Bradley Murphy, Rx2019 - Mindemoya
Navigating
the
region
Manitoulin Island an opportunity for both personal and professional growth. Being able to practice as an independent pharmacist, while still being a student, was a truly unique experience. Having mainly physicians and nurse practitioners as your preceptors, it provided a unique experience to grow and hone your clinical skills and rely on your judgement. It gave me the step I needed to enter into practice as an independent, clinical pharmacist. Outside of the work environment, Manitoulin Island offered a picturesque destination to spend 6 months, boasting tremendous number of activities from snowshoeing and cross country skiing in the winter, to hiking, running, paddling, and numerous Indigenous Cultural events over the summer months.
Being in such a popular vacation destination spot, I was sure to get involved in the numerous activities that were held, from Indigenous Cultural Events and community sports events. In addition, it gave me the time to slow down and get back to nature and go out for swims, hikes, and kayak trips around the lake which was only a 10-minute walk away. If you are an art lover, there are numerous galleries across the island, with a whole weekend dedicated to art in July. There were also amazing restaurants to check out, from fish and chips to farm-to-table restaurants that would surely please anyone’s palate. There are numerous things to do, you just have to be willing to explore the island to find all the treasures there are to see.
I was placed in Mindemoya and the house I was staying in is home to many of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine students who make their way to the island for their rotations as well. Was lovely and had all the furnishings needed to make your stay comfortable. It was a 2 minute drive from the hospital, family health team and community pharmacy, or a 10 minute walk for when the weather got nicer in the summer months. There is no transit on the island, so a vehicle is a must if you are thinking of Manitoulin Island.
My RCC was always available to chat via phone or e-mail if any issues arose while on placement. Being a couple hours away from Sudbury, it was hard to meet in person but we did have an introductory meeting and a going away party.
Practice site descriptions
Manitoulin Island was unique in that all three blocks were integrated into one 6-month longitudinal placement, where I worked in a variety of areas: family health team, community pharmacy, acute care hospital and home-based palliative care. This offered the perfect interdisciplinary learning environment as I worked with physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, dieticians, physiotherapists and a tremendous administrative staff. Being able to practice in all sites for 6-months, I was better able to form connections with both my colleagues and my patients, therefore, allowing me to make more effective change in their care and provide adequate follow-up opportunities.
The main skill I took away from this rotation was the ability to gain confidence in my practice abilities as an independent pharmacist. All of my co-op rotations, I was directly working under a pharmacist, but being essentially the only pharmacist and having a physician preceptor, you had to rely on your skills in order to come up with a recommendation and present this directly to the team, without running it by a pharmacist first. While initially daunting, this gave me the step I needed in order to enter practice. In addition, I was able to develop better communication skills, both written and verbal, and learn how to more effectively utilize my resources.
All of our clinical tools on the uWaterloo School of Pharmacy Website were a tremendous resource to me during my placement here.
Advice for future students
