In this edition of The Tablet, we are honouring nine outstanding pharmacists and two future pharmacists. Throughout the pages, you will read profiles of their achievements and also find QR codes that will link to each of their awards videos.
As a member of the awards selection committee, I know we had many amazing nominations this year.
Our award recipients are more than just pharmacists.
They are individuals who supported First Nations clients during the Canada Post strike, ensuring vital medications and special dietary needs reached elders. They have welcomed Syrian refugee families, not just with interpreting services and airport assistance, but by opening their homes for Christmas dinners. They have taken the initiative to learn American Sign Language to better serve the deaf community. They have left vacations early to return for company audits. And when wildfires tore through their communities, they were the last to leave and the first to return, making sure residents had access to life-saving medications.
Going through the applications is always one of the highlights of my year because it allows us to stop and reflect on our profession. We’re all busy in the day-to-day delivery of care to patients. However, seeing the letters of support from patients who’ve been impacted by their local pharmacist reminds me of why we went into this profession.
In this issue, you will also read about how the Association and pharmacy groups from across the province organized a Pharmacy Day at the Legislature on May 1, just ahead of the Annual Conference. This event featured a pop-up pharmacy set up in Victoria’s Parliament Building, where Members of the Legislative Assembly and the public were invited to visit to learn about pharmacy services, including pharmacy primary care clinics, immunization services, point-of-care testing, delivery of rural health-care and more.
It was a massive effort involving dozens of individual pharmacists, students, company representatives and Association staff members, and we could not have done it without the hard work of everyone involved, and our members who are in the communities providing these services every day.
Colleen Hogg
Chair of the Board
BC Pharmacy Association