toh

Pharmacist Lisa Rambout, left, and Pharmacy Technician Felice Pleet are members of the collaborative
inter-professional teams that care for gynecological oncology patients.

Did you know that TOH processes over two million medication orders each year? Ever wonder how all that can be accomplished safely and effectively? The Ottawa Hospital pharmacy team plays an essential role. Meet Lisa Rambout, a clinical pharmacist in gynecological oncology, and Felice Pleet, a pharmacy technician and team leader for the specialized oncology satellite pharmacy.

Lisa Rambout: For each woman who is prescribed chemotherapy, I complete a thorough review of the planned treatment. My involvement includes collaborating with physicians about the latest evidence to support selected treatments, fine-tuning medication dosages taking into account the patient’s other medical conditions and medications, verifying that it’s safe to administer treatment, working with nurses, and monitoring the treatment to ensure it remains effective and safe. I also spend time with each new patient to teach her about her chemotherapy treatment and explain the side effects that may occur and how they can be managed.

Felice Pleet: I work with a team of specially trained pharmacy technicians and pharmacists to ensure the safe and accurate preparation of every chemotherapy dose, according to the highest standards for all of the many tasks and procedures that take place in the oncology satellite pharmacy each day.

Rambout: We do these things for our patients every day. Our pharmacists have specialized, expert knowledge in their clinical areas and enjoy serving patients and collaborating on inter-professional teams.

Pleet: We’re fortunate that the pharmacy technician role is becoming a regulated health profession. This will provide us with new opportunities to promote safe medication practices and enhance our pharmacists’ clinical involvement with patients.

Rambout: We also compare our practices with other top health-care facilities. We’re striving to be leaders in setting standards for hospital pharmacy practice in Canada.

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