Cate Whalan

In her early career, Cate graduated with a Bachelor of Pharmacy from the University of Queensland, interned at Mater Hospital Pharmacies in Brisbane, and registered in 1995 to be appointed as a pharmacist in the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps. She had postings in charge of barracks Medical Centre dispensaries, medication supply warehouses, and saw operational service with the Combined Health Element of the Peace Monitoring Group in Bougainville in 1998.

Cate retired from the army to locum and part-time pharmacist in charge positions. In 2006 she purchased her first pharmacy in Townsville, and rebranded it ‘Cate’s Chemist’ with a shopping centre development in 2007. In 2017, Cate purchased another pharmacy in a Townsville GP Superclinic, and rebranded it to Cate’s Chemist Hyde Park with a junior partner. In 2018, Cate opened her third pharmacy at the Townsville Aboriginal & Islander Health Service.

Cate maintains a clinical interest in chronic disease management for the elderly, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In practise, she emphasises continuity of care, building health care teams across acute, primary, and specialist care, and between community and hospital pharmacy. Cate is a director of the Tropical Australian Academic Health Centre, a member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, Townsville Chamber of Commerce, Townsville Enterprise, Committee Member for the Pharmacy Guild of Australia (Queensland Branch), a member of the JCU Pharmacy Advisory Committee and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.