Amanda is a pharmacist on the neurosurgery floor at the Mississauga Hospital, a Trillium Health Partners hospital.
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Working in a large and busy Ontario hospital keeps Amanda on her toes. As a pharmacist on the neurosurgery floor, she’s part of a large interdisciplinary team and supports patients with brain tumours, seizures, meningitis, brain abscesses, strokes and more. Her days begin with rounds where she updates the team on medication changes and identify and resolve drug therapy issues.
“A large part of my role involves therapeutic drug monitoring for anti-epileptic medications,” she says. “I also work with our Infectious Disease team to ensure antibiotics are appropriately dosed for CNS infections, and optimizing management of patients’ other co-morbidities.”
As Ontario enters a third wave of COVID infections, hospitals, particularly those in the GTA, continue to be busy and stressful environments.
“Working in the pandemic, I’ve seen how our team rises to any challenge we face. Within our pharmacy department at Trillium, I am inspired by the dedication my team has to patient care,” Amanda says. “Due to sick calls, surge capacity and multiple outbreaks, we often have had to cross-cover floors, sometimes in clinical areas we don’t have much experience in. At the end of day, we always make it work and lean on each other for support.”
Amanda is also a residency and PharmD preceptor though at times, COVID has made this mentorship role challenging as well. This winter, she had to enter isolation for two weeks due to a high-exposure risk.
“The timing for it couldn’t be worse as I was one week into precepting a fourth year UofT pharmacy student,” she says. “We worked together to adjust the rotation so that I could virtually assess my student and provide education and support remotely.”
It’s one of several adjustments in her day-to-day work that’s occurred because of the pandemic. Like many hospital pharmacists, over the last year Amanda has adapted workflows to limit in-person patient interactions and conduct care over the phone where possible. COVID has also affected how she doses medications and orders labs for therapeutic monitoring.
With another pharmacist, Amanda developed the hospital’s medication bundling guidance document, which is now used to inform the practice across the hospital.
It’s been over a year since COVID hit Canada, and burnout is an increasingly common concern for health-care providers like Amanda. She credits her incredible team for helping her stay grounded:
“Within our pharmacy ‘phamily’ at Trillium we often check in with each other during socially distanced coffee and lunch breaks to de-stress and talk about our day,” she says. “In a time where it’s so easy to feel isolated, it’s important to stay connected, and it helps to have colleagues that are dealing with the same challenges.”
Alumni Answers
UW: Tell us about your vaccination experience.
AD: I received my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Jan 6 – it was an awesome way to start the new year! Our on-site vaccination clinic was well-organized, and the atmosphere was full of excitement and a sense of hope that things will soon get better.
As someone who is not a fan of injections, the nurse administering my vaccine did an amazing job and I didn’t even feel the poke. After my first dose, I did not experience any side effects. I recently had my second dose which was delayed to the 5-week mark due to vaccine supply issues. I did experience chills and myalgia for a brief time after my second dose but was prepared with Tylenol as many of my colleagues also experienced similar side effects. By the next day, my symptoms completely resolved. Overall, it was a great experience.
UW: What are some unique aspects of work at a large hospital like Trillium?
AD: At Trillium, our pharmacist scope of practice policy allows us to independently adjust orders (within our scope) and order lab tests for the purpose of drug therapy monitoring – this helps provide timelier and safer care for my patients.
Non-Pharm Fun
“At work we do our best to follow every precaution to protect ourselves and those around us. However, there is always the stress of potentially infecting our loved ones. I’ve learned it's important to de-stress when I go home so that I can come back to work fully refreshed the next day. I like to de-stress by taking my dog to the park, exploring new trails and connecting with friends on zoom.”