Matthew Demarco is a pharmacist at Health Sciences North, a hospital and research center in Sudbury, and works primarily in cardiology and HIV. Matt also works in critical care and transport medicine with Ornge Air Ambulance.
Where they’re working:
Health Sciences North (HSN) is a teaching hospital and Matt Demarco, a clinical pharmacist in the cardiology unit, takes that commitment to education seriously.
"I am a strong supporter of pharmacy students in the workplace,” he says.
Students love asking a variety of questions that keep you up to date and sharp with your clinical knowledge. They help you understand the value in questions you’ve never asked.
Matt’s days at HSN on the cardiology floor are busy. In addition to providing guidance for PharmD students, assigning them patients for work-ups, he is consulted by doctors, nurses, dieticians, and patients with a wide variety of drug therapy problems at rounds and throughout the day.
Reflections on the Program
“A lot of the memorable experiences, values and perspectives you develop as a student later shape you as a pharmacist.”
Cardiology patients aren’t the only ones who work closely with Matt; each week he also spends time in the hospital’s HIV clinic.
“I’ve gained so much from the patients and people I work with in the HIV clinic. I look forward to learning from the HIV clinic team every week - they are compassionate people with strong character which they’ve acquired through some really tough experiences over the years."
The patients always have lots to teach and share, and I’ve really appreciated what I’ve learned. It’s rewarding work because the patient needs are high, and there’s almost always multiple problems you can help them with in a single visit.
Outside of HSN, Matt also works with Ornge Air Ambulance as a patient safety and drug information pharmacist. His work has been focused on re-creating drug monographs and Medical Directives for Ornge Transport Medicine physicians, nurses, and paramedics, and on launching a new interface for error reporting.
Alumni Answers
UW: What’s unique about working at a teaching hospital in Sudbury?
MD: I would say that the research and educational commitments of HSN as a teaching hospital for many disciplines makes it unique, particularly for pharmacists, pharmacy students, and PharmD students. It’s a teaching hospital with a med school and it is a regional treatment center for oncology, cardiology, stroke, nephrology, critical care, and pediatrics, which has just been approved.
The University of Waterloo and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) play big roles in all this as well, as we’re able to integrate our pharmacist, as adjunct faculty, and pharmacy students into learning exercises at the med school here with their med students and residents.
UW: You’ve established a journal club for pharmacists, pharmacy students and technicians. Tell us about the Sudbury Journal Club (SJC).
MD: The SJC supports any pharmacist or pharmacy student that wants to deliver a presentation on any clinical topic that is original material (not from a drug company), unbiased, evidence based, and includes a review of evidence. There have been 6 presentations per year since early 2014, delivered by volunteer pharmacists and pharmacy students. 40-50 pharmacists usually come out to every SJC event. The presentations are delivered in hospital for the hospital pharmacists and pharmacy students, then again in the community for the community pharmacists, then sometimes a third and fourth time for either the pharmacy technicians, nursing or for the physicians of HSN via Grand Rounds. This way the learning objectives are not only timely but unified for the whole interdisciplinary team.
Non-Pharm Fun
