Q&A with Sonal Ejner

with with Sonal Sonal Ejner Ejner

CALGARY CALGARY CO-OP’S CO-OP’S PHARMACY PHARMACY PROFESSIONAL PROFESSIONAL SERVICES SERVICES MANAGER MANAGER

Sonal Ejner (BSc Pharm 2001, APA, CRE) graduated from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences with Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy in 2001. Now, she is Calgary Co-operative Association Limited’s Pharmacy Professional Services Manager, empowering pharmacists to address gaps in patient care and the healthcare system by working innovatively with clinicians and stakeholders.

What has your career journey been like so far? My career has been very rewarding and challenging. It’s been a dynamic journey full of opportunity. Upon graduation, I began practicing as a community pharmacist. My pharmacy education prepared me to provide patient care and lay the foundation for active patient consultation. Very early on, I pursued the Certified Respiratory Educator certification and began meeting with patients to discuss their asthma, COPD and tobacco reduction. At the time of my graduation, this was not common practice. Patients were also very intrigued by meeting with a pharmacist for such services. The experience was very gratifying, and patients were also very receptive to this.

I have always been well-supported, from the start, by the operations and management team at Calgary Co-op to pursue clinical services. They provided me with autonomy and a platform to grow the clinical services aspect of pharmacy practice and welcomed my ideas. As the framework expanded, I began exploring alternate methods to operationalize clinical services so they could be more easily provided in a busy dispensary environment. Pharmacists are so knowledgeable and accessible but vastly under-utilized. My vision has always been about fully integrating community pharmacy into the healthcare system as an active player to bridge and fill gaps. I want patients and other health care professionals to automatically think of referring to pharmacists for clinical services such as vaccinations and education for chronic disease management to improve patient care in a collaborative environment. To this day, there are many healthcare professionals and patients who are shocked to learn how much pharmacists are able to do.

What do you do as the Pharmacy Professional Services Manager? I have one of the most exciting roles ever, as it doesn’t stay constant due to the rapid evolution of pharmacy practice. My role focuses on educating and training our pharmacists to provide clinical services with confidence and skill. It focuses on creating an environment where pharmacists can practice to full scope and provide quality services to address care gaps in the community and connect with health care professionals to see how pharmacists can become part of the patient care solution. Are they currently experiencing gaps in care that cannot be addressed due to a lack of time or resources? Is this a service that pharmacists can help with? How can we work together to provide a full circle of care?

With health care resources and funding stretched to the limit, it is very important that roles are optimized and that the best utilization of resources is occurring. Pharmacists can and need to be utilized to a greater extent! Part of my role is piloting innovative projects and ideas and coming up with solutions. I do this in partnership with our Calgary Co-op Pharmacy team and progressive industry partners and healthcare professionals who share the same vision.

Why is your role important to you? I view this role as the gateway to the future of pharmacy. As a pharmacist, I am very passionate about the role we currently play and the potential role we can play. It is about not only keeping the role of pharmacists relevant but increasing uptake of the pharmacist for the ongoing sustainability of our healthcare system.

What is your proudest achievement so far? The development of the clinical pharmacist team at Calgary Co-op. The clinical pharmacist team has fully embraced the scope of practice— everything from APA to specialized credentials and actually utilizing these opportunities we are so fortunate to have here in Alberta—into everyday practice. This team has grown not only in size, but in skill and expertise over the last seven years. I have seen the team evolve and morph into such key players in patient care; it makes me very proud. We started out trying to convince people to meet with a pharmacist for a care plan. Fast forward seven years, and patients are now routinely seeking out the clinical pharmacist to meet with and discuss areas of concerns. This team has also developed critical relationships with local healthcare professionals who routinely refer to the team for various services such as diabetes education, tobacco cessation consults, COPD and asthma education, travel health and the list goes on. The team is highly valued and recognized for the value they add to patient care.

What advice would you have for students or new grads beginning their careers? Passion is everything. Stay true to it. It is truly the driver for success. 