Beyond the counter: Shoppers Drug Mart powers innovation with students
By: Micaela Kelly (she/her)
The team at two Shoppers Drug Mart locations in Whitehorse (Shoppers) delivers more than just prescriptions. With the support of co-op students, stores 298 and 299 are driving innovation in community-focused care.
With the chance to lead and learn, co-op students are making a difference. Edmund Tan (he/him), pharmacist and owner of two Shoppers Drug Mart locations in Whitehorse, is leading a unique approach to enhance pharmacy education and improve access to care. Tan’s team proves that innovation happens when learning meets local needs.
This commitment to experiential learning and innovation earned Shoppers the 2025 Employer Impact Award for Impact in Innovation, presented by Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE) at the University of Waterloo.
Innovation means empowering students to solve real problems, not just shadowing pharmacists. We give them ownership over projects that matter.
Edmund Tan, pharmacist and owner of two Shoppers Drug Mart locations, Whitehorse
Hiring snapshot
Industry: Pharmacy and health care
Location: Whitehorse, Yukon
Years of operation: 10+ nationwide
Years as a co-op employer: 2
Total Waterloo co-op work terms: 2 in Whitehorse, 50+ nationwide
Key roles filled: Program manager
The approach
Shoppers, with the help of Waterloo co-op students, takes on real-world healthcare challenges unique to rural and northern communities.
Philip Chung and Darian Rahimpour, both third-year Waterloo pharmacy students, came to Shoppers and saw challenges they believed they had the skill and commitment to help solve. Tan gave them the freedom and guidance to help solve those challenges.
Members of the Shoppers Drug Mart team in Whitehorse
“They solved problems and in doing so, uncovered even more. That’s the beauty of innovation: it keeps evolving,” Tan says.
Chung and Rahimpour’s work exposed new gaps in care and demonstrated that innovation can thrive far from urban centers.
“We were told: here’s the problem, now solve it. That level of trust pushed us to think creatively and act boldly,” says Rahimpour.
The impact of co-op students
“Ownership was everything,” Chung says. “Edmund gave us the space to think creatively and the support to make it happen. That autonomy helped me see community pharmacy in a whole new light.”
Thanks to Tan’s autonomy and trust, Chung and Rahimpour enacted significant change. During their co-op work term at Shoppers Drug Mart Yukon, they:
- Built and optimized chronic disease management programs that allowed pharmacists to track patient progress more easily.
- Helped establish a minor ailment referral pathway. By redirecting care away from emergency rooms to the pharmacy, the pathway eases pressure off the healthcare system.
- Advocated for rural prescribing clinics to the Council of Yukon First Nations, that could help increase care where access is scarce.
Philip Chung and Darian Rahimpour, third-year Waterloo pharmacy students, out in the field in Whitehorse
“We weren’t just counting pills. We were building systems, presenting to health boards and helping shape care delivery,” Rahimpour says. “It was the kind of experience that changes how you see your role in healthcare.”
“We are appreciative of the Shoppers Drug Mart team for empowering Waterloo students to lead meaningful innovation,” says Melissa Prospero, account manager, CEE. “With their trust, students have helped improve rural healthcare, showcasing what students can achieve when employers believe in their potential.”
The takeaway?
Empower students to innovate by bringing them in at ground level. Tan gave students a challenge and let them run with it. By doing so, they found solutions that drive positive change.