Pharmacists never stayed home during COVID-19 restrictions, but the pandemic did change mentorship

Despite having to keep their distance and mask up during the pandemic, Ashley Davidson and Damion Barnes persevered in their preceptor/student mentorship. Photo by John Ulan

The first wave of COVID-19 brought life to a near standstill for many Canadians, but not for pharmacists who, as health-care professionals, found themselves on the front lines of a public health emergency.

Ashley Davidson, ’10 BSc(Pharm), was one of them. When the pandemic hit, she faced new challenges as a practising pharmacist and owner of a Shoppers Drug Mart location in north Edmonton. She also continued to serve as a preceptor for the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, as she’s done for more than a decade. 

“I really felt that the students were in an incredibly challenging position,” she says, “and that it was important for them to be able to progress in their studies without interruption.”

In fact, Davidson continued to mentor pharmacy students throughout the pandemic. One of these students was Damion Barnes, ’21 PharmD, who began working with Davidson in February 2021. “It was right at the peak of pandemic chaos,” she says with a laugh.

At the time, Barnes was in the last year of the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) for Practicing Pharmacists program at the U of A. He came to Canada from Jamaica specifically for this program, as a practising pharmacist with six years of experience. Before being matched with Davidson, his sixth and final practicum had been delayed because of the preceptor shortage.

We asked Davidson and Barnes to share their experiences as preceptor and student during the pandemic, which presented novel challenges not only in the practice of pharmacy but in its teaching and learning. 

What was happening in your life when the pandemic hit?

BARNES: I was working part time, as well as doing my studies. At the time, I was already doing online learning, so the pandemic didn’t really impact my classes too much.

But my final practicum was about to begin and there were fewer sites than students, so I didn’t get matched. I reached out to the co-ordinator, and she told me that there were two options: a rotation involving a three-hour commute daily in February, or a second community rotation. I'd previously completed a community pharmacy rotation, but I chose to do another out of fear of travelling such a distance in winter. Fortunately, Ashley agreed to take me on.

DAVIDSON: I was trying to run my pharmacy in a safe manner and navigate issues with staffing and supplies (especially toilet paper!), while raising three small children who were two, four and six years old at the time, so I was very busy. We’d planned to take on just three students, but a number of students had their placements cancelled due to the pandemic so we took on a fourth — Damion.

What were some of the challenges of being a preceptor/student during COVID-19?

DAVIDSON:  For me as a preceptor, it was very hard not to be able to spend as much one-on-one time with my students. Typically, I like to take time to have coffee or a meal with them and learn more about where they want to head in their learning and career paths. During the pandemic we were often restricted with social distancing and masking requirements. When Damion was with us, I didn’t see his face during the entire rotation.  

There were practical challenges, too. There would be days when one of my kids would be sick and daycare wouldn’t take them, or they couldn’t be at school — like when we were homeschooling, early on. There were instances when I had to say, ‘Hey, Damion, here’s what you’re doing. I won’t be here.’ Luckily, he was such an amazing pharmacist, because he could just pick up and fill his day with things that were helping him learn, but also helping me.

BARNES: There was a lot to navigate during my practicum. It was a year into the pandemic, but we were still concerned with staying safe and sanitizing properly. At the same time, I wanted to make the most out of my rotation and learn as much as I could.

The PharmD program encourages practicum students to be really self-driven, so you create goals and targets that you want to achieve. There were some days when Ashley was beside me and I could ask, ‘What do you think about this? Do you think this is a good approach?’ and other days when I had to figure it out on my own. But it built my confidence in terms of my clinical skills and being able to navigate situations independently. 

As a practicum student, you need to quickly build trust and connections with patients to understand their needs, which is a challenge. During the pandemic, social distancing and masking made it much harder.

What were some of the challenges facing community pharmacy during COVID-19?

DAVIDSON: Community pharmacies saw an increase in requests from patients. Some were scared to visit medical clinics or emergency rooms, while others simply didn't know where to turn. Pharmacists worked with patients to assess their needs, provide care, or refer them appropriately. We faced the same infection control, staffing and supply shortages as elsewhere and made adjustments so that patient care was maintained. 

BARNES: As Ashley stated, it was really difficult for persons to connect with their physicians, but we were accessible and open 12 hours a day. We did things like provide suggestions and recommendations, renew or extend prescriptions and, in some cases, prescribe medications.  

Was the pandemic at all advantageous to teaching and learning?

DAVIDSON: From a teaching perspective, the pandemic provided a lot of opportunity to talk about expanded scope of practice and how we can have an impact on the health of patients. In the last couple of years, the learning opportunities for my practicum students have grown. 

The pandemic has also taught us the importance of practising to the fullest extent of our pharmacy competencies and scope. I believe that this was something the students saw first-hand. When access to health care was challenged, we were able to provide a convenient, accessible and reliable point of care for patients. 

BARNES: It allowed for more exposure to different circumstances and helped build my competence and confidence. As no two individuals are alike, there was no cookie-cutter way of dealing with patients' disease conditions, so it challenged me to broaden my disease management skills. It also showed me how important pharmacists are in the health-care system and how much patients rely on us.

This article orginally appeared in the Winter 2023 edition of Mortar & Pestle. Don't forget to check out and read the full publication.