We Are IH: Pharmacy supporting patient care every day

Pharmacy team members work with other health-care professionals to take care of patients.

• Pharmacy technicians are regulated health-care professionals who get the right medication to the right patient at the right time.
• Pharmacy technicians support patient care by safely preparing IV and oral medications and chemotherapy.
• Pharmacy assistants ensure we maintain appropriate inventory and package and label medications.
• Pharmacists utilize evidence-based research to resolve drug therapy problems for patients, improving the quality and safety of patient care.
• Pharmacists educate health-care professionals and the public about medications.
• Pharmacists contribute to knowledge and practice innovation through research.

Together we celebrate and recognize the important work that our IH Pharmacy teams do to improve patient care every day.

Name: Laura Beresford

Job Title: Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Pediatrics & Neonatology

Worksite: Kelowna General Hospital

Ancestral Territory: Syilx / Okanagan (Interior Salish)

Laura has a passion for Pediatrics and Neonatology. It all started when she graduated with a doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) and began her career at BC Children’s and Women’s hospital.

Now working in the neonatal intensive care unit and the pediatrics ward at Kelowna General Hospital, Laura participates in direct patient care as a neonatal and pediatric clinical pharmacist.

“Children have this incredible resilience to what can be very challenging medical situations. This has always inspired me,” says Laura. “Their spirit is never dimmed, even at their sickest.”

A typical day for Laura is spending her mornings in rounds, with the multi-disciplinary medical team, helping coordinate discharge medications and providing education to families about their medication regimens. She also supports the emergency department and adult intensive care unit if a neonatal/pediatric patient presents or is admitted.

“I feel very grateful for the team of individuals I work with; I leave my job feeling fulfilled every day. This has a lot to do with our incredible medical team I have the joy of working with every day, and the wonderful families we care for.”

While her primary focus is direct patient care, Laura’s afternoons are spent supporting quality improvement work throughout Interior Health through her position on the Maternal, Newborn, Child and Youth Network. She also participates in research and teaches/precepts in the Interior Health Pharmacy Residency Program, and the University of British Columbia Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences undergraduate program.

Name: Annick Sévigny

Job Title: Primary Care Clinical Pharmacist, Kootenay Boundary Primary Care Network

Worksite: Castlegar and District Community Health Centre

Ancestral Territory: Sinixt (Interior Salish) and Ktunaxa

­­­­­­­­­­An interest in primary care practice was sparked for Annick during the early days of her entry-to-practice doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) program, leading her to pursue her current role as British Columbia's first primary care clinical pharmacist.

Annick is now part of the Kootenay Boundary Primary Care Network and provides comprehensive initial and follow-up consultations to complex patients with the goals of identifying and resolving drug therapy problems, providing patient support and education and helping them meet their health-care goals.

"Working in this role has enabled me to collaborate with the prescriber and allied health to optimize the patient's treatment plan leading to improvement in the patient's health, understanding of their medical conditions and medication, and overall satisfaction," says Annick.

Annick has also received the 2022 UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences “Future Agent of Change” Award.

Currently, Annick lives in Nelson and is happy to have returned to a rural community, as she is originally from a Francophone community in Northern Ontario. In Nelson, she continues to pursue her passions outside of work such as mountain biking, hiking, backcountry skiing and reading.

Have you thought about a career in pharmacy?

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Watch this video about pharmacy careers at IH