Prescription for success: Leaving your comfort zone and making the most of your co-op options

Jason Tsang (he/him) is a fourth-year Pharmacy student. He speaks about his experience working in the outpatient oncology department at North York General Hospital and how students must leave their comfort zone to grow.

Jason’s co-op journey:

Work terms one and two: Jason’s first two work terms were at Shoppers Drug Mart as a strategy and stakeholder co-ordinator. During his first term, he worked in the corporate department, networking with external companies and organizing collaborations. He then transitioned to working in the pharmacy full time as a pharmacy assistant.

Work term three: His second work term was at Scarborough Health Network at the Birchmount campus as a pharmacy student. He primarily worked in the emergency department and his role involved collecting best possible medication histories (BPMHs).

Work term four: Next, Jason was at MediResource as a product development analyst. This position involved content creation and he helped to create a health and wellness app for their clients.

Work term five: His last position was at North York General Hospital as an oncology pharmacy student in the oncology outpatient program. He monitored multiple-myeloma patients for adverse effects and counselled new patients on their chemo regimens.

Q&A with Jason:

What made you decide to apply to pharmacy school?

“I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be a pharmacist.”

“Fun story, but I went to my sister's wedding when I was 12 years old. One of her friends that attended was a pharmacist, so I asked him, what is a pharmacist? What do you do and how long does it take to become a pharmacist?”

“He answered those questions for me and ever since I came back from my sister's wedding it has been my goal to be a pharmacist.”

“I also had a high school co-op in a pharmacy setting and it solidified my goal. I ended up loving pharmacy and continued with that trajectory.”

How did you approach applying for co-op positions?

“In pharmacy, we're very lucky that there’s more positions than there are students on WaterlooWorks. So, our recruitment periods are a little bit different because we're only allowed to apply for ten jobs at a time.”

“It's great that the pharmacy program has a very tight-knit connection between classmates, even within the different cohorts. That means you can easily connect with people who have already done the position you are applying for. People are happy to chat about how the position was and whether they would recommend it.”

“I knew that for my past co-op, I wanted to do something more specialized, such as a specific discipline like oncology or cardiology. When I found a role that I was interested in, I reached out to the previous students who did this role. They said that they loved it. It was very clinical, which is kind of rare for us in pharmacy. That's how I came about getting that position.”

You mentioned your past co-op was clinical; was it difficult to adapt to the role’s responsibilities?

“A lot of the medications were ones that we don't see in a traditional setting. The chemo regimens, chemo drugs or oral anti-cancer medications don't typically get dispensed at community pharmacies like Shoppers Drug Mart, Walmart or Costco.”

“Coming into the hospital setting where everyone is getting chemo was an adjustment. We are only taught about adverse effects and side effects management in school, so there was a knowledge gap.”

“I managed it by learning how to apply the small pieces of relevant information at a higher level and cultivating the skill of being a life-long learner. There are always new medications coming out and we must keep up to date and know the relevant information for clinical practice.”

“So, overall, a lot of reading on your off-time.”

Do you have any advice for other pharmacy students or students that are considering pharmacy?

“Of course, it's important to be comfortable with the work that you produce and to make sure that nobody gets hurt, however, if you are given an opportunity and a safe space, don't refuse it.”

What was your day-to-day work like?

“I normally had a list of patients that are part of my monitoring process. I checked in on them during their appointment time and based on that I reviewed their blood work to make sure everything was fine. Sometimes I would go and see the patients to update their medication history and answer any of their questions.”

“I also asked about any adverse reactions that they might have been having to medications. That's typically done every two months.”

“I did project work where I helped to update medication charts for the hospital and sometimes, I was asked drug information questions from the oncologists themselves.”

“Finally, I made sure to follow up with any patients who are on new medication or a new chemo regimen a week after their start date to ensure they were doing well and weren’t having any adverse reactions.”

Did you feel like you will explore any other like areas of pharmacy after you graduate?

“I'm particularly interested in the industry setting of pharmacy, that's working at pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer or AstraZeneca. I plan to at least apply for a pharmaceutical industry residency program.”

“That's where I plan to head for the next bit of my career after I graduate.”

What's next for you?

“I will be applying for the residency program but before that I have to complete my rotations.”

“In fourth-year Pharmacy students get placed in a region in Ontario and we basically work three eight-week blocks. It’s like an unpaid co-op but it’s a steppingstone towards graduation.”

“It's a mandatory part of the pharmacy program, so that's what's next for me at the time being.”