Achievement Award
Rudy Chin, Pharmacy Manager/Owner, Pharmasave, Vancouver
Patients looking for a community pharmacist who goes above and beyond the call of duty need to look no further than Rudy Chin. As pharmacy manager and owner of Pharmasave at 42nd Avenue and Oak Street in Vancouver, Rudy has made exceptional customer service the norm.
From mentoring young pharmacists to giving health talks that range from over-the-counter medications to pain management, Rudy embraces knowledge sharing and expanding pharmacists’ scope of practice.
Rudy was an early adopter of injections training, and vaccinated hundreds of Vancouver Coastal Health staff this past flu season.
Patients travel from far away to work with Rudy. He regularly conducts home visits for patients with mobility issues to deliver medications and explain their purpose. He takes on patients with complex health-care needs and gives back to the community to make sure no patient is left in need.
When B.C Children’s Hospital closed its retail breast pump location, Rudy took on supplying breast pumps as part of the Variety Club breast pump program, making sure mothers could feed their premature or ill infants.
Rudy improves the lives of each patient he encounters with knowledge, integrity and kindness.
Apotex Inc. Future British Columbia Leader Award
Renée Dagenais
Andrea Silver
During their four years in the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, both Renée Dagenais and Andrea Silver were leaders, BCPhA Student Ambassadors, and active members of their student body.
Renée served as president of the Rho Chi Society, the pharmacy academic honour society, where she facilitated several professional development and fundraising initiatives. She has been involved in a number of projects including the creation of the Faculty’s first peer mentorship program, assessing the appropriateness of administering specific medications via enteral feeding tubes, and participating in a pilot project of pharmacists’ provision of copper IUDs for emergency contraception. Renée also co-authored and published a paper discussing the application of modern learning theories to developing pharmaceutical knowledge.
Andrea developed a program designed to provide exposure, support, and mentorship to pharmacy students considering post-graduate residency programs, delivered a number of patient-education presentations for various population groups, and participated as a peer mentor in many capacities during her time at UBC. She has been actively promoting interprofessional collaboration and education through presentations at the Canadian Association of Faculties of Medicine (AFMC) and contributed to the development of an interprofessional women’s health rotation.
BCPhA Award of Excellence
Ron Reid, Professor, UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Ron Reid has been pursuing his dream of having community pharmacists lead the adoption of pharmacogenomics in practice. The “Genomics for Precision Drug Therapy in the Community Pharmacy” project is a direct result of his vision, drive and passion.
For many years, Ron taught a medicinal chemistry course as part of UBC’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences undergraduate program. His course evolved to focus on pharmacogenomics to equip pharmacists with the knowledge they’d need to be leaders in this field.
It was under Ron’s leadership that the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences established genomics and individualized therapy as one of its three strategic research areas. The Faculty is now an emerging leader in pharmacogenomics research in Canada.
Ron was part of the team that recruited Dr. Corey Nislow to the Faculty. Corey used the foundation that Ron built to establish the UBC Sequencing Centre at Pharmaceutical Sciences. Ron was fundamental in securing seed funding from the College of Pharmacists of BC to launch the current community pharmacist-led pharmacogenomics project, the first of its kind in North America.
Ron has long advocated not just for the benefits of using genomics to optimize health and wellness, but for community pharmacists to own this space in health care.
Ben Gant Innovative Practice Award
Allan Wong, Pharmacist/Owner, Shoppers Drug Mart, Surrey
In collaboration with the UBC Faculty of Medicine, Allan Wong created the first-ever community pharmacy elective for family medicine residents. This course gives soon-to-be family doctors exposure to the practice of pharmacy and demonstrates how collaboration works in a real-life setting. This course shows that when family doctors have a better understanding of the benefits and limitations of community pharmacy, communication barriers are broken down. These can range from the importance of requirements in a prescription, clarity in prescribing, and pharmacists’ ability to perform services such as medication reviews and injections.
While an associate-owner at Shoppers Drug Mart (SDM) at the Jimmy Pattison Outpatient Centre in Surrey, Allan was instrumental in forging relationships with doctors, nurses, and personnel at Fraser Health Authority. The creation of this UBC elective is an example of Allan’s hard work building relationship in
the health-care community.
Allan has been a preceptor to many family medicine residents and is the current chair of the SDM professional practice committee. His pharmacy was also one of 22 locations across BC selected for the “Genomics for Precision Drug Therapy in the Community Pharmacy” project.
Friend of Pharmacy Award
Sheila Davis, Associate Director, Policy and External Affairs, Merck Canada
Sheila Davis has be an unyielding advocate for the important role that pharmacists play in supporting patient care, health efficiency and improved outcomes. In her 28-year career with Merck, she has attended dozens of provincial and national pharmacy association meetings and education programs and clearly understands the challenges and evolving world of pharmacy. Her commitment to learning about the industry puts her in the best position to support and advance pharmacy scope of practice and health-care system sustainability.
Sheila is responsible for working with ministries of health, public and private payers, academic centres and professional associations to identify opportunities to maximize the value of, and access to, medicine and vaccines. She was a critical driver in the development and delivery of accredited continuing pharmacy
education (CPE) programs for BC pharmacists. Sheila also took a leadership role in the strategic planning of the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and in the generation of broad industry support from Rx&D for the UBC Sustainability Initiative that launched in January 2015.
Murray Dykeman Mentorship Award
Michael Lam, Pharmacist/Owner, Shoppers Drug Mart, Burnaby
Michael Lam is an excellent coach and mentor to pharmacy students, providing excellent feedback that truly allows learners to progress and be the best pharmacist that they can be. He sets an example with his own pharmacy practice, exemplifying the amount of attention he offers to students and the standard of
patient care he provides.
Michael has always had a passion for teaching and educating others. He has been preceptor for high school students, pharmacy technician students, International Pharmacy Graduates, and University of Washington PharmD students.
Michael is also a preceptor for the Office of Experiential Education program at UBC’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and was the recipient of the 2013 UBC Practice Educator Award. Always looking for innovative ways to mentor, he was recently involved in a trial program with multiple fourth year UBC students
in a 12-week community clerkship at the same time.
Michael has helped pharmacists realize their dreams of pharmacy ownership through his coaching as a businessman, and has been a sitting committee member of the Shoppers Drug Mart professional practice committee since its inception.
Pfizer Bowl of Hygeia Award
Shafique Nathwani, Pharmacy Manager/Owner, Pharmasave Health Centres, Abbotsford
Since his start in pharmacy more than 35 years ago, Shafique Nathwani has put the “community” in community pharmacy. His involvement in the Abbotsford community includes holding talks for the Diabetes Association at a local church, providing free educational materials and support to the Youth Health Clinic at the Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre, and collaborating with the hospital pharmacy and emergency ward to ensure seamless care for patients from hospital to home.
Shafique has hosted block parties and participates in the September festival at the Clayburn Plaza where all local businesses give back to the community. With certifications in injection authority, palliative care and smoking cessation, he offers medication reviews, screening interventions and brown bag clinics in as a way to make sure all his neighbours are able to reach their optimal health and well-being.
Shafique received countless awards during his time as pharmacist and pharmacy manager with London Drugs. Most recently in his role as owner of two Pharmasave Health Centres, he won the prestigious Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce New Business of the Year Award.
Pharmacy Leadership Award
Anoop Khurana, Pharmacist/Owner, Shoppers Drug Mart, Vancouver
Running a store and pharmacy team of 40 employees, Anoop Khurana leads by example. He provides medication reviews, adaptations and renewals, immunizations, and comprehensive disease-management clinics. As a certified respiratory educator and diabetes educator, Anoop recently achieved his certificate in patient care skills through CPhA’s ADAPT Program. He is currently completing the Green Shield Canada Pharmacist Health Coaching
Cardiovascular Program and has been actively involved with the BCPhA MLA Outreach Program since 2013.
Anoop encourages his staff to continually embrace their expanded scope of practice and supports them in pursuing further training. Three of his staff are now certified diabetes educators and all are immunization-certified.
Anoop has partnered with UBC's Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences to pilot innovative patient-care studies in his pharmacy, while providing ongoing volunteer outreach to students. He was recently appointed as vice-chair of the interdisciplinary relationships advisory committee through the College of Pharmacists of BC. Anoop is also the BC representative for the Shoppers Drug Mart associate-owner working group on common year plan and the Vancouver district representative of the BC peers professional practice committee.
Takeda Magnum Opus Award
Jennifer Chan, Pharmacy Manager, Overwaitea Food Group (OWFG)/Save-On-Foods, South Surrey
As a pharmacist for more than eight years, Jennifer Chan has ascribed to lifelong learning and has a commitment to optimizing patient care. She has achieved advanced training as a certified diabetes educator, a certified insulin pump trainer, an injections certified pharmacist, a travel health vaccine provider, and an OFG clinical pharmacist to perform health screenings.
To make the most of her training, Jennifer provides educational seminars to community physicians. These seminar topics include insulin dosing, diabetic medical devices and compression stockings. Her seminars are based on the latest evidence-based medicine as well as on her own work experience and advanced training.
She routinely offers community health clinics and screening tests on topics such as foot neuropathy, cholesterol, diabetes, and sleep hygiene. Jennifer regularly collaborates with the BC Lung Association to provide workplace seminars on smoking cessation to team members within her company.
Jennifer also gives educational presentations at community pharmacist events, at health and wellness fairs and at seniors’ homes. She has been a CAPS oral examiner and OEE preceptor to UBC pharmacy students and an active OSCE oral examiner since 2010.