The School of Pharmacy is pleased to announce Jeff Wong as the first recipient of the Pharmacy Alumni Achievement Award. Jeff graduated in 2011 from the School of Pharmacy as part of the vanguard class. After graduation, he undertook a primary care residency at the University Health Network in Toronto. He also earned his PharmD through the School’s bridging program in 2016.
Jeff’s experiences during co-op and residency helped him develop a passion for frontline patient care. He has been working as a primary care pharmacist with the Hamilton Family Health Team for the last five years, focusing on chronic disease management, travel medicine, and deprescribing. In addition to working with patients he also mentors residents, aids in quality improvement initiatives, and conducts practice-based research. His published research includes studying inappropriate medication use in elderly patients.
Working with a variety of patients from diverse backgrounds, Jeff began to understand how a person’s different identities hugely impact how they approach health care. He recognized the need to introduce diversity training to the pharmacy curriculum and has made an important contribution to the education of future generations of pharmacists by developing an elective course aimed at building empathy and appreciation for specific and diverse patient populations. Jeff strongly believes that exposure to narratives, both the personal narratives of individual patients and the historical narratives of unique patient groups, can help train one's “empathy muscle.” With this in mind, he uses Narrative Medicine to frame both his teaching style and clinical practice.
Jeff’s passion for inclusive care and mentorship of the next generation of pharmacy students is inspiring. As an educator at the School of Pharmacy, Jeff has helped ensure that our students practice with empathy. As a pharmacist, his achievements at the Hamilton Family Health team demonstrate both his acumen in a wide variety of clinical areas and his dedication to his patients.
Jeff continues to stay involved with the School as a frequent guest lecturer, course coordinator, and member of the Alumni Advisory Group.