Senior pharmacy students are supporting Ontario’s health-care system in the fight against COVID-19. These students are completing their rotations, a requirement for senior pharmacy students where they are placed in health-care sites across the province for six months.

Here are some of their stories:

Lauren Tailor in Hamilton Region

“I completed block three at McMaster Children's Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario in the General Pediatric ward under the preceptorship of Nicole Clarke and Sara Yousaf.

Due to the pandemic, one of my hospital rotations was cancelled and my MacPeds block was only six weeks. At the hospital, visitors were limited, which was hard for patients and families. In terms of my own practice, I had to self-screen for COVID daily, maintain masking and social distancing rules, and wear personal protective equipment more than I would have otherwise.

Despite the challenges, I was lucky enough to shadow several pharmacists (including several Waterloo Pharmacy alumni) with specialties such as neonatal care, pediatric intensive care, general medicine, adolescent medicine/eating disorders, mental health, and more. To see such a wide variety of clinical practice was incredibly valuable. It's exciting to see how many different ways pharmacists can impact patient care. Throughout my 6 weeks, I helped manage unique pediatric conditions, created presentations, and contributed daily on medical rounds with an amazing interprofessional team.”

Lauren and coworkers at the hospital

Lauren (middle) with coworkers at the hospital.

Lana Du in the Greater Toronto Area region

“For my block three rotation, I worked at Shoppers Drug Mart in the Yonge-Sheppard Center of Toronto, under the leadership of Kaitai Ye and Beth Li. Our team at SDM is passionate about practicing to our full scope and providing patients with a range of professional services such as medication reviews, vaccinations, and methadone dispensing.

Many of our elderly patients have been unable to visit their physicians for some time. In the interim, they've encountered medication-related issues which have brought added stress to the existing anxiety surrounding the pandemic. With this mind, I've aimed to provide comprehensive medications reviews for as many patients as possible. The response was fantastic.  Patients were delighted to learn that their pharmacists could provide such a helpful service during these difficult times, in such an accessible manner as well. It's true that every cloud has a silver lining. While COVID-19 has challenged our workload and mental health like never before, our response provided an opportunity for pharmacist to demonstrate our value and commitment to our communities.”

Lana with coworkers at the pharmacy

Lana (middle) with coworkers at the Shoppers Drug Mart.