Pharmacy Officer

Canadian Armed Forces; Yellowknife, Riverview, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Winnipeg; On-site; CAD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Les Officiers Pharmaciens dans les Forces armées canadiennes jouent un rôle crucial, offrant des soins pharmaceutiques variés et conseillant sur des thérapies médicamenteuses. Ils gèrent également les fournitures médicales et collaborent étroitement avec le personnel médical. Ce poste exige un diplôme en pharmacie et une bonne maîtrise clinique, tout en offrant des possibilités uniques d'expérience au sein de la communauté militaire.

Qualifications

• Posséder un B.Sc. en Pharmacie ou Pharm D.
• Doit avoir passé l'examen du Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada.
• Expérience clinique en établissement de soins tertiaires recommandée.

Responsibilities

• Fournir des soins pharmaceutiques aux membres des Forces armées canadiennes.
• Gérer et contrôler les fournitures médicales et équipements.
• Consulter avec les patients et d'autres professionnels de la santé.

Skills

Clinical Competence

Drug Therapy Management

Leadership

Problem Solving

Education

Bachelor of Science (Pharmacy) or Pharm D

Job description

As a member of the military, Pharmacy Officers provide pharmaceutical care to Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members.

As a member of the military, Pharmacy Officers provide pharmaceutical care to Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members. They offer expert advice on drug therapy for emergency medicine, intensive care therapy, pain management, infectious diseases, and medical countermeasures for nuclear, biological and chemical warfare. Pharmacy Officers also identify and resolve complex drug-related problems.

The role of a Pharmacy Officer is constantly changing and is no longer confined to the distribution of medications. As integral members of the Canadian Forces Health Services team, Pharmacy Officers consult with patients, physicians, and other health care professionals. They teach and guide pharmacy students and interns, serve on advisory and professional committees, and maintain clinical competence through structured and self-directed learning initiatives.

Pharmacy Officers also manage and control medical supplies and equipment. Within the CAF, Pharmacy Officers are the experts in medical materiel procurement and medical supply chain management. They leverage their training and experience to ensure entitled personnel have access to medical supplies wherever they are stationed – be it a base in Canada, or on operations overseas. Pharmacy Officers perform contracting functions for the procurement of medical supplies and work collaboratively with non-medical CAF members to transport cold chain medications around the world.

Work environment

Pharmacy Officers typically provide pharmacy services at health clinics in Canada, although they also work in a medical depot or in support of military missions in a field medical unit. Pharmacy officers face challenging clinical situations and will also serve as leaders, administrators, and material managers.

If you chose a career in theRegular Force, upon completion of all required training, you will be assigned to your first base. While there is some flexibility with regards to postings (relocations), accommodations can’t always be made, and therefore, you can likely expect to move at some point in your career. However, if you decide to join the Primary Reserve Force, you will do so through a specific Reserve unit. Outside of training, your chosen Reserve unit will be your workplace on a part time basis, and you will not be obligated to relocate to a different base. As part of the Primary Reserve Force, you typically work one night per week and some weekends as a minimum with possibilities of full-time employment.

CAPTAIN CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN: I’m Captain Christopher Sherman from Riverview, New Brunswick. I’m a Pharmacy Officer currently posted at 17 Wing in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Pharmacy Officers are a vital part of the healthcare team in the Canadian Armed Forces. From providing expert advice on drug therapy in garrison and on deployments, to managing the distribution of medication and medical equipment, Pharmacy Officers are employed in a variety of settings.

CAPTAIN CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN: There’s actually many jobs you can occupy as a military pharmacist. Our military clinics are actually a bit of a mix between civilian pharmacy and hospital pharmacy. So we still have the traditional dispensaries, as you can see behind me here, and we actually have a lot of clinical roles as well, so our doctors, our nurses, all of that, are located right in the same building with us. So we have case conferences on patients, we do rounds with physicians, all these things that you get in a hospital as well, so you’re a little more involved in the patient care, which is nice.

There are other roles: we have something called CMED, which is a central medical equipment depot, in Petawawa, where they basically act as a medical supply for the entire Canadian Forces and for deployed operations.

We have other positions at Field Ambulances and Field Hospitals, sort of acting more in the field environment, supporting the troops directly there. You’re not only the pharmacist, clinically, but you’re also often in charge of the medical supplies and all the medical assets, so anything from drugs to blood to X-ray machines, anything like that is sort of your jurisdiction. So you’re a bit of a manager in that sense.

We do also have a disaster assistance response team role, which is a team that the Canadian Forces puts together to respond to natural emergencies when they happen around the world. As well as positions in Ottawa, developing policy, working on drug formulary, all those types of things.

CAPTAIN CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN: A career in the military as a pharmacist, it’s really an adventure, honestly. You get the opportunities to go out with the troops on taskings — you know, play in the field, wear all the gear, carry around the weapons, things like that.

The Army and the military also offers a lot of esprit de corps, you know, there’s a lot of pride when you put on that uniform in the morning.

As well, with the military, I find that the quality of life is really there for you. On your day-to-day work, to do physical training during work hours — whether it’s go to the gym, I play soccer a couple of days a week — getting those types of opportunities that just improve your morale and really make coming to work fun.

I recently got back from Kuwait on a three-week deployment and it was my first opportunity to do something like that. Just from getting off the plane, it’s all real all of a sudden. You know, I was nervous going into it, but to be able to go there and actually do your job — you’re supporting a lot of people over there that are really making a difference in that area.

CAPTAIN CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN: Well, the first couple of years of your career, generally, we spend about a year doing our initial training —so things like a 6-month hospital residency and some military courses specific to pharmacy and healthcare within the military. Generally we’re posted to a larger clinic, so you have someone to kind of help you learn the job, things like that; spend a couple of years on the clinic, just doing what we learned in school, getting a little bit of the military pace, and then eventually getting the opportunity to branch out and get some experience in some of those other positions that are a little more unique to military service.

Pharmacy Officers also work in other environments including instruction and teaching, as well as strategic management and pharmacy governance.

CAPTAIN CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN: Being in the military gives me a pretty tremendous sense of pride, obviously, being able to put on the uniform in the morning and be proud of that, be proud of what you’re doing, being proud of making a difference, both when you’re working here in the clinic as well as when you’re deployed or on operation overseas. Getting that chance to really make a difference, not only in Canadians’ lives but other people’s lives is quite rewarding and really makes you feel good at the end of the day — it makes you feel like you’re making a difference.

If you already have a Bachelor of Science (Pharmacy) or a Pharm D degree from a recognized Canadian university, have passed the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada’s qualifying exam, hold a current license to practice client-based pharmacy in a Canadian province or territory, and are in the possession of a letter of ‘Good Standing’ from your professional regulatory authority, the CAF may place you directly into the required on-the-job training program following basic training. Because this on-the-job training leads directly to an intensive 6 month clinical residency, it is also necessary that all candidates (except for very recent graduates) possess---or seek out---clinical experience in a tertiary care facility as delineated in the entry standard prior to applying to the CAF. Basic training and military officer qualification training (of which this clinical residency are part) are both required before being assigned.