Every day, the work of Nova Scotia Health pharmacy teams positively impacts patients and healthcare teams in hospitals and communities throughout Nova Scotia.
Your local pharmacy department provides clinical pharmacy services in many inpatient, outpatient and primary care areas, in addition to distributing drugs for all hospital patients, supporting essential patient care.
Pharmacy helps sustain our healthcare system
This Pharmacy Appreciation Month, we honour the invaluable contributions of our pharmacy teams, who play a central role in sustaining the healthcare system.
Pharmacists collaborate with physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals to provide holistic care and ensure that patients receive the right medications, at the right time, in the right doses. Their expertise is crucial in managing complex medication regimens and preventing harmful drug interactions.
Pharmacists play an important role in providing evidence-based care by participating in:
• medication reconciliation (the process of making sure that a patient’s medication list is accurate and complete when they experience transitions in care, including admission to and discharge from, the hospital)
• patient care rounds
• development of care plans
• prevention and resolution of drug therapy problems
• prescribing
• ordering tests to assess medication therapy
• patient education
• and immunization
Did you know?
In Central Zone alone, pharmacists completed prescribing for 1,664 discharge medication reconciliation orders in 2024, contributing to improved access and flow of patients through the healthcare system, and safer and seamless transitions from hospital to home.
Pharmacy technicians and pharmacy practice assistants work hard to ensure that the day-to-day operation of the pharmacy department is efficient, and medication therapy is provided safely. Pharmacy practice assistants prepare medication doses, including chemotherapy and other intravenous medications, and manage medication inventory in automated dispensing cabinets. In addition, pharmacy technicians are involved in clinical support roles, including obtaining the best possible medication history, and supporting patients to access medications they can afford and that work with their drug coverage.
Did you know?
Since September 2023, a team of pharmacy practice assistants, including a pharmacy automation lead and a support team, have completed upgrades for 80 automated dispensing cabinets in Central Zone.
Pharmacy helps sustain our antimicrobials
Pharmacists ensure the appropriate selection, dosing, route and duration of antimicrobials (also known as antibiotics)Pharmacists are active members of the Nova Scotia Health Antimicrobial Stewardship Program, partnering with infectious disease specialists, microbiologists and other healthcare professionals to develop and implement guidelines, policies and surveillance systems to prevent antimicrobial resistance.
Pharmacy helps sustain our environment
Pharmacy professionals are lowering emissions, optimizing medications, ensuring safe disposal, promoting sustainable operations and educating others on environmentally friendly practices. The pharmacy team plays a critical role in promoting climate-resilient, low-carbon and sustainable therapy options.
Pharmacists and pharmacy students assess inhaled medications to determine whether it is appropriate to switch from a metered dose inhaler that contains harmful greenhouse gases to an environmentally friendly substitute such as a dry powder inhaler. Pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and students provide education on proper inhaler technique, which optimizes effectiveness and prevents waste. In partnership with other Nova Scotia Health and IWK Health green champions, the pharmacy team participates in quality improvement and research, and develops educational resources, policies and procedures that contribute to planetary health.
Pharmacy helps sustain our wellbeing
Pharmacy FORWARD is a wellness vision, investing in the pharmacy team’s health and wellbeing to attract, retain and grow a stable and sustainable workforce.
We know that healthcare worker burnout not only impacts personal wellbeing, job satisfaction and professional accomplishment, but also compromises our ability to provide quality patient care, which is an essential element to achieving excellence.
The Pharmacy FORWARD team aims to understand the professional, social and psychological needs of pharmacy professionals, and to improve joy in work, by creating meaningful strategies with front-line staff. By developing a method to measure how the pharmacy team experiences and responds to unexpected lows and joyful interventions such as sharing kudos, the Pharmacy FORWARD team is learning how to better enable the larger team to be their best at work every day.
Pharmacy helps sustain our profession
In September 2025, Nova Scotia Health Pharmacy will offer a 52-week specialty oncology pharmacy training program, the first oncology-focused year-two pharmacy residency program in Canada! The purpose of the program is to develop and refine a pharmacy resident's skills as an advanced practitioner, researcher, educator and leader in oncology pharmacy practice.
The program builds upon the competencies established through completion of an accredited year-one pharmacy residency and/or a post-graduate clinical pharmacy degree. The curriculum includes rotations through both inpatient and outpatient oncology settings and provides the opportunity to be mentored by oncologists and work in pharmacist-led clinics.
See program details and application requirements or contact Laura Minard at LauraV.Minard@nshealth.ca for more information. The stipend is $70,000 plus benefits and the application deadline is April 15, 2025.
Photo of pharmacist Andrea Maede.
