In this episode we dive into the real life work experiences of working in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside as pharmacists. We talk about what is currently being done to combat the major opioid addiction crisis in Canada and offer tips on things you can do personally to support others in the community who are battling with mental health and substance abuse.

Information about COVID-19 and the related vaccines are ever-changing. Join Leo, Jamie, Ting Ting, and Tom as they discuss these updates! We go over some current news regarding AstraZeneca’s “blood clots” and common questions people have regarding COVID-19 vaccines, such as “How much will I be protected from my first shot?”

Disclaimer: The information presented here shouldn’t be taken as medical advice, so make sure to talk to your pharmacist or doctor for those discussions. And finally, all of our opinions presented are of our own and not representative of all students, faculty or other health professionals.

Links:

AstraZeneca’s press release on their vaccine’s safety and efficacy  https://www.astrazeneca.com/content/astraz/media-centre/press-releases/2021/azd1222-us-phase-iii-primary-analysis-confirms-safety-and-efficacy.html

VIPIT https://covid19-sciencetable.ca/sciencebrief/vaccine-induced-prothrombotic-immune-thrombocytopenia-vipit-following-astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccination-interim-guidance-for-healthcare-professionals-in-emergency-department-and-inpatient-settings

Pfizer’s press release on their vaccine’s safety and efficacy https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-and-biontech-confirm-high-efficacy-and-no-serious

Summary of efficacy of single dose against COVID-19 https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210114-covid-19-how-effective-is-a-single-vaccine-dose

As always, don’t forget to take your daily dose!

Music Credits: "Cheery Monday" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The emergence of novel COVID-19 vaccines not only brings society closer to beating the pandemic but also brings new scientific advancements in vaccine technology. Join Leo, Jamie, Ting Ting, and Tom in their discussion and explanation of how the vaccines work and the stats around each one. We also go over some common questions people have regarding these vaccines, such as which vaccine should I get?

Disclaimer: The information presented here shouldn’t be taken as medical advice, so make sure to talk to your pharmacist or doctor for those discussions. And finally, all of our opinions presented are of our own and not representative of all students, faculty or other health professionals.

Links:

Pfizer’s press release https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-and-biontech-conclude-phase-3-study-covid-19-vaccine

Moderna’s press release https://investors.modernatx.com/news-releases/news-release-details/modernas-covid-19-vaccine-candidate-meets-its-primary-efficacy

AstraZeneca’s press release https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/press-releases/2021/covid-19-vaccine-astrazeneca-confirms-protection-against-severe-disease-hospitalisation-and-death-in-the-primary-analysis-of-phase-iii-trials.html

Johnson & Johnson’s press release https://www.jnj.com/johnson-and-johnson-announces-single-shot-janssen-covid-19-vaccine-candidate-met-primary-endpoints-in-interim-analysis-of-its-phase-3-ensemble-trial

As always, don’t forget to take your daily dose!

Music Credits: "Cheery Monday" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Today we’re discussing the topic of mental health. We talk about the stresses of pharmacy school, the added stresses of the pandemic, and some useful strategies to manage the pressure. Taking care of your mental health is very important and we encourage anybody to reach out or use the following resources:

UBC Student Health Services https://students.ubc.ca/health/student-health-service

BC Mental Health Support https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/mental-health-support-in-bc

HereToHelp BC https://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/

Relevant Hotlines ​1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) 310-Mental Health (310-6789)

As a reminder, although we are students, all the opinions we offer are opinions of our own and do not represent all pharmacy students, pharmacists, the UBC faculty of pharmaceutical sciences or health care professionals. Please do not take our opinion as healthcare recommendations for yourself without consulting a healthcare professional.

As always, don’t forget to take your daily dose!

Music Credits: "Cheery Monday" Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Welcome to our first bonus episode! This one is for the students. In this episode we go through what it is like to be a pre-pandemic pharmacy student at UBC. We focus on giving tips for imminent final exams and advice on how to make the most out of upcoming experiential rotations.

As always, don’t forget to take your daily dose!

Music Credits: "Cheery Monday" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Engineering has many applications in the world, and healthcare is definitely one of them! Software engineers Charlie Yang and Sulagshan Raveendrakumar join us to talk about their experience with projects related to pharmacy and healthcare in general.

The resources from our “Helpful Pill” segment are below:

UBC’s The Great Hatch https://www.hatchinghealth.ca/?fbclid=IwAR15ybH-OoF1yRhzzDml67rDFYn_psrerJKOmbQFynrt2K2x9wunM5R_Xro

Google’s Healthcare Initiative https://health.google/

Telus Health https://www.telus.com/en/health

Amazon’s Healthcare Initiative https://www.pillpack.com/

As always, don’t forget to take your daily dose!

Music Credits: "Cheery Monday" Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

We are introducing our new series: Interprofessionalism! In this series, we explore the relationships between healthcare providers. We start with talking to our student physician colleague, Shanna Yeung!

Check out her youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpjGo58TOY5ZGwKp_9iScjw

The resources from our “Helpful Pill” segment are below:

UBC Medicine admission process https://mdprogram.med.ubc.ca/admissions/

UBC Pharmacy admission process https://pharmsci.ubc.ca/programs/entry-practice-pharmd-degree/admissions-information

UBC’s interprofessionalism concept https://health.ubc.ca/education/resources/interprofessional-education-collaborative-practice-frameworks

As always, don’t forget to take your daily dose!

Music Credits: "Cheery Monday" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

We wrap up our COVID-19 series by taking a look at our province’s restart plan. We discuss our experiences with the “new normal” and also play a fun game where we make predictions on the future!

The resources from our “Helpful Pill” segment are below:

BC’s Restart Plan https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/covid-19-provincial-support/bc-restart-plan

Worksafe BC’s Protocols for returning to operation https://www.worksafebc.com/en/about-us/covid-19-updates/covid-19-returning-safe-operation/restaurant-cafes-pubs

CESB https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/benefits/emergency-student-benefit.html

Helping with the COVID19 pandemic in Canada https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/make-a-difference.html

Canada’s guidelines on non-medical masks and face coverings https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/prevention-risks/about-non-medical-masks-face-coverings.html

As always, don’t forget to take your daily dose!

Music Credits: "Cheery Monday" Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/