For rural communities, health care can be difficult to access.
Throw in part-time clinic hours, an Alberta winter or a global pandemic, and those accessibility challenges only become more apparent.
But many services that once required an appointment with a family doctor can now be provided by an Alberta pharmacist — including some prescriptions, referrals, disease screenings, provision of health advice, precision medicine and vaccinations. And pharmacists, along with the students they train, are prepared to serve rural communities.
“Every year I work in a small town, I love it more and more,” said Alma Steyn, owner of Gourlay’s Clinic Pharmacy Canmore. “That connection you get with people — the patients and the other health-care professionals we work with — is unbelievable.”
In rural pharmacies like Gourlay’s across the province, University of Alberta pharmacy students are training in a complex work placement and discovering the benefits of practising in a smaller community.
“Some of the products that I’m compounding here, I've never seen anywhere else,” said Olivia Stephen, a fourth-year pharmacy student completing her final placement with Steyn at Gourlay’s Canmore. “For example, we have different compounds and medications that we make for emergency pain management for the ski hills.”
Stephen also assists in meeting the needs of tourists, like getting travellers the medications they need but forgot at home or helping with acute illnesses that pop up on vacation. And she consults directly with physicians — usually from the doctor’s office next door — to develop personalized care plans.
“The best thing about rural communities is getting to know patients and the patients getting to know you,” said Stephen. “It makes helping them a lot easier.”
Return to rural areas after graduation
Over their four-year degree, U of A pharmacy students complete 1,600 hours of hands-on training in pharmacies and hospitals, with 10 to 20 per cent of those hours spent in rural placements. Of those students who have found jobs on graduation, 30 per cent choose to return to work in rural areas.
“The number one thing for me is the seamless care and the ease of communication in rural settings,” said Preston Eshenko, a recent graduate of the U of A pharmacy program. Eshenko completed three of his placements in rural communities during his degree, and on graduation started work as a full-time pharmacist at Gourlay’s Pharmacy Banff, sister branch to Gourlay’s Canmore. He also works a few shifts per month at Banff Mineral Springs Hospital, which he said is common among most pharmacists in town.
“It benefits the patients because we know what went on during the different levels of care,” said Eshenko. “It's much easier to find information and communicate between areas of the system when you also work at the hospital and know all the nurses, emergency room staff and acute care team.”
