Q: My first year of a Bachelor of Science degree at Dalhousie University is nearly complete. I am considering applying to pharmacy because I am interested in chemistry and it seems like the role of the pharmacist is advancing considerably. My family is in N.B. and I want to come back home when I have completed my education. What can you tell me about being a pharmacist in New Brunswick?
March is Pharmacy Appreciation Month, so it’s an excellent time to discuss pharmacy as a career and the pharmacist’s role in health care.
Over the past twenty years in New Brunswick, pharmacists have become an integral part of multidisciplinary health care teams, providing information and education to other primary care practitioners, in addition to providing service to patients. Pharmacists have a significant role in many direct patient care activities, including medication management, identifying adverse or incorrect medication usage, counselling on medications, and medication reviews to optimize a patient’s understanding of their drug therapy to enhance their overall quality of life.
Education
Pharmacists are highly trained medication experts. Across Canada, most pharmacy faculties now offer an entry-level Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program. These programs are robust, extensive combinations of academic learning and patient-focused training, with 40 weeks of clinical rotations. Many pharmacists earn a university degree before being accepted into the pharmacy degree program. More than 30 Accredited Canadian Pharmacy Residency training programs are also offered for 12-18 months of additional specialty training.
Hospital Pharmacy
Hospital pharmacists are trusted medication experts who work with the health care team to ensure that your medications are safe and effective, and that you meet your health goals. They present you with medication treatment options, provide you with the best options for care, and listen to your opinions and concerns. Hospital pharmacists order laboratory investigations to help monitor your medication therapy, and can adjust your dosage based on the results.
When appropriate, hospital pharmacists evaluate your medications and recommend the best way to stop taking any drugs that are no longer needed. They also work with you to help remove barriers that prevent you from having access to the medications you need. Hospital pharmacists save the Canadian health care system four dollars for every dollar they earn. They decrease your length of hospital stay by preventing medication errors and minimizing complications from medication therapy.
Community Pharmacy
In a community pharmacy, great care is taken to ensure your prescription is prepared with the correct product, at the right dose, route, frequency and duration. The pharmacist looks at your entire medication profile to check for prescription drug interactions, interactions with over-the-counter medications, allergy checks, as well as looking at your blood work to ensure your dosage is correct based on your kidney health and other parameters. Pharmacists counsel patients on new medications, including oral chemotherapy, biological agents, antimicrobials, and antidepressant therapy.
New Brunswick pharmacists are front-line health care professionals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, pharmacists in many communities were the only health care professionals accessible to the public. Over one million COVID-19 immunizations were administered to New Brunswickers by pharmacy professionals.
Advancing the Role of Pharmacy
In January 2023, Nova Scotian pharmacists began offering publically-funded assessment and prescribing services to eligible patients, offering care for 31 minor ailments, Strep throat, Chronic Disease Drug Therapy Management (i.e., diabetes, COPD, hypertension, asthma) and more. New Brunswick pharmacists have been urging our provincial government for a similar level of pharmacy service coverage for patients here.
There are over 900 pharmacists and more than 250 registered pharmacy technicians practicing in over 200 pharmacies around New Brunswick. Pharmacies are in every community, with doors open the majority of each day, often including weekends and holidays. There is an accessible pharmacist caring for New Brunswickers in every community 365 days a year.
Choosing a career in pharmacy means choosing a path of life-long learning. You will become part of the solution for New Brunswickers to gain timely access to access to health care.
This Pharmacy Appreciation month, I challenge New Brunswick’s pharmacy professionals:
Light up our profession. Do this by resonating acts of caring each day for our patients, for ourselves, and for each other. Speak out. Practice with tenderness and caring. Push forward with resilience.
Happy Pharmacy Appreciation Month!
Dr. Kevin McLaughlin (PharmD, BScPharm, BSc, ACPR) practices at Kennebecasis Drugs, in Rothesay N.B. His opinions expressed in this column are published for educational and informational purposes only, and are not intended as a diagnosis, treatment or as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.