Online Chemotherapy Program Celebrates First Graduates

NOTE: A list of graduates follows the release.

Twenty pharmacy technicians from across the province graduated today, Sept. 9, from a ground-breaking online chemotherapy course.

The course on preparing chemotherapy medications was developed as a pilot project through a partnership of Cancer Care Nova Scotia and the Nova Scotia Community College.

"Until now, there was no common approach to training pharmacy technicians on chemotherapy preparation," said Larry Broadfield, manager of systemic therapy at Cancer Care Nova Scotia. "Chemotherapy preparation is a complex procedure. The skills and standards training in this course will help ensure safety for patients and health-care workers.

"Through our partnership with the Nova Scotia Community College and its experience in online learning, pharmacy technicians were able to take the training without leaving their districts and without losing time from work."

The college worked with the Cancer Care Nova Scotia team and a provincial working group to develop the course to help standardize methods used for chemotherapy preparation. Instruction includes online discussions and quizzes, as well as exercises for practicing skills such as using saline solution to simulate the preparation of chemotherapy medications.

"It really cut back on travel time and we could all still work while completing the course, which was great," said Ashley Kaiser, a pharmacy technician at St. Martha's Regional Hospital in Antigonish. "It was wonderful to be part of the standardization process for chemotherapy preparation and meet colleagues throughout the province who are doing the same kind of work."

Toward the end of the course, students met face to face in the pharmacy technician labs at the college's Waterfront Campus in Dartmouth to test their new skills. Kelly McKnight, projects director of the college's School of Health and Human Services, knew the final exam would measure success not only for the students, but also for the pilot project.

"As part of the program, six senior pharmacy technicians who completed the online program received additional training to evaluate the skills of the other students," said Ms. McKnight. "We were eager to see how they and the other students performed the new skills they learned. I'm pleased to report all students were stellar, performing the required skills with accuracy and confidence."

Anne Murray, Cancer Care Nova Scotia's provincial manager of education and patient navigation, said that continuing health professional education is at the heart of quality health care.

"The chemotherapy preparation course is one in a series of skills-based education programs we're designing for cancer health professionals," said Ms. Murray. "Through programs like chemotherapy preparation, Cancer Care Nova Scotia is ensuring health professionals continue to have the necessary skills to provide their cancer patients with safe, high-quality care."

A new group of pharmacy technicians will begin the course on Sept. 17. By the end of the project in April, 80 students will have completed the training. It will also be provided to new pharmacy technicians as they enter the workforce.

Cancer Care Nova Scotia is a program of the Department of Health, created to reduce the burden of cancer on individuals, families and the health care system through prevention, screening, education and research.

The Nova Scotia Community College offers more than 100 programs in five academic schools that reflect the labour market needs and opportunities of the provincial economy, and serves the province through a network of 13 campuses. More information is available on the college's website at www.nscc.ca .

The graduates of the chemotherapy preparation course include are:

• Liana Drouin, Shelly Bishop, South Shore Health
• Denise Grosvold, Nikki Kokocki, South West Health
• Michelle Joudrey, Sonja Baettig, Annapolis Valley Health
• Coleen Dean, Glenda Dillman, Colchester East Hants Health Authority
• Henny Norden, Shannon Goldrich, Cumberland Health Authority
• Elaine MacDonald, Laura Warner, Pictou County Health Authority
• Ashley Kaiser, Coleen Bray, Guysborough Antigonish Strait Health Authority
• Lois Cullen, Norita Pilling, Cape Breton District Health Authority
• Shelley Heukshorst, Tiffany Hawco, Capital Health
• Carrie Gear, Susan MacDonald, IWK Health Centre