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Pauline Bal (Rx2019) didn’t plan to start her new job at Credit Valley Hospital in the middle of COVID-19. But when she showed up for her first day at the hospital, one of the three main Trillium Health Partners sites in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), it was mid-April and COVID-19 was in full swing.

Pauline was assigned to the COVID-designated medicine and surgical floor, an area created in the hospital specifically for COVID-positive patients so that they wouldn’t come into contact with others in the hospital.

Six professors at the School of Pharmacy recently received funding through the Dean’s Undergraduate Teaching Initiative (DUTI) to introduce educational innovations in their courses. Though the transition to online learning necessitated by COVID-19 disrupted some of these plans, instructors at the School have quickly adapted their activities to an online environment.

Fatimah Jaffer (Rx2015) vividly remembers a conversation with coworkers back in February. They were discussing one of the first COVID-19 patients admitted to the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, North London, England.

Since 2013, Waterloo Pharmacy has recognized the excellence of our Master’s and Doctoral students at our annual Graduate Awards ceremony. Due to COVID-19, these celebrations took place online for the first time.

“The accomplishments of our graduate students are many and varied, and we were excited and proud to gather digitally to extend our congratulations to our award winners, grant recipients and recent graduates,” says David Edwards, Hallman Director.

Here are 2020’s Graduate Award recipients:

Carloyn Lawrence, Rx2020, standing with Steve Bond, preceptor, in a pharmacy

Abhay Patel’s road to community pharmacy practice was decidedly unconventional.

Students working at Grand River Hospital. Left to right: Lauren Thompson (Oncology), Melissa Garellek (Emergency Department), and Maria Anton (In-Patient Psychiatry) and Olivia McPherson (Intensive Care Unit)

Danielle Paes (left) and Carly Diamond (right) are pharmacists at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto

There are a number of Roulston’s Pharmacy locations under the I.D.A. banner throughout southwestern Ontario. Each provides different services and caters to unique patient populations. Alumni at these locations share some reflections on serving their communities during COVID:

Alumni Paul Stefan (left) and Peter Rempel (right) share experiences responding to COVID-19 in their Simcoe pharmacy