What Mariam Elsoukkary learned about flexibility, cultural sensitivity and resilience as a pharmacy student in Nunavut
Mariam Elsoukkary (Rx2026), a third-year Pharmacy student, shares her experience working in a pharmacy in Iqaluit, Nunavut. She discusses adapting to a slower pace, living with limited resources and learning to be more culturally sensitive and flexible in her approach to patient care. Despite these challenges, Mariam found the experience rewarding and encourages other students to consider working in northern communities.
“One of the things I noticed up here, for example, is we have a very structured way of counseling in school. I usually follow certain questions that I always ask patients. But because here there's a history of, unfortunately, abuse towards Indigenous communities, not everyone here feels comfortable with that type of questioning. I've learned to try to condense the way that I ask questions and explain more why I'm doing it. I've become a lot more culturally sensitive to how we approach health care. But at the same time, I try to make sure that I'm still asking the most important questions that I need to know to help the patients,” Elsoukkary says.