Sometimes the learning that makes us uncomfortable teaches us the most

I’ve mentioned before that I’m pretty introverted and was an extremely shy child. I’ve gotten better, which is a good thing given that I've been teaching in a pharmacy technician program for 15 years! But as a child, I was so shy and introverted that I avoided any class that required presentations in high school and university. In my last year of high school, every Friday was improv day in French class. And I hated it. For me, it was the most stressful and terrifying thing. So, I skipped French class every Friday. From my perspective, if I wanted to do improv, I would have taken drama. If you want me to speak French, no problem. But no improv.You’re probably wondering why I’m sharing this story and I swear there’s a pharmacy connection.In Ontario, the scope of practice for pharmacy technicians administering injections recently expanded, allowing technicians to administer more injections—which is amazing. Leading up to this, there was a lot of discussion about whether technicians would have to maintain current first aid and CPR certification to continue administering injections. There were a lot of technicians who were against this as it’s an additional cost, it’s another thing for technicians to keep up with, etc. I admit, I had let my first aid and CPR certification lapse, and I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of having to do the course again and maintain the recertifications. I will also admit that the main deterrent for me was the scenario-based learning. As an educator, I see the value in scenario-based learning. I hope that I approach this with my students with more understanding, compassion, respect, preparation and safety than my high school French teacher did because I know there are students who are just like me and scenario-based learning is scary for them too.But OCP decided that technicians will need to hold current first aid and CPR certification to administer any injections starting March 31, 2027, and I agree with this. Why shouldn’t we, as regulated healthcare professionals, maintain certification in first aid and CPR? So, I re-certified a couple weeks ago and it was scenario-based learning, which made me anxious leading up to it. I did the course with my daughter (who had to recertify for lifeguarding) and even though I found the scenarios awkward (especially when we had to create our own skit to perform for the rest of the group), the instructor created a safe and comfortable learning environment; I also had a trusted partner (someone I could be silly with and laugh at mistakes with). And you know what, I really think I learned more in the scenarios where I couldn’t remember the information and learned by making a mistake where no one would get hurt.I really hope the technicians who were opposed to this will maintain certification and continue to administer injections. I know there are possible barriers—cost, time and participating in scenario-based learning—but we can work with those.Workplaces must have at least one certified first aider on site per shift under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act in Ontario (likely, there are similar requirements in other jurisdictions), so discuss this with your employer. Advocate to be one of those people and hopefully they’ll cover the cost of training. The last time I did my training, it was paid for by the pharmacy where I was working, and it was part of my work week (so I was actually paid for doing it as well, since my “shifts” for those two days were during training instead of at the pharmacy). If the scenario-based learning is a barrier, may my story help convince you that it's worth it. I highly recommend finding someone you trust to join you and having some fun with it. I’m actually really glad I re-trained.

Sometimes the learning that makes us uncomfortable teaches us the most

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SARAH-LYNN DUNLOP

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