Thursday, March 18, 2021

Cancer care pharmacy provides friendly face and robust support through pandemic

Extend Pharmacy members Tina Crosbie, Shannon Gallagher, Meghan Hayes, and Jason Wentzell.

March is Pharmacy Appreciation Month. This month, in our #PAM2021 series, the School of Pharmacy is highlighting the unique ways that the pharmacy community has supported Canadians through the pandemic.

In November 2019, Jason Wentzell, a regional clinical coordinator for Waterloo Pharmacy, opened Extend Pharmacy. This specialty pharmacy is dedicated to serving cancer patients and caregivers. Four months later, COVID-19 hit Canada.

“It was a tough decision to leave the Ottawa Hospital after 10 years as an oncology pharmacist there,” Jason says. “And at that point, we didn’t even know we’d be dealing with a global pandemic. We knew we had to persevere through COVID – we had a passionate and very qualified team and were well positioned to address a gap in care that only grew with the pandemic.”

Working with cancer patients at the Ottawa Hospital, Jason saw first-hand how they often needed support managing their medications. Cancer treatments have been shifting from infusions administered in hospitals to patient-administered medications at home and, as a result, patients saw their physicians and nurses less often.  Extend Pharmacy was designed to fill in this gap, providing medication education, dispensing and one-on-one appointments with patients on a regular basis.

“I developed the business model as part of completing a Masters of Health Management. Very quickly, it became evident that this was a viable business model that would address a real-world need,” Jason says. “Supported by an incredible team, we decided to take the plunge in 2019 and open Extend.”

Extend’s team is entirely made up of pharmacists. The small group has a collective forty-plus years of experience in cancer care, with specific expertise in oncology, hematology, transplant medications and more.

Read the full story on the School of Pharmacy’s site.

Registration opens for Careers in Science Communication panel

A message from the Centre for Career Action.

On behalf of the Royal Canadian Institute for Science (RCIScience), the Centre for Career Action is hosting a career-focused conversation with five science communicators. Join us online on Wednesday, March 24, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. to hear from industry professionals in the field of science communication. Featuring individuals with diverse careers - ranging from Medical Animator to Museum Family Experience Coordinator – attendees can expect to come away from the event with a new appreciation of what you can do with your science degree(s) and a better sense of career possibilities in science communication. The panel is moderated by the Centre for Career Action’s own Calvin Chan, a career advisor by day and science communicator by night, who will invite attendees to ask their own questions of the panelists during the open Q&A portion.

We invite you to learn more about the panelists and register for the event.

This event is part of a larger project that aims to expand RCIScience’s Science Communication Certificate program that was piloted at the University of Waterloo, into a national program offered at universities across Canada. This project is supported by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Science Communication Skills Grant (pilot) spearheaded by Dr. Ashley Rose Mehlenbacher in the Department of English Language & Literature. If you have questions about this program, please feel welcome to contact Dr. Mehlenbacher at ashley.mehlenbacher@uwaterloo.ca.

2020 Co-op Student of the Year awards set for March 23

From helping to coordinate COVID-19 trials to developing apps, the University of Waterloo’s Co-operative Education Students of the Year winners made a significant impact during a challenging 2020. 

Every year, as part of Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) and Co-op Month, one student from each faculty is presented with a Co-op Student of the Year Award for exceptional contributions to one or more of their work term employers. These awards take place towards the end of the winter term and celebrate student achievements from the winter, spring and fall terms of the previous calendar year.

“It’s been a uniquely challenging year for many of our students, and it’s exciting to have the opportunity to recognize our Co-op Student of the Year winners,” says Norah McRae, associate provost of Co-operative and Experience Education. “This group of remarkable winners exemplify how quality work-integrated learning experiences can help students develop the skills they need to be adaptable, resilient, and ready for their future careers.” 

Award recipients will be honoured at CEE’s first-ever virtual Co-op Student of the Year Awards and Problem Lab ceremony on March 23 at 11:00 a.m. 

Please register to attend the virtual Co-op Student of the Year and Problem Lab Award ceremony.

St. Jerome's prepares for a virtual Relay for Life and invites you to join in online

This story was originally published on the St. Jerome's University website.

For the past 15 years, St. Jerome’s University (SJU) has hosted the annual Canadian Cancer Society’s Relay for Life event with a 12 hour fundraiser filled with commemorative, fun activities, and entertainment on campus. In 2020, the event was cancelled due to the pandemic, but on Friday, March 19 at 7:00 p.m. it returns in a new online format. The organizers are encouraging SJU community members, alumni, and current students to continue the Relay tradition, and have extended an invitation to the University of Waterloo community to join them also.

“Typically we can get more than enough participants solely through SJU,” says student Kaitlyn Bergsma, who was an event team captain for three years, prior to becoming a co-chair in 2020, and co-chair this year with fellow student Luke Zettel. “We extended our search for participants to the entire University of Waterloo community. We would also love for any SJU alumni to join us from wherever they are currently situated.”

With nearly one in two Canadians expected to be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, most people know someone whose life has been changed by this disease. The Relay for Life fundraiser, which started in the United States in 1985, gives participants the opportunity to show their support for the survivors in our communities, remember those that have been lost, and prove that together, we are bigger than cancer. The event provides hope to all Canadians through their cancer journey.

SJU’s Relay for Life is hosting a schedule of events on March 19^th that includes Opening Ceremonies at 7:00 p.m.; a Survivor Ceremony at 7:15 p.m.; entertainment and activities from 7:45 p.m.-8:30 p.m.; followed by a Luminary Ceremony and more entertainment and activities before the closing ceremonies at 9:30 p.m.

Interested participants are asked to register online and join a team, set up around movie themes to add to the fun of the event. Teams and donations are being accepted and tracked on a leader board online. Draws will be held for all participants at the event, with additional draws for those who raise $50 or more; and those who have raised $100 or more.

“Our goal is to raise $35,000, however we understand that may be ambitious this year,” added Bergsma. “Because we are offering this unique opportunity to participate online, we hope that it will encourage people to sign up, or at least donate to this important cause.”

Thursday's notes

The Secretariat has issued a call for nominations for a staff representative on the University's board of governors. "Jeremy Steffler's second consecutive term as a staff representative on the Board of Governors will end on 30 April 2021," says the note from the Secretariat. "As such, a call for nominations is now open for one member of the regular full-time staff members of the University to serve as a staff representative on the Board of Governors, term 1 May 2021 to 30 April 2024."

The nomination form is available online, or contact Emily Schroeder directly. See Board of Governors - Staff Election Guidelines for information on nomination, campaigning, and voting, or contact Emily Schroeder.

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

Myth:  Getting your teenagers(s) to help with meals is too hard (or borders on impossible!)

Fact:  Both pre-teens and teens are fully capable of learning to prepare easy meals and, with the right encouragement, are usually on board.

Ok, I admit this is a recycled column from last year. But I think it’s such an important issue that it’s worth running it again. There has been a renewed interest in home cooking over the past year, mainly out of necessity because of restaurant closures but also because people have discovered preparing food is actually an enjoyable thing to do. In fact, cooking is the top non-screen activity of adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. At least for the foreseeable near future, pre-teens and teens are likely to have more time at home while school sports, part time jobs and other extracurricular activities are still limited. What better time is there to get your kids cooking?

If your teen’s comfort level in the kitchen is limited to microwaving leftover pizza or throwing some frozen fries in the oven, it’s never too late to help them learn some new and practical skills. Cooking teaches teens about healthy eating and how to save money on food. Being able to plan, shop for and prepare meals independently is an essential life skill that boosts self-sufficiency and self-confidence.

The other benefit is that someday, when your teen eventually lives on their own, you will have the reassurance that they won’t starve or need to rely on cheap fast food every day. In my role counselling university students, a surprising number of the several hundred I meet with each year have little or no experience in the kitchen. As a result, they may end up relying on ultra-processed items like instant noodles and boxed mac and cheese or turn to takeout meals and delivery pizza. Having some basic kitchen skills can help young adults transition to independent living more easily and healthfully.

Here are some tips for getting your teenager involved in cooking:

• Put them in charge. Teens are much more likely to be interested in cooking if they can choose and prepare food they really like.
• Get them to start out simple. Attempting a recipe that is too complex can be overwhelming and can discourage future meal-making attempts.
• Establish a regular schedule. Helping with an occasional meal isn’t nearly the same as taking responsibility for a weekly dinner or Sunday brunch.
• Encourage them to look for appealing recipes in cookbooks or to search for easy meal ideas or cooking videos online. Nearly every student I have spoken with recently has tried and loved the easy Tik-Tok baked feta and roasted tomato pasta recipe that has amassed close to 100 millions views (#bakedfetapasta).
• Make sure your novice chef is familiar with the basics of food safety and how to safely use kitchen equipment, from knives to stoves to blenders. Also teach them to clean up as they go.
• Sit down for dinner together, even if “family togetherness” is wearing thin at the end of this challenging year. Family meals are an opportunity for your teen chef to get some feedback on how much you appreciate their contribution (and how delicious it tastes!)

Some simple foods teens typically enjoy making are homemade pizza, tacos, quesadillas, pasta dishes, omelets, chili, stir fries, French toast or other breakfast items. If they are more adventurous, encourage them to try recipes from different cultures or with new ingredients. Read more about Top Ten Easy Ways to Get Teens Cooking at UnlockFood.ca.