The NBPA honoured two emerging leaders in the pharmacy profession with the Scott Knowles Memorial New Practitioner Service Award on Saturday at their Awards Gala held as part of the New Brunswick Pharmacy Conference. Jill Lawrence of Fredericton developed and led an innovative smoking cessation program at St. Mary’s First Nation; and, Mallory Price, a pharmacist at the Moncton Hospital, is playing an active role on the development of new pharmacists by her strong commitment to mentoring.
This award is presented to a new pharmacist (five years or less since graduation) for exceptional service through innovation or contributions to his/her community.
It’s been only a year since Jill Lawrence graduated from the Dalhousie College of Pharmacy and already she’s standing out as a wellness leader who embraces expanded roles for pharmacists. A registered pharmacist who practices at Guardian Pharmacy at St. Mary’s in Fredericton, Jill graduated from the University of New Brunswick in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and from Dalhousie University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy.
It did not take her long to see how smoking, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle is impacting the overall health of her patients and recognized that many diseases could be prevented by changing this lifestyle. Jill wanted to use her knowledge to start a smoking cessation, pharmacist-led program in which she would lead one-on-one assessment and prescribing along with group counselling to provide a well-rounded smoking cessation program. She researched and developed a 12-week smoking cessation program called Breathe Easy. She spent many hours researching methodologies, statistical success rates, tools and personal education not only for herself, but for the store’s team of pharmacists and assistants, too.
She collaborated with the St. Mary’s First Nation Health Centre for the first 12-week session. Recognizing that smoking, smudging and sweat lodges hold unique value to First Nations people, Jill worked with the SMFN Director of Health to look for culturally appropriate supports specific to this community. She brought in a guest speaker from the Tobique First Nations for one of the group sessions to address some of these specific issues. Some of the participants have quit completely, including one person who smoked for more than 40 years. Most have reduced the amount they smoke. All of the session participants have built a relationship of trust with Jill and she continues to reach out in a positive and caring way to those who were not successful. Jill’s work in her first year since graduation has made a positive impact on both her community and her profession.
Approximately 200 New Brunswick pharmacists attended the annual conference held over the weekend at the Delta in Saint John. The conference included the annual general meetings of the NBPA, the New Brunswick College of Pharmacists and the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists (NB chapter) as well as professional development sessions. Keynote speaker David Coletto of Abacus Data spoke about: “The Millennials: How this generation is changing everything, including pharmacy.”