PharmD for Pharmacists grad gains key clinical skills to expand career

After Albert Villaluna came to Canada and started practising pharmacy in 2019, he knew he wanted to gain more clinical experience to advance his career. The Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) for Pharmacists program at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy not only provided that clinical experience, it also expanded his view of the pharmacy profession.

“Now I have a wider view of the whole pharmacy profession, from community to hospital to specialty pharmacy,” says Villaluna, who recently graduated from the PharmD for Pharmacists Program. “That wider perspective of pharmacy practice in Canada opens up a lot of opportunities and has made me more confident about my future in the profession.”

In 2016, Villaluna completed a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Pharmacy from the University of the Philippines Manila, a program that focused on research and development of pharmaceutical products to train graduates to work in the pharmaceutical industry. When Villaluna moved to Canada with his parents after graduating, he passed the pharmacy licensing exam and started practising in Ontario.

He found a role at Sunnybrook Health Sciences in the pharmacy manufacturing department, working on sterile compounding of medications. He enjoyed this role, but as his education had focused primarily on industry and manufacturing, he felt that he was missing key clinical experience that would help him advance in his career.

“I was interested in interacting with the other pharmacy departments and clinicians in the hospital, and I felt like I needed more clinical background to do that.”

“I was working in the hospital doing manufacturing, but I really didn’t know what was happening with patients,” says Villaluna. “I was interested in interacting with the other pharmacy departments and clinicians in the hospital, and I felt like I needed more clinical background to do that.”

He enrolled in the PharmD for Pharmacists program offered at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy and graduated this June. Villaluna says that a big draw of the program was its flexibility, which allowed him to continue working while taking courses. In fact, while he was in the program, Villaluna secured a full-time role as a pharmacist at the pharmaceutical company Fresenius Kabi Canada, where he works in sterile compounding and ensures their products meet quality standards.

Experiential courses highlight diverse pharmacy roles

Villaluna says the highlight of the program was the experiential courses, where he gained hands-on experience in diverse pharmacy practice settings. During one rotation at Humber River Hospital, he worked with two pharmacists who covered any department in the hospital where they were needed. Each day could be very different depending on the department they were supporting. Villaluna also had a rotation in the geriatrics department of North York General Hospital. He says that this experience, and preceptor Monica Lee, showed him an ideal model of how pharmacists can collaborate with health care teams to provide interdisciplinary care to complex patients.

“I saw how the care team really collaborated with the pharmacist, and they really respected her expertise,” he says. “The physicians and nurse practitioners would ask for her recommendations for medications, and they would rely on her information. I was able to see firsthand how pharmacists are a wealth of knowledge and an asset to interdisciplinary teams.”

His rotations also included the Pharmacy Lab, a community compounding pharmacy, and Innomar Pharmacy, a specialty pharmacy, both in Toronto. He particularly enjoyed the opportunities that he had to take on projects that use technology to improve pharmacy practice, for example improving workflows and automating certain pharmacy processes such as risk assessments.

For Villaluna, that exposure to diverse areas of pharmacy was one of the main benefits of the program and something that he encourages other practising pharmacists to consider.

“Having completed this program, I feel like I have a lot more opportunities in pharmacy than I did before,” he says.

“I am a big believer in having a growth mindset. If you find that you’re lacking a skill or feel like you want to advance your career, find a way to fill that gap. This program helped me to fill the gaps in my practice and prepare me for whatever comes next.”