Author Archives: han-qi-wang

PAIN BC: Assessment Tools and Clinical Guidelines

What you will find here:  PAIN BC assessment tools and clinical guidelines for heath care professionals.

Assessment Tools & Clinical Guidelines

Assessment Tools Pain assessment tools are in the public domain and are available to all health care providers to assist them in better understanding the impact of pain on a person. Single-dimensional pain scales Single-dimensional scales only measure pain intensity and are useful in acute pain when the etiology is clear.

Canadian Agency for Drugs & Technologies in Health: Resources

What you will find here: CADTH is an independent, not-for-profit organization responsible for providing health care decision-makers with objective evidence to help make informed decisions about the optimal use of health technologies, including: Drugs, Diagnostic tests, Medical, dental, and surgical devices and procedures.

Resources

CADTH provides a variety of resources that enable you to find, produce, interpret, and implement evidence. These include software applications, search tools, customized Excel spreadsheets, and more. If you have any questions about CADTH’s resources, please contact CADTH at our main office or get in touch with the CADTH Liaison Officer nearest to you.

American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA)

What you will find here: The ASRA’s mission is to advance the science and practice of regional anesthesia and pain medicine to improve patient outcomes through research, education, and advocacy.

Home

ASRA Connect Community Find • Ask • Share • ConnectJust for members! Membership Join, renew, learn about benefits, and get answers to your questions. Special Interest Groups SIGs foster collaboration and networking among people with similar interests. Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine Member access (requires login) Nonmembers, view open-access content here.

The Canadian Pain Society

What you will find here: The Canadian Pain Society aims to foster and encourage research on pain mechanisms and pain syndromes and to help improve the management of patients with acute and chronic pain by bringing together the basic scientists and health professionals of various disciplines and backgrounds who have an interest in pain research and management.

Canadian Pain Society

Covid-19 Health Information: Federal Government Government of Canada – COVID-19 Outbreak Update Government of Canada – COVID-19 Symptoms and Treatment Covid-19 Health Information: Provincial & Territorial Health Services Alberta BC Manitoba New Brunswick Newfoundland & Labrador Nova Scotia Northwest Territories Nunavut Ontario PEI Quebec Saskatchewan Yukon March 18, 2020: CPS Annual Scientific Meeting Cancelled It is with heavy hearts that we announce the cancellation of this year’s Annual Scientific Meeting, due to take place May 19-22 in Calgary.

PAIN BC: Resources for Health Professionals

What you will find here: Recommended pain management resources for health care professionals.

Resources

The Alzheimer’s Society Ontario has developed this useful pamphlet to help those caring for people with dementia recognize the signs of pain. Because people living with dementia struggle to express pain in typical ways, they may be living with untreated pain and this can be a problem particularly for those in the later stages of dementia who may have issues communicating.

Food Allergy Canada

What you will find here: Food Allergy Canada delivers critical information to anyone impacted by food allergy, innovative educational programs to keep you and others informed about the latest developments, and life-changing support services to Canadians with food allergies.

Food Allergy Canada – Food Allergy Canada

Food Allergy Canada is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping Canadians with food allergies live with confidence. How can we help? Answers to your COVID-19 questions: Ask the allergist What is food allergy? I’ve just been diagnosed with an allergy. How can I prevent food allergy? I need resources to share with others.

Canadian Vigilance Adverse Reaction Online Database

What you will find here: The Canada Vigilance Adverse Reaction Online Database contains information about suspected adverse reactions (also known as side effects) to health products.

Adverse Reaction Database – Canada.ca

The Canada Vigilance Adverse Reaction Online Database contains information about suspected adverse reactions (also known as side effects) to health products. Adverse reaction reports are submitted by: consumers and health professionals, who submit reports voluntarily manufacturers and distributors (also known as market authorization holders), who are required to submit reports according to the Food and Drugs Act.


Canadian Mental Health Association

What you will find here: Founded in 1918, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is the most established, most extensive community mental health organization in Canada. Through a presence in more than 330 communities across every province and one territory, CMHA provides advocacy, programs and resources that help to prevent mental health problems and illnesses, support recovery and resilience, and enable all Canadians to flourish and thrive.

Home – CMHA National

In crisis? Please call 1-833-456-4566 toll free (In QC: 1-866-277-3553), 24/7 or visit www.crisisservicescanada.ca.

Academic Concession

This video explains what to do in some of the most common scenarios requiring academic concession during UBC pharmacy practicums.

Video Timestamps:
o Sick Days 0:34
o Running Late 1:20
o Extenuating Circumstances 2:00
o Resources and Policies 3:14

Transcript:

Hello, my name is Dr. Tablet, but you can just call me Tab. In this video, I’ll be talking about academic concession because life doesn’t always go as planned.

Our first story takes place in Squamish where Oliver has come down with the flu. He feels fatigued, achy, and feverish. Oliver is expected to be at his practicum site in the next hour, but he knows he should stay home and not risk spreading his infection to others. A million questions are running through his head: Who should I contact? Do I need to submit an academic concession request form? Will I have to make up missed time? Do I need a doctor’s note? If you get sick during your practicum, the first thing you should do is Evaluate your condition. Are you well enough to perform your duties safely and effectively? Is there a risk of infecting others? If you decide you are unfit to attend your practicum, notify your practice educator as soon as possible and let them know when you expect to return. Finally submit an academic concession request form as the faculty needs to be notified. All missed time due to absence or lateness must be made up. Once you have submitted an academic concession request form, a member from the office of experiential education, also known as the OEE, will evaluate your case and contact you with further instructions. You only need to provide a doctor’s note if it is requested by the faculty.

Now that we’ve covered sick days, let’s move on to another common scenario, running late. Jennifer’s car wouldn’t start this morning and now she is running late. She knows she needs to contact her practice site as soon as possible. If you are late, your practice educator will make note and you will be expected to make up all missed time. For example, if you arrive 10 minutes late, you may be required to stay 10 minutes later.

While I know that lateness can’t always be helped, it is important to reflect and ensure steps are taken to prevent lateness in the future. Punctuality is a program expectation and consistent demonstration of professional behaviour is required to pass the practicum course. You are expected to arrive on time at the beginning of each day, return from breaks on time, and be punctual for all scheduled activities.

Now let’s move on to more serious matters. Extenuating circumstances are instances where you are unable to meet practicum requirements due to an unforeseen or unavoidable event such as a serious illness or death of an immediate family member. In circumstances like these, please submit an academic concession request form and the OEE will be in contact with you.

So far, we’ve talked about circumstances that are unexpected and unavoidable: Getting sick, running late, losing a loved one… but how should you manage personal commitments like dentist appointments, family vacations, work, conferences or weddings?

Your practicum should take priority over all non-urgent activities. Most scheduling conflicts can be prevented by planning activities only after receiving your practicum location and schedule. Working at a job in addition to your practicum is not recommended as completing practicum activities will require much of your time and focus. Employment is not usually viewed as an acceptable reason for academic concession. You may need to have a conversation with your employer to ensure that you are not scheduled to work during practicum dates.

For fourth year students, make sure to schedule your Jurisprudence Exam on a date outside of your practicum blocks. The College of Pharmacists of BC offers multiple examination sittings each year.

For more information and additional resources please refer to the items listed on the screen.

I hope you found this video helpful.

Thanks for watching. I’m Dr. Tablet and I hope you have a fanTABulous practicum!

Acknowledgements:

We would like to thank Alyssa Low (Undergraduate Student) for helping to create this video and Garrett Tang (Undergraduate Student) for designing original images (e.g. Dr. Tablet).

Placement Process

This video answers some of the most frequently asked questions about your pharmacy practicum and the OEE placement process.

Video Timestamps:
o Where can I be placed? 1:26
o How does the preference process work? 1:55
o What if I have an ongoing disability or special consideration? 4:32
o Can I make changes to my practicum? 5:36
o Am I going to be paid? 6:08

Transcript:
Hello, my name is Dr. Tablet, but you can call me Tab. In this video I’ll be giving you a crash course on the practicum placement process. I’m happy to answer all of your questions like: Where will I be placed? How does the preference process work? What if I have an ongoing disability or special consideration? Can I make changes to my practicum? Am I going to be paid? There’s so much to think about so let’s dive right in.Based on your current year level and corresponding practicum course, you’ll get a chance to learn and practice in a number of settings including: community pharmacies, hospitals, primary care settings, long term care facilities, government agencies, academic institutions, non-profit organizations and more.
The only sites you won’t be placed at are community pharmacies where you’ve completed previous practicums or sites where there is a conflict of interest. For example, you won’t be placed at a site owned or managed by a relative or friend. Also, you won’t be placed at a pharmacy where you have been employed in the past, are currently employed, or have an arrangement for future employment. This is to avoid any potential bias during the assessment of your practicum activities and to ensure that the student-practice educator relationship is upheld. It is your responsibility to disclose any possible conflict of interest to the Office of Experiential Education, also known as the OEE.Now that we’ve discussed conflict of interest, the first thing most students want to know is where they can be placed. The short answer is ANYWHERE IN B.C. This is your chance to explore different areas of practice across the province so I would encourage all of you to embrace these opportunities and don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. Here’s a handy toolbox with some resources that might be helpful. You can also enter your preferences for your placement and Evalue will take them into consideration.That brings us to the question that students are always asking me. How does the preference process work? With hundreds of sites across B.C. and almost a thousand students to place, the goal is to take your preferences into consideration while also making the matching process as fair as possible. This can be complicated as the OEE is accountable to their stakeholders and must support the needs of practice educators. They volunteer their time to enrich the educational experience for students. Placements are subject to site and practice educator availability so, unfortunately, placement preferences cannot be guaranteed. A placement software, called E*Value, is used to match students with practicum sites. Depending on your practicum course, E*Value will give you the option to input your preferences for things such as time block, geographic location, practice setting, or community partner.Here’s the secret to our software’s algorithm works. It is a common misconception that your preferences are entered into a lottery system, where each student is randomly assigned a number and the one with the first selection gets their first choice. Then the next randomly selected student receives their highest choice so long as it is still available. This lottery system yields some very happy students and some very unhappy ones. Our software does not use this system as it only allows a few students receive their top choices. Instead, we analyze all student preferences simultaneously to optimize the match for everyone. This way, every student’s preference is taken into account, every student is treated equally and there really is no “luck of the draw”.In case you were wondering. Roughly 75-80% of each class gets placed within their top 5 geographic zones! That’s pretty good if you ask me.Now for some important tips about entering your preferences:1. Make sure that each of your preferences is unique, if you duplicate a choice, the system will ignore it!2. You can change your preferences as many times as you like before the deadline. No preferences can be entered once the deadline has passed

3. You are not at any advantage if you enter preferences before other students.

4. Entering preferences is NOT REQUIRED. If you leave the form blank, the system will assume you don’t have any preference and place you accordingly. That being said if you only enter 5 preferences and leave the rest of the form blank, E*value will treat it as if you have no preferences in the remaining blank spots and if it is not able to match you with any of your top 5 choices, you’ll be placed anywhere there is an available site.

5. Finally, once you have saved your preferences, you will see a “preferences saved” message. Make sure to save a screen shot of this as proof.

Does anyone have any questions?
Student: “Umm… Dr. Tablet? What if I have a situation that requires me to be in a specific area?”
Dr. Tab: “That’s a great question!”
If you have a situation like an ongoing medical condition or disability that impacts your learning, please register with UBC Centre for Accessibility as soon as possible so that the OEE can make appropriate arrangements. If you have a special consideration such as caring for a young child, please let us know. Students registered with UBC Centre for Accessibility and those who have applied for special consideration SHOULD also enter their preferences on E*value.

After entering your preferences, you’ll have to wait patiently for the results to be released. You may be wondering why it takes so long to release the schedule. As I mentioned before, placements depend on the availability of sites, practice educators, and community partners. I just want to take a moment to emphasize the sheer volume of practice sites and practicums we’re talking about here. The OEE needs to enter the availability of over 800 practice sites, ensure there are no conflicting schedules for each and every required practicum course, optimize placements based on all students’ preferences and manage special cases as needed. To be fair to all students, placement schedules are not released until every student has been placed.
Student: “Can I make changes to my practicum?”
Unfortunately, once you’ve received your practicum schedule, you won’t be able to request any changes due to the sheer complexity of the placement process. While changes to your practicum site cannot be requested, unforeseen circumstances such as natural disasters, and changes in site or practice educator availability may require some practicums to be changed. In these circumstances, the OEE will contact you directly with more information.
To avoid conflicts, please wait to receive your schedule before making travel plans.
Student: “Am I going to get paid?”
The short answer to this popular question is no. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to be the one to give you this news. In accordance with the Practice Education Guidelines for BC Remuneration and Reimbursement…
Students shall not receive any remuneration for their practicum experiences. Students are responsible for all transportation, housing, food, and any other personal expenses associated with their practicums. For me, I try to think of it as an investment in our futures.

You might feel better knowing we’re not the only ones. Your practicum is like a rite of passage in the healthcare field. Completion of an unpaid experiential practicum is a requirement for many health disciplines including medicine, nursing, and dentistry. Although travelling for practicum is a great adventure, I understand that traversing the province brings about its own set of challenges. Some of you have already started thinking about the logistics: money, transportation, housing, being apart from friends and family. I know it can be challenging at times but you’re not alone. The rest of team from the office of experiential education, or the OEE are here to support you.
I hope you found this video helpful.
Thanks for watching. I’m Dr. Tablet and I hope you have a fanTABulous practicum!

Acknowledgements:
We would like to thank Alyssa Low (Undergraduate Student) for helping to create this video and Garrett Tang (Undergraduate Student) for designing original images (e.g. Dr. Tablet).