Chucked a sickie, got a gut-ache, bitten by mozzies, feeling under the weather and stung by a bluey.

These Aussie colloquialisms are now being deciphered in an innovative university course for pharmacy students with international backgrounds.

The University of Queensland’s School of Pharmacy launched the unique language program for first year pharmacy students in 2008 in a bid to help pharmacists better communicate with their patients.

School of Pharmacy project team leader Jacqueline Bond said in a serious situation someone might seek advice from a pharmacist saying “he's cactus, he's carked it, call the ambo”.

“They might hear that someone has been out raging all night, got rotten, been on the plonk, on the turps or on the grog, had a liquid lunch, and now feels rooted or stuffed. They might complain about not being able to ‘eat’ tea,” she said.

“A patient might ask a pharmacist if something is ridgy-didge or fair dinkum, or say - are you having a lend?

“They might offer to give something a burl, say a child has been screaming like a stuck pig, or that someone has gone troppo.

“Pharmacists deal with all sorts of questions…these sayings can completely bamboozle pharmacists from non-Australian backgrounds.”

Ms Bond said understanding Australian slang could be a matter of life and death.

“It's vital that pharmacists have excellent communication skills when they enter the profession, to ensure that medicines are used safely and effectively,” she said.

The course has been designed especially for pharmacists, discussing ways patients may communicate their symptoms, such as feeling “under the weather” or “crook”.

Since the course was introduced, students have shown an improved performance in their oral and written exams and an increased confidence when going into their pharmacy placement.