Memorial receives numerous CSHP awards
The School of Pharmacy received a number of awards at the 2015 Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists (CSHP) national conference.
Dr. Barbara Thomas received the Isabel E. Stauffer Meritorious Service Award – a peer-nominated recognition for prolonged service to and involvement in CSHP. This is the second year in a row a School of Pharmacy faculty member has received this recognition – last year’s award went to Dr. Lisa Bishop.
Dr. Thomas was the first pharmacist assigned to the Mental Health Services at Eastern Health. Over the past 20 years, the role has expanded so that she now works with three inpatient multi-disciplinary teams to ensure delivery of optimal medication care.
Highly regarded as a clinician, patient educator and teacher/mentor to pharmacy, medical, and clinical psychology students, she has also recently taken on a Regional Clinical Leadership role within the Pharmacy Services Program at Eastern Health, to mentor and guide pharmacists as they embark on new clinical roles within the organization.
She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the CSHP NL Branch Alfred G. Dawe Distinguished Service Award, CSHP NL Branch Leadership in Pharmacy Practice Award, The Takeda Magnum Opus Award and the James C. Quick Award (for innovative pharmacy practice) from the Pharmacists’ Association of Newfoundland and Labrador. She also received the March Award from the Schizophrenia Society of Newfoundland and Labrador recognizing outstanding commitment and devotion to individuals suffering with the disorder, and their families.
Alumnus Michael LeBlanc (Class of 1998) received the CSHP New Fellows Award for his contributions in the areas of Mental Health, Cardiology and Palliative Care. As a result of a major patient care research program at the Dr. H. Bliss Murphy Cancer Clinic, he and his fellow researchers developed a new Oncology pharmacy practice model that involves pharmacist intervention at the point of prescribing chemotherapy, provision of education to patient and caregivers, baseline toxicity assessment, follow up toxicity assessment post-treatment and seamless care for patients who will be cared for my other healthcare providers.
Pharmacy student Parinita Verma (Class of 2015) was a national winner of the CSHP 2015 Success Story Newsletter Contest. The award criteria requires students to create a newsletter submission in one page or less, including pictures and figures, that answers what has CSHP 2015 motivated students to integrate into their pharmacy practice. She successfully met goal six of the criteria, which was to increase the extent to which pharmacy departments in hospitals and related healthcare settings engage in public health initiatives on behalf of their communities. Ms. Verma created a newsletter on an Osteoporosis Awareness Clinic.