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:
Rifah Quadiri in the Thunder Bay Region
"Working at the Thunder Bay Regional Hospital during the pandemic has taught me that life can certainly be uncertain. As a pharmacy student, you make the best of what life gives you by seeking out opportunities to learn and grow, and I’ve been able to do that at the hospital's Cancer Centre by consistently approaching the pharmacy and nursing staff to identify ways I can help out. Some of the tasks I supported were providing some chemotherapy education, anti-nausea medication counselling for patients, and chemotherapy-induced toxicity management.
I’ve also come to appreciate the incredible value of having a good support system at home and at your workplace. If it wasn't for my preceptor Adrianne Shippam and my Regional Clinical Coordinator Angela Heintzman, I do not think my rotations would have felt so rewarding. As someone who is very close to family, not being able to visit home my home in Ottawa as often as I would have liked has definitely been a challenge. Thunder Bay Regional Hospital and its staff have provided a warm, nurturing environment as well as a great foundation for building clinical and professional skills.”
Rifah and her preceptor Adrianne Shippam
Sean Chih in the Oshawa/Peterborough Region
"Seeing the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) take initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic (Operation LASER) makes me proud and eager to start my career as a pharmacy officer. Although I am unable to directly help the CAF on their current operation, being a part of Seamless Care Pharmacy in Scarborough allows me to provide medications to patients who are part of vulnerable population groups in the Oshawa/Peterborough Region. Some of the patient populations we support include people with mental health disorders, seizure disorders and many other neurological disorders.
The biggest challenge is not being able to physically see my patients and their caregivers due to the pandemic. Despite these barriers, we are still able to deliver all their medications and provide the necessary services to ensure patients' health and safety. Working in pharmacies during these trying times requires all of us to be resilient and I am proud to be able to be part of this profession."
Note: Sean Chih is a pharmacy student who is also completing training to become a Pharmacy Officer in the CAF. Read more about Sean’s experiences completing officer training on co-op.
Sean Chih stands with his preceptor Jessica Kozlowski at a medication packaging machine, SynMED, in the Seamless Care Pharmacy
Kelsey-Ann Prior in the Sarnia Region
"Despite the pandemic and changing environment, I was fortunate enough to practice at Northgate Pharmacy, a busy community pharmacy in Sarnia where I worked to my full scope and collaborated with my preceptor, Richard Kelch. I checked prescriptions and counselled patients both in person, being sure to maintain safe distance, and over the phone.
I also provided support by making recommendations to prescribers and assisting patients with minor ailments inquiries and therapy recommendations. There were a few instances where I was able to support patients who were discharged from hospital into the community after recovering from COVID-19."
Kelsey with colleagues at the Northgate Pharmacy in Sarnia