Joanna Leake, Areen Duqoum, Milena Ljumovic and Lauren Tailor next to the can syringe pharmacy students built from their food bank donation
March is a busy month for pharmacy students. In addition to final assignments and classes, the Waterloo Pharmacy Canadian Pharmacy Students and Interns (UW CAPSI) organized pharmacy awareness activities throughout the month.
Spreading knowledge about pharmacy to the local community is an important aspect of Pharmacist Awareness Month (PAM). To that end, our students appeared on the Rogers Daytime Talk television program.
“We focused on the expanded scope of practice, highlighting the many services pharmacists provide,” explains PAM chair and third year student Joanna Leake. “The public isn’t always aware of services like vaccinations or medschecks, so we wanted to spread information as broadly as possible.”
They also presented pharmacy-related talks in elementary schools throughout Kitchener and Waterloo and shared knowledge with shoppers at the Conestoga Mall Health Fair (below). Students answer questions from the public at these events, and teach young children about topics like the importance of proper handwashing and medication safety.
Beyond educating the public, PAM activities also brought many seasoned healthcare providers into our building to share their experiences with our students. Students participated in meet and greets with local pharmacists, including many Waterloo Pharmacy alumni, and also tackled some ongoing and challenging issues in Canadian healthcare, such as medical assistance in dying.
UW CAPSI also organized an event that brought a variety of healthcare practitioners together. The interprofessional case study saw more than 70 attendees learning about schizophrenia patient management from panel of a pharmacist, researcher and social worker.
Finally, students also used the opportunity to support a local foodbank, collecting more than 200 cans to support the hungry and homeless in Waterloo Region.