protocol for a pilot cluster randomised controlled trial BMJOpen 2021;11:e041541. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-041541
Croke A, James O, Clyne B et al. The effectiveness of integrating clinical pharmacists within general practice to optimise prescribing and health outcomes in primary care patients with polypharmacy: A protocol for a systematic review [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]. HRB Open Res 2020, 2:32 (https:// doi.org/10.12688/hrbopenres.12966.2)
Kiely B, Croke A, O'Shea M, et al. Effect of social prescribing link workers on health outcomes and costs for adults in primary care and community settings: a systematic review. BMJ Open 2022;12:e062951. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-062951
Pierce, M., Foley, L., Kiely, B. Croke, A., et al. (2023). "Embedding formal and experiential public and patient involvement training in a structured PhD programme: process and impact evaluation." Research Involvement and Engagement 9(1): 105
