New Brunswick pharmacists gathered in Fredericton on Saturday to pay tribute to the best and brightest in their profession.
The New Brunswick Pharmacists’ Association, the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists (NB chapter) and the New Brunswick College of Pharmacists honoured three emerging leaders in the pharmacy profession with the Scott Knowles Memorial New Practitioner Service Award at their Past President’s Awards Gala held as part of the 2015 New Brunswick Pharmacy Conference.
This award is presented to a new pharmacist (five years or less since graduation) for exceptional service through innovation or contributions to their community, and was awarded to Ashley Sproul of Waterville, Sarah Alteen of Fredericton, and Jessica Dorcas of Fredericton.
Ashley Sproul is committed to driving her profession forward and has already made important contributions to pharmacy in the five years since she graduated from Memorial University’s Pharmacy program. Ashley is the hemodialysis clinic pharmacist at the Upper River Valley Hospital where she quickly impressed colleagues with her willingness to learn and her excellent patient care. She proactively led a regional pharmacy initiative on falls prevention, earned her Certified Diabetes Educator status and has began a research project on medication compliance aids and adherence in ambulatory hemodialysis patients. Ashley is in the midst of completing a non-traditional post-graduate Doctor of Pharmacy degree with the University of Colorado and has served as a preceptor of several undergraduate pharmacy students.
“The pharmacists honoured have made extraordinary contributions to building our profession, volunteered countless hours in their communities and have demonstrated excellence in patient care,” says Daniel Pike, President of the New Brunswick Pharmacists’ Association. “These individuals are shining examples of the incredible work New Brunswick pharmacists are doing to improve the health care in this province.”
Approximately 150 New Brunswick pharmacists attended the annual conference held over the weekend at the Delta in Fredericton. The conference included the annual general meetings of the New Brunswick Pharmacists’ Association, New Brunswick College of Pharmacists and the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists (NB chapter) as well as professional development sessions and a keynote address by Dominic Cardy, leader of the New Brunswick New Democratic Party.