Kris Mendoza, Rx2019 - Ingersoll and Woodstock
Navigating
the
region
![Kris in the park](/pharmacy/sites/default/files/uploads/images/kris_in_park.jpg)
One of the best parts about the Woodstock region was that I was surrounded by UW pharmacy alumni – they’re either your preceptor or pharmacists that you work with. So either way, they make sure you have the best experience possible!
Woodstock and Ingersoll are both small cities so it was a great experience to be immersed in that environment, especially when you come from a bigger city. There’s much less traffic, relatively easier to get to places and you get to know everyone.
There were lots of networking and educational opportunities that were available within the area – PiLLS conference in London, CEs presented by physicians in the area. If you like fine dining, like I do, I also highly recommend visiting 639 restaurant in Woodstock and Elmhurst restaurant in Ingersoll! I was fortunate to visit them during CEs so I got to experience fine dining for free!
Knowing someone in the area to live with and having a car would come in handy. Ingersoll is about 15 minute drive from Woodstock.
As students in the region, we met up once a month to share our experiences and educate each other. There was also an inter-professional meeting with dietician students at the end. The RCC (Nicole) was also very approachable and opened to suggestions to further improve our experience/meetings.
Practice site descriptions
![Kris at Woodstock Hospital](/pharmacy/sites/default/files/uploads/images/kris_at_woodstock.jpg)
Ingersoll Pharmasave - I had a pleasure of working at the biggest Pharmasave in the area that had a Nurse Practitioner-led-clinic in the same building. In addition to checking prescriptions independently, I had the opportunity to participate in various pharmacist-led services including: Travel Health Consultation, Smoking Cessation, MedsChecks, Injections and Cannabis Education. Ingersoll Pharmasave utilizes an appointment-based model (ABM) so I was able to take my time to thoroughly assess patients’ medications and at the same time provide exceptional patient care.
Shoppers Drug Mart - My experience at SDM was mainly clinical (MedsChecks, Smoking Cessation, POPs, immunizations, Rx/OTC counselling) vs. drug dispensing so I had the luxury of having an office to do all of my professional services. Because SDM is a high volume pharmacy, I was able to initiate smoking cessation and follow-up with more patients. Finally, I had the opportunity to perform Home MedsChecks alongside my preceptor, which I thought was a valuable and fulfilling experience.
Advice for future students
Ask for any pre-readings from your preceptor so you have an idea of what to expect during your rotations. Start thinking that you’re a practicing pharmacist and you will start working like one.