Hello CSHP Members!
The Education Services Committee is excited to announce that the CSHP-SK Awards
Presentation, Annual General Meeting, and Education Sessions will be held on October 18-
19, 2024! Our events will be held at the newly renovated Ramada Plaza in downtown
Regina!
Stay tuned for upcoming registration information, call for poster submissions, and sneak
peaks of speakers for our education sessions.
We look forward to seeing you in October!
Emily Zerr and Jada Baker
ESC Co-Chairs
Welcome to Spring, CSHP members! I hope you all had an excellent Pharmacy Appreciation Month. From North to South, our pharmacy teams across this province are doing great things. Your CSHP Saskatchewan Branch has been similarly hard at work with PAM and other initiatives.
A highlight for me this March was seeing our own CSHP President Kaitlyn Tress on CTV. This was a terrific idea organized by our Advocacy Representative, Melissa Kucey. I was so excited to see hospital pharmacy represented locally in the media- I dream of a day where someone doesn’t assume I work in a community pharmacy located in a hospital when they ask me what I do, and this kind of advocacy will help us to get there. If you missed the interview when it aired, you can catch it here: https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/video/c2892291-the-important-role-of-pharmacists-in-hospitals
Our Communications Co-Chairs Kassie Johnson (Stahl) and Samantha Tri have been diligently working through varying PAM initiatives this year with the help of their PAM committee. BINGO is back this year, and we’ve seen varying Instagram takeovers by pharmacists across this province. A highlight has been seeing a few takeovers by pharmacy students- great to see what our future colleagues are up to these days.
Our Annual Student Symposium occurred March 20th this year to a great turn-out and rave reviews. The event is a terrific way to integrate hospital pharmacists with the student body and give some insight into the day to day practice from varying pharmacy professionals through the province. A huge shout-out to our lovely student reps Emylia and Erin for organizing the event. For those who look forward to our annual AGM and Education Sessions, we have an exciting update for you: this year’s event will occur the weekend of October 19th in Regina, SK. Make sure to Save the Date!
As a final note regarding what our council is up to at present, we are actively discussing ways to better integrate our pharmacy technician colleagues. We are exploring the possibility of having a Pharmacy Technician Position created to join our council. While any Pharmacy Technician who is a CSHP member is able to apply for any of our council positions, the creation of a technician specific position may help to ensure the tech perspective is well represented. If you have any thoughts you would like to share on the creation of a position, please email president.sk@cshp.ca .
Sending you well wishes with the change of the season,
Katherine Sokulski (DeMong), BSP (she/her)
President Elect – Saskatchewan Branch
Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists
Over the last several months, CPDPP has rebranded to our new name: USask Continuing Pharmacy Education (CPE). While the name change reflects an intention to provide more education opportunities to pharmacy professionals across Canada, USask CPE will continue to create and facilitate quality education for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians here in Saskatchewan. This past year, new courses were created, and old ones were updated to reflect new pharmacist scope of practice changes in Saskatchewan. USask CPE also hosted a variety of webinars and injection training sessions.
Some notable highlights include:
This upcoming year, USask CPE intends to release more courses focusing on supporting pharmacists with their evolving scope of practice and pharmacy technician-specific education. For more information, check out our website or follow our newsletter to hear about new continuing education opportunities.
medSask has had many changes to our website, resources, and minor ailments over the last 6 months, here are some of the most important summarized for you:
medSask’s website was updated last month to reflect regulatory changes from SCPP. The new “pharmacist prescribing” tab is a one stop shop for Level 1 and Level 2 prescribing. There is also a new page that features all the main prescribing PARs in one spot, including ones previously hosted by SCPP.
medSask continues to research and produce guidelines for new minor ailments as they are approved by SCPP. Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy and Recurrent Genital Herpes were added to the list of minor ailments pharmacists can prescribe for in Saskatchewan.
The Tobacco Cessation guideline has been updated and revised; it is now called “Nicotine Cessation”. This change is made to ensure more support can be offered to people using nicotine products generally, not only Tobacco. The guideline includes explaining the role of nicotine pouches as nicotine replacement therapy and how to support patients who use electronic nicotine delivery systems (i.e., vape pens).
medSask will continue to create new resources and minor ailments in the coming year, but we also send a monthly newsletter that features up to date pharmacy news and resources on the last Tuesday of every month. You can check out links to our previous issues on our website.
Greetings CSHP branch members,
As we celebrate Pharmacy Appreciation Month in 2024 (#PAM2024), we extend our heartfelt gratitude to each of you for your dedication to advancing patient care and the pharmacy profession. Whether in hospitals, outpatient clinics, specialty roles, leadership, or community settings, your contributions make a significant impact on the well-being of individuals and communities alike in Saskatchewan.
This month, we encourage you to take a moment to reflect on your careers and the positive influence you’ve had on patients’ lives. Your commitment to excellence in pharmacy practice is truly commendable. #PharmacyDoesMore
In the spirit of appreciation, we invite you to join us in spreading awareness of hospital and clinical pharmacy services. We encourage you to utilize the resources provided by CSHP to promote the importance of our profession and express gratitude to your colleagues and patients. You can find helpful materials for social media posts and workplace displays at this link: https://www.cshp.ca/Site/Advocacy/Pharmacy-Appreciation-Month/Site/Content/Advocacy/pharmacy-appreciation-month.aspx?hkey=013cabd7-83e3-4874-bfd4-0b7fdeadf333.
Based on its popularity in previous years, we are thrilled to reintroduce PAM BINGO for 2024! This engaging activity promises camaraderie, fun, and a chance to win prizes as we unite to celebrate Pharmacy Appreciation Month. Keep an eye out for the Pharmacy Student Bingo version, coming soon.
Here are a few ways you can get involved during Pharmacy Appreciation Month 2024:
💊 Participate in PAM BINGO to foster teamwork, show appreciation, and raise awareness of hospital pharmacy practices. Check out the PDF for prize details! Don’t forget to notify us of your team and team name to join the fun!
💊Stay connected with us on social media platforms including: Instagram, Facebook, and X to remain updated on upcoming events and initiatives.
💊Explore the wealth of resources available at https://www.cshp.ca/Site/Advocacy/Pharmacy-Appreciation-Month/Site/Content/Advocacy/pharmacy-appreciation-month.aspx?hkey=013cabd7-83e3-4874-bfd4-0b7fdeadf333 for social media posts and workplace promotions.
💊Nominate deserving individuals for the CSHP-SK Pharmacy Advancement Award, recognizing their contributions to Pharmacy Appreciation Month.
💊Stop by the Pharmacy Awareness Month student-led booths at the Regina and Saskatoon hospital sites, tentatively scheduled for March 7th and 21st, and engage with the future leaders of our profession!
💊Don’t miss out on the annual CSHP-SK Student Symposium, taking place on March 20th!
Thank you for your continued dedication to advancing pharmacy practice and improving patient outcomes. Together, we make a difference.
Warm regards,
PAM Planning Committee
CSHP Saskatchewan Branch
There is a new CSHP Advocacy Rep! Melissa Kucey took over the position from Brenna Gallagher last month and is excited to carry forward some of the great work Brenna and the CSHP SK-Branch team has contributed to. We continue to promote the quarterly CSHP SK-Branch Excellence in Practice Member Recognition Award. Last month Jada Baker (Senior Operations Pharmacist within Regina-SHA) was the successful candidate. We hope to continue to receive nominations and hear about the amazing accomplishments from our colleagues across the province!
Pharmacy Appreciation Month (PAM) is just around the corner. The communication co-chairs, our
student representatives, myself, along with a few pharmacy student volunteers are in the midst of
planning for PAM. As a quick preview, PAM Bingo was a hit in previous years and we will continue to promote again this year. We will also be submitting posts to the SHA Daily News, sharing experiences of a day in the life of pharmacy residents and students via CSHP Instagram account, and setting up pharmacy student-led booths at some of the major acute care hospitals in Regina and Saskatoon! Hopefully pharmacy staff across the province will also engage in their own local initiatives, show appreciation for their colleagues and celebrate successes together!
In future endeavors, we are hoping to increase pharmacy technician membership within CSHP. We seek to learn ways to address potential barriers and improve engagement for our technician colleagues as they are a vital part of the pharmacy team!
Looking forward to a great year,
Melissa Kucey
CSHP SK Branch PostScript 