29th Annual Alberta

Pharmacy Technician Conference

September 13-14, 2019

River Cree Resort, Enoch, Alberta

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About the Conference

The Alberta Pharmacy Technician Conference began in 1990 as a small learning seminar planned by a

hospital pharmacy technician team. Since that time, the event has grown into one of the premier

continuing education and networking events for pharmacy technicians from all practice settings in

Canada. This year the theme is “We Are Indispensable” and the objectives are to: Respond to

opportunities that exist to expand professional practice by presenting sessions on innovative roles,

practices, and programs. Provide registrants with knowledge-based and interactive learning

opportunities that inform and motivate. Provide registrants with networking and sharing

opportunities through the exhibition, interactive and social sessions. Support the personal and

professional development of pharmacy technicians.

Available CEUs

This conference is being assessed by the Canadian Council on Continuing Education in Pharmacy

(CCCEP) for continuing education units (CEU) for both Pharmacy Technicians and Pharmacists.

Get Connected

Expand your network for the 29th Annual Alberta Pharmacy Technician Conference by connecting to

PTSA (@thePTSA) on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIN and Twitter. #WeAreIndispensable

Indispensable Connections Program

Looking to enhance your conference experience? Take part in our Indispensable Connections

program. Complete a short survey and we will pair you with another delegate. We will make every

effort to pair delegates with past experience attending conferences with delegates who have little or

no experience as conference attendees. We will introduce you to your new connection via email

ahead of the conference and you will be invited to take part in a meet and greet session at the River

Cree Resort the evening of September 12, 2019. This is a great opportunity to make professional

connections and to increase your social capital. To take part complete this quick survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/73K7CQB

Grupio App

We are excited to announce our partnership with Grupio to provide a unique mobile experience at the

conference. All registrants will receive login and password information, once the conference app is

ready to go. With the mobile app, registrants will be able to access all conference information (the

schedule, presentations, speaker information, sponsors, exhibitors, and more) from the convenience

of their mobile device, tablet or laptop.

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Program Information

Speaker biographies and session descriptions can be found on pages: 7-18

Friday, September 13, 2019

0900 – 0915 - Opening Remarks

0915 – 1015 - PHARM Reduction – Essi Salokangas

1015 – 1030 - Break

1030-1130 - Rise and Shine: Accountable Ownership to Dispensing and Dispensary Activities – Dana Lyons

1130-1230 - Lunch

1230-1330 - Preceptorship: New Standards and Training – Loren Voice

1345-1445 - PrEP Alberta: Developments & Challenges in our Provincial Rollout - Thomas Trombetta & Mark McAllister

1445 – 1500 - Break

1500-1600 - Safely Utilizing Pharmacy Assistants in Practice – Teresa Hennessey

1600-1800 - Free Time

1800-1900 - Dinner

1900-2000 - Award Ceremony

2000-2100 - Vendor Exhibit, Silent Auction, Poster Contest

Saturday, September 14, 2019

0800-0845 - Registration and Breakfast

0845 – 0900 - Opening Remarks

0900 – 1000 - You Can’t Fake Caring - Russell Sheppard

1000 – 1030 - Break and Hotel Checkout

1030 – 1130 - Meaningful Implementation & Assessment Process – Pam Borth & Tiana Cunningham

1130-1300 - Lunch and PTSA Annual General Meeting

1315-1415 - Medical Cannabis: A Physician’s Perspective - Dr. Robert Sealey B.Sc. M.D.

1430-1630 - Short and Snappy Presentations:

Communicating with Patients-Dena Osmond

Hazardous Medication Preparation: Patient Focus or Staff Safety? Finding the Balance - Tana Yoon

Bas(ic)s - Samantha Russell

Reverse Lens – Sharon Van Wert

1630-1645 - Closing Remarks

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Awards Ceremony

Join us Friday night for our banquet and awards ceremony. We are looking forward to celebrating a

number of indispensable pharmacy technicians!

Welcome to the Profession Ceremony

PTSA Professionalism Award

Fresenius Kabi Education Grants

Poster Contest

Enter our Poster Contest! Fresenius Kabi is proudly sponsoring a $500 prize for the winning poster!

Take this opportunity to showcase the indispensable work you do! The deadline to enter the contest

is July 31, 2019. To learn more visit: https://ptsa.ca/29th-annual-pharmacy-technician-conference-

poster-contest/ or email Roxine and Angie at postercontest.ptsa@gmail.com.

Silent Auction

We will be holding our annual silent auction on Friday night during the vendor exhibit. Don’t miss out

on your chance to bid on some amazing items! All winning items must be paid for at the end of the

auction. Cash only. There are ATMs available in the River Cree Casino if needed.

Vendor Exhibit

This conference wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of our industry partners. Their

sponsorship of the Annual Alberta Pharmacy Technician Conference allows us to bring our profession

together every year and offset our conference expenses. Thanks to their sponsorship we are able to

keep our registration fees affordable for our delegates. Make sure you take advantage of the

opportunity to meet our sponsors and learn more about what our sponsors have to offer during our

Vendor Exhibit on Friday night.

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Sponsors

Gold

Silver

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Bronze

Indispensable Support

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Speaker Biographies and Session Descriptions

PHARM Reduction – Essi Salokangas

This presentation intends to explore practical approaches to reducing stigma and implementing harm

reduction in pharmacy practice.

Learning Objectives:

Define stigma and understand its impact on patient care.

Understand harm reduction strategies and their principles.

Explore the role of the pharmacy team in the context of reducing stigma, building

relationships, and implementing harm reduction.

Essi Salokangas is a clinical pharmacist with a

passion for improving health outcomes in

vulnerable populations using evidence-based

practice, empathy, and humor. A University of

Alberta 2016 alumni, Essi went on to co-found the

Adherence & Community Engagement (ACE) Team,

a pharmacist-led, interdisciplinary outreach team

for complex patients in Edmonton, Alberta. She is

now the first clinical pharmacist on the Addiction

Recovery and Community Health (ARCH) Team, an

addiction consult service for patients with substance

use disorder and social inequity, at the Royal

Alexandra Hospital.

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Rise & Shine: Accountable Ownership to Dispensing & Dispensary Activities –

Dana Lyons

Together, we will explore how Pharmacy Technicians can best position themselves to support the full

scope of practice for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians alike, by understanding what technicians

can be fully accountable for in the operational and technical aspects of the dispensing and dispensary

activities. Why we must be accountable to activities, and how this accountability will take us into the

future.

Together, we will gain clarity on the role of pharmacy assistants, and discuss supervision, oversight

and accountability related to dispensing and dispensary activities.

Together, we will explore opportunities for technicians to work as autonomous professionals, and how

the relationship and teamwork within the dispensary alongside clinical activity can be optimized.

Learning Objectives:

Describe three benefits of Technicians working to the top of their license

Describe two critical behaviors related to taking accountability

Understand supervision requirements of non-regulated pharmacy personnel

Dana Lyons is a Technical Practice Manager at

Alberta Health Services. She is responsible for the

oversight of the practice for roughly 800 pharmacy

technicians and 600 pharmacy assistants. Dana is

passionate about adding value to the health-system

through contributions and actions that make

change happen. Her philosophy is to stay curious;

be open, and to continuously strive to be outwardly

focused. Most important to Dana are the values of

kindness and love. She believes we can all

contribute to the better good of society, and

humanity.

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Preceptorship: New Standards and Training– Loren Voice

Attendees of this presentation will gain a deeper understanding of what being a preceptor entails. We

will investigate the three levels of structured practical training (SPT) and roles of preceptors at each

stage. We will examine the new Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs (CCAPP)

standards around pharmacy practice experiences and possible effects of the increased hours. This

presentation will cover how to become a preceptor and the training that is available to you.

Learning Objectives:

Attendees will gain an understanding of the three levels of SPT for pharmacy technicians.

Attendees will examine standards around SPT in Alberta

Attendees will learn how to become a preceptor and properly prepare for this important role.

Loren Voice has 25+ years’ experience in various

pharmacy settings in Alberta. Her passion area is

hospital pharmacy practice, sterile compounding, and

teaching. Her current role is Clinical Lab Instructor at

Bow Valley College in the Pharmacy Technician

program. Expanding her knowledge in hopes of

contributing to a better healthcare system, Loren

recently graduated with her Masters of Public Health

degree. Her desire is to inspire others to reach their

“ah ha” moments, to act with integrity and

communicate with empathy and compassion. She

wants to foster commitments with others to

understand and respect people’s needs.

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PrEP Alberta: Developments and Challenges in our Provincial Rollout-

Thomas Trombetta and Mark McAllister

This session will explore what PrEP is, mechanism of action, and the current PrEP context in Alberta. The presenters will

begin with an introduction to PrEP and outline the drugs role in HIV prevention. After which, the presenters will go more

in depth about developments and challenges around PrEP access in Alberta, exploring subjects related to baseline and

ongoing monitoring, DINs, sites of access, etc.

Learning Objectives:

Participants will understand PrEP background in an Albertan context, mechanism of action, and current progress in the field.

Participants will be able to navigate the PrEP system as pharmacists and understand ongoing processes associated with PrEP

delivery.

Participants will be able to communicate the above in accessible ways to members of communities more impacted by HIV

(people who inject drugs, queer men, trans people, people of African, Caribbean and black backgrounds, indigenous peoples,

sex workers, etc)

Thomas Trombetta (he/him or they/them pronouns) is Alberta’s PrEP Coordinator with the Edmonton Men’s Health Collective as well as

Interim Prairie Regional Manager with Community Based Research Centre. Originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thomas graduated with a

BA in Sociology and currently works towards the improvement of PrEP awareness for health providers and community members as well

as with programming for queer and trans guys through the Community Based Research Centre. Thomas has worked at HIV Edmonton

as an educator, with gay straight alliances in rural Alberta, harm reduction, and anti-oppression. Recently, he has won the 2018 Pride

Certificate.

Mark McAllister (he/him pronouns) is the current Board Chair of the Edmonton’s Men’s Health Collective and Sexual Health team lead.

Mark recently finished his MSc in Physiology, Cell and Development Biology from the University of Alberta following the completion of

his BSc in Immunology and Infection. Mark has been involved in the Sexually Transmitted and Blood Borne Infections (STBBI) Provincial

Strategy where he was able to participate in the development of the PrEP/PEP guidelines for Alberta, and additionally helped develop

prepalberta.ca – the first provincial resource for PrEP.

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Safely Utilizing Pharmacy Assistants in Practice – Teresa Hennessey

As the pharmacy practice environment continues to grow in complexity there remains a place for

pharmacy assistants in our profession. Shortages in the pharmacy technician workforce, escalating

patient demands, and financial constraints are some of the reasons for the use of pharmacy assistants.

When unregulated pharmacy employees are utilized to assist with certain pharmacy tasks it must be

done within clearly defined limits to ensure the quality of pharmacy services and the safety of

patients.

Learning Objectives:

Interpret the practice parameters that apply to pharmacy assistants

Distinguish between activities appropriate for pharmacy assistants to perform and those

requiring the expertise of pharmacy technicians

Demonstrate ways pharmacy professionals can provide appropriate supervision to pharmacy

assistants

Teresa Hennessey is a registered pharmacy technician

and a Practice Leader with Alberta Health Services

(AHS). She is committed to supporting pharmacy

technicians in the pursuit of professional

advancement. Since receiving her pharmacy

technician diploma, Teresa has practiced in front-line

and leadership roles within AHS as well as in

community pharmacy. For more than 20 years, she

has been involved in advancing scopes of practice and

educating pharmacy technicians about how to

implement distribution and patient care activities into

their practices. Her passion lies with helping

pharmacy technicians understand and find new

opportunities to practice to full scope.

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You Can’t Fake Caring – Russell Sheppard

The premise of the Grizzlies program, and the underlying theme that created the cultural shift, can be

summed up in a phrase: you cannot fake caring. In Kugluktuk, we had a group of teachers and a

group of students who opened their hearts to each other, and trusted each other. That type of

relationship takes time and is never faked. The students knew that I cared, and because of that, they

embraced the opportunity to push themselves out of their comfort zones, knowing they had support

when needed. I always think that the accolades that the teachers in Kugluktuk are misplaced in many

ways, this is what teaching and working with students should be about.

Learning Objectives:

Understand how trust plays an integral role in team building

Examine the first-hand experience of implementing and maintaining a cultural shift

Greater understanding of indigenous and remote rural patient experience

Russell (Russ) Sheppard received his law degree

from the University of Alberta and was called to BC

Bar in 2014. Prior to his law career, Russ enjoyed a

successful teaching and administration career in

Nunavut, Alberta and Ontario where he was Dean

of Students at the prestigious Hill Academy. He

received numerous accolades for his work in

education including the Excellence in Teaching

Award, Contributor of the Year, BDC Youth

Entrepreneur of the Year and the most recently the

Queens Jubilee Medal.

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Meaningful Implementation & Assessment Process – Tiana Cunningham & Pam Borth

Through this session, participants will be provided with information on how to choose objectives,

write meaningful implementation records and how they are assessed in their annual Continuing

Competency portfolio.

Learning Objectives:

How to choose an Continuing Competency Implementation objective

How to curate a meaningful implementation record

Relevant rationale and outcomes of assessment

Tiana started her career by completing the pharmacy technician program at Selkirk College in 2009. She worked in

community pharmacies for several years before completing the bridging program at Red Deer College, becoming fully

regulated in 2014. She continued to work in community pharmacies until 2017, while also transitioning to her current role

at Chinook Regional Hospital (CRH) in Lethbridge in 2014. It was at CRH that Tiana helped develop the role of Clinically

Deployed Technicians and was recognized by the Alberta College of Pharmacy this past November for her

implementation of Best Possible Medication Histories (BPMH) she completes while working in the Emergency Department.

Pam Borth has worked in pharmacy since 1989. First as an assistant, then as a pharmacy technician after obtaining her

diploma. She graduated with distinction from Red Deer College in 1992 and was placed on the Dean’s Honor Roll. Pam

has 24 years’ experience in community pharmacy as well as 14 years of experience in hospital pharmacy. Pam worked for

one year as in instructor with the NorQuest College Pharmacy Technician Program. Currently, Pam is working for Alberta

Health Services in the Home Parental Therapy (HPT) Program.

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Medical Cannabis: A Physician’s Perspective - Dr. Robert Sealey B.Sc. M.D.

Dr. Sealey has been involved in both the clinical and research aspects of Medical Cannabis since 2001

when it became legalized in Canada. Numerous general practitioners and specialists have referred

over one thousand patients to Dr. Sealey for the consideration of medical cannabis management in

conditions that have not responded to standard therapy. With this extensive background, he is able to

not only review the available evidence behind medical cannabis but also shed light on the practical

considerations behind the application of this therapeutic option.

Learning Objectives:

Review medical cannabis evidence

Discuss administration and dosing of medical cannabis in specific conditions

Review potential complications of medical cannabis

As an active member of the peer sharing group Physicians

for Medicinal Cannabis along with the Canadian

Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids, the

International Cannabinoid Research Society and the

International Association for Cannabis as Medicine, Dr.

Sealey has been involved in both the clinical and research

aspects of Medical Cannabis since 2001.

Sensing a void in knowledge among his peers regarding

the use of Medical Cannabis in clinical practice, Dr. Sealey

has travelled around the world as one of the few instructors

in this field of medicine. With the legalization of

recreational marijuana across Canada, he is also an invited

keynote speaker at public and professional events for his

opinion on the potential implications of this ground-

breaking decision.

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Communicating with Patients-Dena Osmond

Language barriers can make communicating with patients difficult. In this presentation we will explore

tips and tricks to help pharmacy technicians communicate with patients who may have language

and/or literacy barriers, and those who are hearing and/or speech impaired.

Learning Objectives:

Share tools and technology that can be leveraged to bridge communication barriers

How to effectively explain and communicate drug shortages, insurance issues, and other

common issues that impact pharmacy patients

Explore tactics to support patients with literacy barriers

Dena Osmond has been with community pharmacy

for just over 20 years. Throughout her career she

has noticed that language barriers can impact a

healthcare provider’s ability to provide adequate

patient care. Dena is passionate about providing

optimal care to patients.

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Hazardous Medication Preparation: Patient Focus or Staff Safety? Finding the Balance -

Tana Yoon

This session will explore many of the operational changes to hazardous medication management that

have come as a result of the inception of the NAPRA Model Standards, USP Chapter 800 and NIOSH

directives. Historically pharmacy staff have focused mainly on patient safety. More and more, staff

safety initiatives have come to the forefront. Understanding risk levels and safety strategies in

combination with our primary focus of patient care, has brought us closer to optimized practice.

Careful consideration must be given to finding the balance to ensure that the focus on one group

does not present risk to the other. The presentation will identify some of the easily misunderstood

concepts and grey areas of interpretation, and will include thoughtful scenarios and discussion.

Learning Objectives:

Learners will distinguish between safety strategies intended to protect patients from those

intended to protect staff and the environment.

Learners will understand how protection strategies for one group may be detrimental to the other

group if not thoughtfully applied.

Learners will describe how the risks presented by reproductive hazard medications differ from the

risks presented by other hazardous medications. Because of this, unique protection strategies are

required.

Tana Yoon is a pharmacy technician whose practice has spanned

over 30 years with Alberta Health Services (AHS) and has included

stints in Inpatient, Outpatient, Corrections, Forensic Psychology,

management and education. She has completed Critical Point Boot

Camp, is a PROSCI certified change practitioner and a process

improvement yellow belt holder. Tana is the Co-Chief Examiner for

the PEBC Alberta OSPE, holds a seat on the NAPRA Board of

Directors and was a participant in the development the Alberta

College of Pharmacy (ACP) 2019 mandatory continuing education

module. She is one of the PTCB-AB founding directors and was

instrumental in the development of early stage processes that lead to

technician regulation. Tana was honored to be a recipient of the

2018 PTSA Professionalism Award and was recently the Advocacy

Director for PTSA. Tana currently holds a position as a Technical

Practice Leader with AHS where her passion for pharmacy technician

professional growth is evident through her enthusiasm to lead best

practice initiatives.

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Bas(ic)s - Samantha Russell

Bas(ic)s looks at USP <1151> chapter on dosage forms, specifically topical semi-solids. We will

explore the 4 classes of ointment bases, creams and gels. Participants will be able to explain the

differences between topical and transdermal preparations and understand the other factors that

determine the effectiveness of topicals, excipients used and skin conditions.

Learning Objectives:

Understand the difference between topical and transdermal preparations

Identify the 4 different USP classes of ointment bases

Recognize the other factors that affect the quality of a topical preparation such as skin

condition and excipients.

Upon graduation from NorQuest College in 2011,

Samantha knew she wanted to work in

compounding. She began working at Market Drugs

Medical as a non-sterile compounding technician

2011-present. In 2018 Samantha completed PCCAs

(C3) Comprehensive Compounding and Aseptic

Compounding courses. “I love compounding

because it is an opportunity to provide innovative

and personalized solutions to patients with unique

health issues.”

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Reverse Lens – Sharon Van Wert

Sharon is a Technical Practice Leader for AHS, and prior to that she was a front line pharmacy

technician for many years. The technician role has changed over the years but one thing that has not

changed is our caring for people. In 2018 Sharon's world changed when her 18 year old daughter

was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). She went from working to develop

pharmacy technicians and improve pharmacy practice to being a full time caregiver. The journey her

daughter has been on has given her many moments of “I get it now!! I really get how we impact

patients daily”, as she is seeing what we do from a different lens. She will share with you her story

and the impact pharmacy technicians had and can have on a patient every day.

Learning objectives:

Review the pharmacy technician's role in ensuring safe medication is available for patients

Outline how the role of a pharmacy technician impacts patient care and patient experiences

Understand the role of the pharmacy technician in providing indirect patient care

Sharon is a Technical Practice Leader for AHS, and

was a front line pharmacy technician for many

years. She spent most of her career working in

Medicine Hat but recently she moved to Calgary.

Sharon enjoys working on projects and engaging

front line technicians to be involved in improving

pharmacy practice. Working with people and

engaging people to be involved is her niche.

Anyone that knows Sharon knows that she is

always quick to volunteer to help out at work and

outside of work. After only being in Calgary a

short time she has arranged a team to volunteer

cooking at Ronald McDonald house and is a

corporate sponsor committee member for the

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.

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Fees and Registration Information

Registration will open June 3, 2019 and will remain available until August 31, 2019 or until we reach

capacity. We are pleased to offer multiple registration options:

Full conference registration includes:

Friday Educational Sessions

Friday Lunch

Friday Networking Dinner, Awards Ceremony and Vendor Exhibit

Saturday Educational Sessions

Saturday Breakfast and Lunch

Friday only registration includes:

Friday Educational Sessions

Friday Lunch

Friday Networking Dinner, Awards Ceremony and Vendor Exhibit

Saturday only registration includes:

Friday Networking Dinner, Awards Ceremony and Vendor Exhibit

Saturday Educational Sessions

Saturday Breakfast and Lunch

Please note 5% GST will be applied to registration fees (PTSA GST# 81296 4351 RT0001)

PTSA Member (PTSA membership number required)

Two Day rate: $250 (+ GST)

One Day rate: $200 (+ GST)

Non Member

Two day rate: $300 (+ GST)

One Day rate: $250 (+ GST)

Student* (School ID cards must be presented at the registration table).

Two day rate: $200 (+ GST)

One day rate: $150 (+ GST)

* Must be a student completing a formal pharmacy technician, pharmacy assistant, or pharmacist program

at the time of registration. Registrants enrolled in pharmacy technician bridging program do not qualify

for the Student registration fees. Must be able to provide Student ID number or equivalent proof of

current enrollment in a formal pharmacy technician or pharmacist program at the time of registration.

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Fees and Registration Information

Payment Options All payment details are outlined on the PTSA website. After registering online, payment can be made by PayPal.

Please refer to online instructions for paying by credit card without a Pay Pal account. Delegates are not

considered registered until payment is received. Receipts for registration payment will be issued by email after

payment is received.

Early Bird Registration All registrations completed (including payment) before 11:59pm (MST) on June 30, 2019 will be entered in an

early bird draw and are eligible to win back their registration fee! (To be eligible for the early bird draw, you

must register for the full conference and be in attendance when the draw is made.)The draw for the early bird

prize will occur on Saturday, September 14, 2019 during the Conference Closing Remarks.

Cancellation Policy Notification of request to cancel registration must be received in writing via email to conference.2019@ptsa.ca

on or before September 6, 2019, and is subject to a processing fee of $100.00. There will be no refunds of

registration fees for cancellations received after September 6, 2019.

Travel and Accommodations

Westjet is offering 5% off Econo* and 10% off EconoFlex and Premium fares for travel within Canada and

2% off Econo*, 5% off EconoFlex and 10% off Premium base fares for guests travelling Trans-border into

and out of Edmonton. To take advantage of this offer, you will need the discount code listed below.

Please visit www.westjet.com/conventions to make a booking online.

Travel from: September 6 – 22, 2019

Coupon code:

*Guest web/Travel Agent web

K4YC44F

Promo code:

*Travel Agent GDS only

WVV49

Registrants are responsible for arranging their own accommodations. Please contact the River Cree Resort (300

East Lapotac Blvd, Enoch, Alberta, T7X 3Y3) to book your room. Please follow this link for PTSA booking to

ensure you receive the conference rate of $164/night (Standard One King Room). When booking by phone,

please call 1-844-425-CREE (2733), and remember to quote the PTSA conference to receive the special

conference rate. Room rates will be guaranteed until Aug 12, 2019 or until all rooms are booked, whichever

comes first.

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Parking

Free onsite parking is available at the River Cree Resort.

Photography

There may be photographs, video, and/or audio recorded at the 29th Annual Alberta Pharmacy Technician

Conference.

Special Thanks

This conference would not have been possible without the efforts of the planning committee:

Ryan Mapa (Conference Co-Chair) Kim Arbter Samantha Russell

Angie Huynh (Conference Co-Chair) Meghan Peters Shana Morris

Amanjot Panesar Roxine Yong

Conference Managers: Jennifer Bean and Laura Miskimins

Registration Inquiries

Please email any questions to Jenn and Laura at conference.2019@ptsa.ca