Pharmacists should strive to inform patients' self-care decisions to ensure that therapy is used in an optimal, effective, and safe manner.
The School of Pharmacy is pleased to announce that long-time adjunct clinical assistant professor Nardine Nakhla has been appointed to the role of clinical lecturer. The full-time faculty role will allow Professor Nakhla to expand both her teaching and her pharmacy practice research.
“I am thrilled about this opportunity to continue teaching and growing in the areas that I’m so passionate about: self-care and minor ailments,” says Nakhla. “Pharmacists should strive to inform patients’ self-care decisions to ensure that therapy is used in an optimal, effective, and safe manner.”
As an educator, her mission is to help students and practicing pharmacists achieve this goal in two ways.
“First, I hope to equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills, particularly in the area of common ailments, to offer exemplary care to patients. Second, I will encourage them to be lifelong, reflective learners so that their care consistently reflects the most current evidence-based standards and practices. Good self-care practice greatly impacts a person's physical and mental wellbeing, relieves unnecessary strain on the public healthcare system and empowers pharmacists to excel in their continually expanding roles.”
Over her time at Waterloo Pharmacy, Nakhla has designed and delivered content on assessment of self-treating patients, evidence-based approaches for managing common illnesses, and self-medication using nonprescription therapies. A Canadian expert on self-care, she has spoken at provincial, national, and international meetings on these subjects and has written a chapter for the Canadian Minor Ailments reference, the definitive pharmacist resource on nonprescription medications.
Nakhla also is a columnist for Pharmacy Practice+ where she writes about current issues related to over-the-counter counselling. She is part-owner of an independent pharmacy and regularly practices as a community pharmacist. As an active, licensed pharmacist in the field, she has the ability to link theory to practice and gives life to textbook principles. “She does this by sharing her own experiences, telling stories, and providing real, in-pharmacy examples which help me better relate to and understand the content being presented” says fourth-year pharmacy student Kristi Butt.
“Our students will benefit from Professor Nakhla’s diverse experience and leadership in the field of self-care, over-the-counter medications and common ailment prescribing,” says Waterloo Pharmacy Director David Edwards. “We’re excited that she is increasing her role at Waterloo Pharmacy and look forward to the research and teaching innovations she will develop.”
As a researcher, Nakhla explores her interests in education and pharmacy-practice research. She is currently studying the impact of standardized patient simulation on student learning and counseling confidence, and how education on antimicrobial stewardship impacts student knowledge and behavior in community practice. As a full-time clinical lecturer, she will have more opportunities to pursue independent research, and looks forward to studying topics like the impact of minor ailment prescribing by pharmacists on patient and health system outcomes as well as the factors that influence over-the-counter product selection and patient counselling.
Congratulations, Professor Nakhla!