Doctor of Pharmacy Candidate
Prior to my time at the Ontario Pharmacists Association (OPA), I had a shallow understanding of what advocacy entailed. I did not truly understand the impactful work OPA accomplished for the profession. When I entered pharmacy school, the field was at the turning point of expanding the scope of pharmacy practice. It was probably one of the best times to enter the profession as Ontario pharmacists were just starting minor ailment assessments. At that time, I did not even consider how the profession reached that point. In retrospect, I now realize OPA played a major role in achieving that expanded scope. Without the hard work and tenacity of the OPA team, the scope of the profession would not be where it is now. As a current pharmacy student, I hoped to gain a deeper understanding of association and advocacy work, which was achieved through my time here at OPA. Coming out of this placement, I have found a valuable appreciation for the work required to advance the profession.
One of the first projects I was asked to do was to update OPA’s Universal Influenza Immunization Program (UIIP) webpage and patient screening/consent/documentation form. Once the OPA webpage was published with the updated tool, I was overjoyed to see that my work could be used by the profession. I felt that I was making an impact, albeit a minor one, but an impact nonetheless. Going forward in my placement, I had many more circumstances where I felt the same way. With every task I completed at OPA, I saw how it could make a difference.
A significant portion of my time at OPA was dedicated to conducting research for advocacy initiatives. Through this opportunity, I came to realize that research is the backbone to advocacy. It provides the foundation and illustrates the reasons behind why changes to the profession are needed. As part of my work, I was tasked with gathering the resources needed to support OPA’s initiatives. I conducted jurisdictional scans to attain a better understanding of the scope of pharmacists with respect to minor ailments across the country. By comparing the similarities and differences between the provinces, this provided an opportunity to recommend additions to the scope of practice in Ontario to align with the other jurisdictions on a national level. I also conducted literature reviews to find supporting evidence for specific advocacy perspectives. Without research and evidence to further reinforce an argument, many of the requests for improving pharmacy practices could be dismissed and the effort spent would be in vain. Research is what fuels the advocacy engine to continuously strive for success in advancing the pharmacy profession.
Conducting research at OPA allowed me to strengthen my resilience as I explored different facets of research to support pharmacy advocacy initiatives. It allowed me to gain a greater appreciation for research as I saw the impact my work could have. It provided me with opportunities to look deeper into not just the pharmacy profession but other healthcare professions as well.
From the very first day of my rotation, I was encouraged to explore my interests within OPA, through the Professional Affairs team, which I was involved with, or in the other departments. They made effort to include me in as many meetings with stakeholders as possible so that I would have a better understanding of OPA’s role. Even though we knew that my time at OPA had an end date, that did not stop the team from embracing me as one of their own. I am grateful for my time at OPA and the people I have worked with. This experience enabled me to explore new interests as I was constantly encouraged to “dip my toes” into the many aspects of the role. From creating and reviewing tools for members, to participating in stakeholder meetings, I had the opportunity to get an inside look into the multifaceted world that is OPA’s Professional Affairs team.
I believe OPA is at the forefront of advancing the profession. Although we may not notice it, they are constantly working behind the scenes to support the interests of pharmacy professionals. I do not think the pharmacy profession would be where it is today without the work that OPA does. I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to participate in this work. My placement has been very rewarding, and I feel privileged to have been given the opportunity to make a small contribution to advancing the pharmacy profession. As my time at OPA is nearing an end, I am saddened to leave the Professional Affairs team, but my passion to advocate for the pharmacy profession will remain a significant part of my long journey ahead. Now that I have a taste of what it is like, I am optimistic to use my experiences gained at OPA during these past few months to explore advocacy further.
Written by:
Patty Wu, Doctor of Pharmacy Candidate, Class of 2026, University of Waterloo
Patty is going into her third year of the Doctor of Pharmacy program at the University of Waterloo. With experience in the community and hospital settings, this was her first encounter in a non-traditional pharmacy role. She worked in the Department of Professional Affairs at OPA from September to December 2024.
