Megan Murray
Belfast,UK
Summary
Highly skilled professional with over seven years' expertise spanning pharmaceutical regulation, medicines governance, medication safety, quality improvement, and clinical pharmacy practice. Currently working as a Pharmaceutical Officer within the Northern Ireland Civil Service, leading regulatory inspections to ensure compliance with legislative requirements and PSNI standards. Drawing on a strong clinical background in hospital pharmacy, medicines optimisation, and multidisciplinary patient care, I have extensive experience supporting safe and effective prescribing, medication review, and service improvement initiatives. Skilled in regulatory assurance, risk assessment, audits, investigations, and stakeholder engagement, with a proven ability to interpret legislation, produce evidence-based recommendations, and drive quality improvement. Recognised for strong analytical skills, sound professional judgement, effective leadership, and a commitment to improving patient safety and healthcare outcomes.
Overview
8
8
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work history
Pharmaceutical Officer
Northern Ireland Civil Service
Belfast
2025.12 - Current
- Led regulatory inspections and audits of pharmacy premises to assess compliance with legislative requirements, professional standards, and regulatory frameworks.
- Produced comprehensive inspection reports, identifying areas of non-compliance, recommending corrective actions, and supporting evidence-based regulatory decision-making.
- Interpreted legislation, standards, and guidance to provide compliance advice and quality improvement recommendations to stakeholders.
- Investigated regulatory concerns and potential breaches, escalating risks through appropriate channels and contributing to enforcement and follow-up actions.
- Managed multiple inspections and competing priorities while consistently meeting reporting deadlines and maintaining high standards of accuracy.
- Delivered training and guidance on regulatory requirements, promoting compliance and continuous improvement across the pharmacy sector.
- Analysed inspection data and compliance trends, preparing reports for senior management and supporting organisational objectives.
- Responded to enquiries from healthcare organisations, professionals, and members of the public, providing clear and accurate regulatory information.
- Developed and maintained effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders to support regulatory assurance and public safety.
Clinical Pharmacist
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
Belfast, UK
2018.11 - 2025.10
- Delivered clinical pharmacy services across a range of hospital specialties, providing medication reviews, pharmaceutical care, and medicines optimisation for patients with complex clinical needs.
- Worked collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams, contributing to ward rounds, discharge planning, therapeutic decision-making, and safe management of medicines.
- Provided evidence-based medicines information and toxicology advice through the Northern Ireland Regional Medicines Information and Poisons Service, supporting healthcare professionals across primary and secondary care.
- Improved patient safety through clinical interventions, medication reviews, therapeutic drug monitoring, and identification of prescribing risks, adverse effects, and medicine-related problems.
- Developed and implemented medication safety initiatives, including paediatric prescribing safety card and quality improvement project focused on reducing metered dose inhaler waste and environmental impact.
- Delivered education and training to foundation pharmacists, medical students, junior doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals, promoting safe prescribing and effective medicines management.
- Contributed to development of prescribing policies, clinical guidelines, and governance processes to support high-quality patient care and regulatory compliance.
- Managed dispensary operations during extended hours, coordinating workloads and supporting efficient service delivery while maintaining accuracy and patient safety.
Education
Postgraduate Masters - Advanced Pharmacy Practice with Independent Prescribing
Queen's University Belfast
Belfast 09/2023 -
Master of Pharmacy - Pharmacy
Queen's University Belfast
Belfast 09/2013 - 06/2017
Skills
- Regulatory Compliance & Governance: Regulatory inspections, quality assurance, pharmaceutical legislation, regulatory standards, pharmacovigilance, risk assessment, and audit management
- Clinical Pharmacy Practice: Clinical decision-making, patient assessment, medicines optimisation, pharmacology expertise, medication safety, and therapeutic monitoring
- Medicines Management: Electronic prescribing, prescription processing and dispensing, medication management systems, and pharmaceutical care
- Leadership & Communication: Stakeholder engagement, team leadership, mentoring, training delivery, presentation skills, and multidisciplinary collaboration
- Analytical & Research Skills: Clinical research, data analysis, problem-solving, investigation, report writing, and evidence-based decision-making
- Organisation & Service Delivery: Project management, workload prioritisation, time management, organisational skills, and continuous quality improvement
Certification
- MPharm
- Registered as Pharmacist Independent Prescriber
- Registered with Pharmaceutical Society Northern Ireland (PSNI)
Key Achievements & Quality Improvement Projects
Sustainable Prescribing Initiative
- Led a quality improvement project examining metered dose inhaler prescribing and utilisation.
- Used prescribing data analysis to identify opportunities for reducing medicines waste and environmental impact.
- Presented recommendations to stakeholders to support sustainable prescribing practices and efficient use of healthcare resources.
- Implemented recommendations that resulted in 33% reduction in waste, over 6 months, while maintaining high standards of patient care.
Medication Safety Improvement
- Developed and implemented a paediatric medication safety card to support safer prescribing and administration of paracetamol.
- Collaborated with multidisciplinary teams to improve prescribing practices and promote medication safety awareness.
- Supported initiatives aimed at reducing prescribing errors and enhancing patient safety.
- Contributed to 26% reduction in prescribing errors, over 6 months.
- Conducted over 200 medication reviews annually for patients with complex needs, identifying opportunities to optimise treatment regimens, reduce polypharmacy, and improve patient outcomes.
- Collaborated with healthcare professionals to implement evidence-based prescribing changes and promote appropriate medicines use.
- Resulted in 70+ prescribing interventions.
Timeline
Pharmaceutical Officer
Northern Ireland Civil Service
2025.12 - Current
Clinical Pharmacist
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
2018.11 - 2025.10
Postgraduate Masters - Advanced Pharmacy Practice with Independent Prescribing
Queen's University Belfast
09/2023 -
Master of Pharmacy - Pharmacy
Queen's University Belfast
09/2013 - 06/2017