News

Enlisting the help of pharmacists could help in the quest to get people to quit smoking, according a white paper released by the University of Waterloo.

The paper details ways in which an increased role for pharmacists in the public health effort could help curb smoking rates and aim to reduce the estimated 45,000 annual deaths that occur in Canada from tobacco use.

Incorporating pharmacists with an expanded scope into the community or hospital emergency departments (ED) could significantly reduce ED crowdedness, according to a new study.

Haydom Lutheran Hospital is a series of squat brick buildings with metal roofs, nestled in the heart of a rural town called Haydom. It’s in northern Tanzania, a country on the east coast of Africa. The hospital is 300 kilometres from the nearest major city and serves an area that’s home to nearly 1 million people.  It’s also where Jung In Kim, a third year pharmacy student, spent a co-op work term.

Mixing antidepressants with common drugs found in your medicine cabinet could lead to serotonin syndrome, a condition caused by excessive levels of the chemical in the brain.

On March 13, 2016 Melissa Sheldrick woke up to the news that no parent ever wants to face. Her son Andrew, a fun-loving eight-year-old boy, had died overnight. It would take the family four and half months to learn that the cause of death was a medication error.

Rotations are clinical placements in the final year Waterloo Pharmacy program. Students complete three placements in hospitals, community pharmacies, and health centres in one of fourteen regions across Ontario.

This year, long-time supporters of the School Dr. Frank and Julianna Wong created an award to support students on rotation. It was received by three students: Janhavi Malhotra is completing her rotation in the Niagara Region, Rui Su in the Sudbury Region, and Tharsika Sinnathamby in the Ottawa Region.

Each year Waterloo Pharmacy presents an award for Outstanding Preceptor of the Year. The award recognizes a preceptor who has shown exceptional dedication in their mentorship of Waterloo Pharmacy students on their fourth year clinical rotations work terms.

This fall, the School of Pharmacy was back on the road making trips to Sudbury and Windsor. The visits are part of the 10^th Anniversary Regional Tour which has members of the School’s leadership meeting with preceptors, co-op employers, alumni, and stakeholders across the provinces.

A study by professors Sherilyn Houle and Kelly Grindrod and pharmacy student Ashley Bancsi reiterates the need for health care professionals, including pharmacists, to take certain precautions to minimize the risk of their patients suffering shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA).

There are over half a million Canadians living with dementia. Treatment of this devastating disorder is challenging as there are no drugs available to cure it. Developing a new drug, running clinical trials, and acquiring approval from regulatory agencies is expensive and time-consuming: the process can take decades and cost upwards of 4 billion dollars.