Pods + PANS

Happy Pride Month! 🏳️‍🌈 In this episode, PANS' Lisa Woodill sits down with Greg Richard, Pharmacist and Owner of Boyd’s Pharmasave—a community pharmacy dedicated to providing welcoming and affirming health care for the LGBTQ community. Greg shares his journey and commitment to creating safe, inclusive, and accessible pharmacy care—particularly for gender-affirming and sexual health services. With...

The Chief Medical Officer of Health in NS has announced that Nova Scotians over 65 years of age will now be offering the publicly funded vaccine for shingles at no charge if they have a valid NS health card. Booking for this service has opened via CanImmunize as of May 20 th with administration beginning May 28 th . In this episode, PANS’ Suzanne Richards meets with Dr Tasha Ramsey, the Nova Scoti...

STI Care Now is a confidential service, offered by Nova Scotia Health, to those seeking STI (sexually transmitted infection) testing and linkage to care. The goal is to help people 15 years and older get tested and treated for gonorrhea and chlamydia, and screened for HIV, through free self-testing kits and virtual care. In this episode, PANS' Lisa Woodill meets with Dr. Tasha Ramsey, the Nova Sco...

Many patients have drug therapy problems AFTER they start therapy, not before. The therapy isn’t working, it is causing side effects, or the patient isn’t taking it as prescribed. Or…everything is great. Assessing existing therapy is one of the most important roles of pharmacists, whether it’s renewals, med reviews, chronic disease management or checking in on a refill. The podcast series, 2 Cs 2...

Jaime McDonald is back on Pods + PANS to talk more about labs! PANS' Suzanne Richards-Aucoin chats with Jaime about liver enzymes and the thyroid. Learn more about what liver enzymes pharmacists should watch for, how to monitor them while on statins, drug induced liver damage and what you should monitor for those patients with thyroid conditions. To request a private consultation with Jaime, you c...

We’re delighted to welcome Graham Owen from Ostomy Halifax on Pods + PANS to talk all things Ostomy! PANS’ Kayla Biron talks with Graham about his own ostomy journey, differences between ostomy appliances and what pharmacy teams can do to help support ostomates and their care takers, including helpful lifestyle tips and tricks. Learn more about Ostomy Halifax and how they are providing ostomates w...

PANS' Martha Lowe is joined by Pharmacists Bruce Johnson and Vanessa Johnson for a special Pharmacy Appreciation Month episode. Did you know there are many pharmacy families in Nova Scotia? The Johnson's are just one! Bruce was the first African Nova Scotian to graduate from DAL's College of Pharmacy in 1974 and his daughter Vanessa followed in his pharmacy footsteps many years later. They touch o...

Many patients have drug therapy problems AFTER they start therapy, not before. The therapy isn’t working, it is causing side effects, or the patient isn’t taking it as prescribed. Or…everything is great. Assessing existing therapy is one of the most important roles of pharmacists, whether it’s renewals, med reviews, chronic disease management or checking in on a refill. The podcast series, 2 Cs 2...

We're happy to welcome back Jaime McDonald, Clinical Consultant Pharmacist, to Pods + PANS to talk more on labs! PANS' Suzanne Richards-Aucoin gets Jaime to dig deeper on electrolytes with a focus on sodium, potassium and chloride including what are the most useful values, what do they mean and when you should order them. To request a private consultation with Jaime, you can email admin@rxconsultn...

Not all cancer treatment drugs are covered by the healthcare system; but a Drug Access Navigator (DAN) can help. PANS' Lisa Woodill chats with Danielle Bezanson, a Drug Access Navigator with the Renal Program at Nova Scotia Health, about the important role DANs play, where to find support for your patients and and how DANs can remove some financial burden from patients in need. Danielle Bezanson i...

Many patients have drug therapy problems AFTER they start therapy, not before. The therapy isn’t working, it is causing side effects, or the patient isn’t taking it as prescribed. Or…everything is great. Assessing existing therapy is one of the most important roles of pharmacists, whether it’s renewals, med reviews, chronic disease management or checking in on a refill. The podcast series, 2 Cs 2...

We are so excited to welcome Harpreet Chana, Pharmacist and Wellbeing Coach from the UK, back to Pods + PANS to talk about how pharmacists can turn confrontations into consultations. PANS' Suzanne Richards Aucoin and Harpreet talk about why conflicts happen, the different types of conflicts and how pharmacists can best approach difficult conversations with co-workers and patients. For more resourc...

In Nova Scotia, pharmacists can play a pivotal role in their patient's mental health care. PANS' Glenn Rodrigues chats with PANS' 2024 Pharmacist of the Year, Chelsie MacAulay, on her experience being a Mental Health Pharmacist for CFB (Halifax), the challenges with stigma and how community pharmacists can create the right environment for their mental health patients. Chelsie MacAulay is a pharmac...

In Nova Scotia, the pharmacists working in the CPPCC clinics can currently order lab tests and we expect this to expand across the province for non-CPPCC pharmacists in the New Year. Currently, all pharmacists in Nova Scotia can have access to SHARE to interpret results, which is very valuable when providing renewals. PANS' Suzanne Richards-Aucoin sits down with Jaime McDonald, well known practice...

This year marks the 107th anniversary of the Halifax Explosion. In recognition, PANS' Martha Lowe talks with Dr. Mary MacCara, Pharmacist, Pharmacy Historian and Author, who wrote the book "Dispensing Aid: Druggists and the Halifax Explosion". Mary gives insight into how pharmacists helped during the explosion's aftermath, shares stories and touches on how the Spanish Flu, which happened a couple...

When PANS conducted their last Wage, Benefits & Workplace Survey, over 20% of pharmacy professionals reported that they experience a high level of stress at work daily. In this episode, PANS' Suzanne Richards-Aucoin talks with Harpreet Chana, Pharmacist and Wellbeing Coach from the UK, on how to tell the difference between stress and burnout, why pharmacists are so at risk for both and ways we...

Here's Part Two! If you practice pharmacy in Nova Scotia, you know who Warren Meek is! PANS' Allison Calnen catches up with Warren after recently receiving CFP's 2024 Pillar of Pharmacy Award in Halifax as he reflects back on his successful career and provides insightful advice to the new practitioners coming into the profession today. Copyright Notice By accessing the PANS Pods and PANS Podcast (...

If you practice pharmacy in Nova Scotia, you know who Warren Meek is! PANS' Allison Calnen catches up with Warren after recently receiving CFP's 2024 Pillar of Pharmacy Award in Halifax as he reflects back on his successful career and provides insightful advice to the new practitioners coming into the profession today. Stay tuned for part two! Copyright Notice By accessing the PANS Pods and PANS P...

PANS' Lisa Woodill catches up with Dr. Kyle Wilby, Associate Professor in the College of Pharmacy, who is leading the project PrEP-Rx - Pharmacist Prescribing of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), the first of it's kind in Nova Scotia. He talks about why he started the project, how patients and pharmacists have been benefiting from the it and how you can start...

This year, Dalhousie University has the largest number of first year pharmacy students they've ever seen! PANS' Lisa Woodill speaks with Dr. Kyle Wilby, the new Director of the College of Pharmacy of Dalhousie University, on his professional background, how the PharmD program is going, what changes are coming to the collage and how he foresees the future of pharmacy in Nova Scotia. Dr. Kyle Wilby...

Did you know that 10 International Pharmacists have started practicing in Nova Scotia since the RxNS Recruitment Project began? PANS' Recruitment Navigator Tristan Park chats with two of these Pharmacists, Cayla & Dave, on what their experience was like coming into Canada, what challenges they faced along the way and what they enjoy most about being in Nova Scotia and practicing to their full...

There are so many ways pharmacies can incorporate their Pharmacy Technicians into the pharmacy workflow! PANS’ Kayla Biron chats with Robyn Oickle on what is included in the technician scope of practice, what POCT services techs can perform, where to get the training and how techs can advocate for themselves if they’re not being used to your full scope. Robyn Oickle is a licensed Pharmacy Technici...

Interested in obtaining your travel health certificate? PANS' Suzanne Richards-Aucoin catches up with Lisa Woodill on how she studied and obtained her travel health certificate, her journey of opening up her own travel clinic and some useful tips for patient travel consultations. Lisa Woodill is currently the Director of Pharmacy Practice for the Pharmacy Association of Nova Scotia. Lisa also rece...

Did you know Community pharmacists, in pharmacies connected to the Drug Information System, are eligible to receive free access to patient lab values contained in the provincial Electronic Health Record system, known as SHARE? On this episode, PANS' Glenn Rodriguez speaks with Rowan Sarty, Pharmacist and Program Manager for DIS & SHARE, on how pharmacists can fully utilize SHARE within their p...

PANS' Lisa Woodill speaks with Stacey Smith, Community Pharmacist & Certified Diabetes and Bariatric Educator, on the trending topic of Ozempic, how Wevovy is being used to treat obesity and ways pharmacists can support patients with side effects & managing their new life style. Stacey Smith is a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) and a Certified Bariatric Educator (CBE) who has practiced i...