Tuesday, March 19, 2019

#RethinkPharmacists: Providing personalized medication assessments

The #RethinkPharmacists series is presented by the Waterloo School of Pharmacy for Pharmacists Awareness Month in March. The series highlights services pharmacists provide in addition to standard prescription filling and counselling.

Do you take three or more medications regularly? Do you feel like your medications aren’t working or that you may be experiencing side effects? Do you have diabetes? A MedsCheck with your pharmacist may be for you.

MedsChecks are services available to any Ontarian taking three or more medications for chronic conditions or to any Ontarian with diabetes. A MedsCheck is a free 20-30 minute private consultation with your pharmacist. You’ll review all of the medications you take, including over-the-counter medications and natural health products.

The pharmacist will assess the appropriateness of each medication, answer any questions for you, and help resolve issues like side effects or a lack of perceived effect of your medications. For older adults, MedsChecks can also help identify if you or someone you care for is on any unnecessary medications. While pharmacists assess these things every day, sitting down with them for a one-on-one appointment can help ensure you are getting the most out of your medications.

In this video, students from the University of Waterloo and University of Toronto pharmacy students explain why you might consider a MedsCheck today.

St. Jerome's honours Sister Helen Prejean

A message from St. Jerome's University.

At a ceremony on March 1, St. Jerome's University conferred an honorary doctorate of theology degree upon Sister Helen Prejean in recognition of her tireless work as an advocate for the dignity of those on death row and the abolishment of the death penalty.

The degree, used to recognize individuals who have distinguished records of achievement in the academy, in society, or both, honoured Sister Prejean’s role as a driving force in in transforming thinking and practices regarding capital punishment.

Sister Helen’s story begins in 1982 when she moved into the St. Thomas Housing Project in New Orleans and began working at Hope House, a non-profit organization dedicated to serving those living in poverty, the  under-educated, and individuals experiencing homelessness. She was asked to become a pen pal to Elmo Patrick Sonnier, a death-row inmate at Angola Prison. She agreed and became his spiritual advisor, meaning that she accompanied him to his execution. Since then, she has accompanied five more men. Sister Helen also founded ‘Survive,’ an advocacy group that provides counselling and support for grieving families.  

Dead Man Walking spent 31 weeks on The New York Times best-seller list and was translated into ten languages. That book became the basis for a feature film starring Susan Sarandon as Sister Helen (a role for which Sarandon won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1995) and Sean Penn. The film ignited a national debate about capital punishment. Sister Helen was in Waterloo to speak to a large audience as part of St. Jerome’s University’s annual Lectures in Catholic Experience series.

“Sister Helen’s unique ability as a story teller has motivated large groups to mobilize for a culture of life, and her courage to speak truth to power has meant she has had the opportunity to influence policy makers and popes,” said St. Jerome's Vice President Academic and Dean Scott Kline. “In 1991, just before Dead Man Walking was published, 76 percent of Americans supported the death penalty. By 2017, support had decreased to 55 percent. And just this past summer, Pope Francis announced that the Catholic teaching on the death penalty had been revised: it is now considered ‘inadmissible’ and ‘an attack on the dignity of the human person’. Without exaggeration, we can say that Sister Helen’s work played a significant role in these changes.” 

At St. Jerome’s University, individuals receiving honorary degrees serve as examples to students and are reflective of the university’s 'commitment to learning and academic excellence; the gospel values of love, truth, and justice; and the formation of leaders for the service of the community and the Church.’ St. Jerome’s University acknowledged Sister Helen’s commitment to those principles by awarding her the University’s highest academic honour.

Student-athlete, coach win top U Sports women's volleyball awards

This is an excerpt of an article originally published on the Athletics website.

After a dominating rookie season as a member of the Waterloo Warriors, Sarah Glynn has been named the 2018-19 U SPORTS Rookie of the Year as well as an All-Rookie.

A native of Fredericton, N.B., the 6-foot-2 left side finished the regular season with 3.34 kills per set, the seventh most in the OUA and tops among rookies. Glynn put down 234 kills in 70 sets of action for a hitting percentage of .230. She also added 26 service aces, 23 blocks and 152 digs for a remarkable rookie campaign.

Glynn was instrumental in Waterloo's 17-2 regular season record, their best finish in program history. Glynn also put together three outstanding playoff performances, finishing with 29 kills and six service aces as her Warriors went on to claim OUA bronze, defeating Western in a 5-set thriller.

Glynn came into Waterloo as a highly sought-after athlete and a perennial all-star and member of New Brunswick's provincial team from 2015-18. In 2016, Glynn was named to the Team Canada Youth National program, as one of the nation's top 40 volleyball players in her age group.

"Sarah is a smart player that sees the game exceptionally well," said Eddy. "She has great vision of the court and can pick apart a defence with a variety of powerful and crafty attacks. Her attack percentage of .230 was in the top 3 for left-sides in the OUA, which is an incredible achievement for a first-year player

"Sarah is a worthy recipient of this award, amongst an excellent crop of U SPORTS rookies. Our team is very proud of her accomplishment, and this is an incredible start to what will no doubt be a decorated U SPORTS career."

Leading the Waterloo Warriors to their most successful season in program history, Richard Eddy has been named the U SPORTS Coach of the Year, taking home the Marilyn Pomfret Award. Eddy is the first coach in program history to win the award.

Eddy led the Warriors to an incredible 17-2 regular season record while his squad reached as high as No. 3 in the U SPORTS Top 10. His Warriors then went on to finish 2-1 in the post-season, defeating Western in a thrilling come from behind 5-set victory, to claim OUA bronze.

Eddy guided Waterloo to one of their best statistical seasons in sometime with the Warriors being among the elite in many OUA categories including, 2nd in service aces pet set (2.37), 3rd in hitting percentage (.219), 4^th in kills per set (11.79), and 4^thin assists per set (11.01.)

Read the rest of the article on the Athletics website.

Tuesday's notes

TEDxUW 2018, which took place back in October, was a successful showcase of insightful and creative individuals from the Waterloo community. Videos from the event are now available online to share.

Here's the latest Nutrition Month "myth vs. fact" supplied by Health Services Dietitian Sandra Ace:

Claim: Butter is better for you than margarine.

Evidence: So here’s the butter to go with yesterday’s column on choosing bread. The question of butter vs. margarine has been an ongoing debate for years and remains a widespread matter of confusion. The most important difference between these two spreads is that butter contains mainly saturated fats while margarine contains mainly unsaturated fats derived from plant oils. Choosing foods that contain unsaturated fats instead of foods that contain saturated fats can help to lower your risk of heart disease, the leading cause of death in Canada. That is because saturated fats raise artery-clogging LDL (or “bad”) cholesterol.

Some older margarines may have been more “unhealthy” than butter because they were made using industrially produced trans fats, which not only raise LDL cholesterol but also lower “good” HDL cholesterol. This is no longer an issue; artificial trans fats were officially banned from Canada's food supply in September 2018.

The type of fat you eat over time is more important for health than the total amount of fat you eat. Canada’s Food Guide recommends choosing foods that contain healthy fats. Use liquid plant oils, such as canola, olive, sunflower or soybean oils, whenever possible. Soft margarine is a good choice when you need a spreadable fat. Because of its saturated fat content, limit butter. If you like to use butter on some foods such as on your toast, in your favourite cookie recipe or on a sweet and crispy ear of Ontario corn, continue to enjoy it. If you haven’t tried it, consider dipping your bread or a crusty roll in a flavorful olive oil rather than spreading it with butter.