With more than 1.9 million Canadians living in rural, remote and northern areas in Ontario with limited access to healthcare services, imbedding pharmacists in these areas is key to building a stronger healthcare system. The University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy is leading an initiative to enhance access to health care in northern and rural communities.
Supported by a $530,000 US grant from the McKesson Foundation, the School is building on their existing work to create more co-op and clinical placement opportunities and support in northern and rural communities for our pharmacy students.
The School continues to be committed to improving healthcare across Ontario by training pharmacists in underserved areas, particularly in Northern and rural communities. Recognizing the critical need for primary care, we focus on educating pharmacists from these areas to help strengthen the local healthcare workforce.
The School has hired an experiential coordinator to provide tailored service to increase student experiences and support indigenous, northern, rural and remote (INRR) practice sites. Currently, the role is filled by Rida Bukhari (PharmD'18) who is a practicing pharmacist and founder of a rural pharmacy in Marathon, Ontario. She provides educational support to enable pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to practice to their full scope and ensures strong preceptor and student pairing is in place.
“Those in the North understand what it entails to live and work in the North,” says Bukhari. “Putting efforts and initiatives to ensure our students are trained to go into these communities is key.”
Since 2010, the School has established working partnerships with groups such as the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and Gateway Rural Health who also focus on providing healthcare in northern and rural regions of Ontario. Additional partnerships with community pharmacies, pharmacists, hospitals and other healthcare practitioners in these areas allows us to place student learners and support for health delivery in the communities. The McKesson Foundation grant allows the School to take this work to the next level.
This is the first step in a broader initiative that will fuel a diverse pipeline of future pharmacists to provide enhanced access to healthcare and better patient outcomes in northern and rural communities.
The School is collaborating with government, academic partners and other stakeholders to grow and diversify the pharmacy profession in northern and rural areas and to ensure Waterloo Pharmacy students develop the cultural competency skills needed to provide safe, inclusive care for their patients.