Pharmacy U news

Talk to any young pharmacist, and they’ll tell you that working as a pharmacist is nothing like studying pharmacy. In pharmacy school we had clinical thinking drilled into our heads every day. We followed a specific pharmacist’s thought process to assess medication therapy systematically. In school, we wouldn’t dare leave an inappropriate PPI prescription unaddressed.

In December 2020, the Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada (Neighbourhood Pharmacies) collaborated with the Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA) on a COVID-19 Vaccine and Pharmacy Readiness Report (“Vaccine Readiness”) outlining the case for the community pharmacy channel to be a key component of COVID-19 vaccine administration across the country, alongside other healthcare providers.

If you are anything like me, you are now getting to the point where you have a list of things that you'd like to change. And given that we are coming up on the New Year, you may have quite a list of things that you would put in the category of “New Year’s Resolutions.”

There’s an old saying: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Of course, a more optimistic version would be: If you make a good plan, you increase your chances of success! That concept is important to keep in mind, especially if you’re making plans for the year ahead.

Creativity should be at the core of all businesses. Without any sort of creativity, success and longevity are difficult to attain. It is the fuel behind the emergence of any new ideas.

You’re at the pharmacy counter where you’ve just finished counselling Joan, a 65-year-old woman on her new medication for insomnia. You’ve checked all the boxes for a thorough patient encounter. You’ve updated her allergy status, checked pharmanet for her other medications, assessed drug interactions, and counselled her appropriately. But have you asked about non-prescription medications? In particular, have you asked about supplementation?

The playground of life can be a harsh teacher. The kids on the playground can be so blunt. As a result, we develop little pieces of supposed wisdom to help us through these turbulent times. Phrases like “sticks and stones may break my bones” or “I’m rubber and you’re glue.”

Vaccinating children is nothing new to pharmacies. Pharmacies have experience with flu shots, but the number of individuals looking for vaccinations against COVID-19 sees new patients, fears, and hesitancies.