who's soonger??

Tuesday, January 22.

I can't believe I let this page go to rot for 3 months! I suppose that a few other activitites took higher priority so I can't simply say I got lazy. Let's see what has happened since late October... most importantly, I am now a fully licensed pharmacist in Ontario so the pay hike is greatly appreciated. Also started doing some time outside of the hospital by moonlighting as a casual pharmacist out in the community. But what has been taking a great priority in my life is that I'm currently seeing someone. Won't disclose any names / pictures at the current time -- don't want the whole world to find out quite yet (ie don't want to jinx things).

How were the holidays? I had a good time here in Windsor. My cousin, Mike, was lucky enough to go to Mexico with his best friend between Boxing Day to New Year's. Some other friends did travel during the holidays but I was not as fortunate. I did enjoy my Aunt Bee's Christmas party and my Aunt Fiona's New Year's party.

Outside of the social life, I have been trying to improve my professional side. Attending continuing education (CE) events (it doesn't hurt when they serve plenty of food!) and travelling to conferences has been the theme of this winter.

I've recently returning from sunny St John's, Newfoundland (saying that facetiously). There was a snowstorm the day of my arrival that I was stuck in Halifax, Nova Scotia for one night. If my classmate didn't travel on the same day, I would have been alone in a foreign place. We roomed at a hotel by the airport for a night and lived like kings -- we had a great lobster dinner. The rest of the trip was not bad -- the conference, however, wasn't very good. What can you expect? What speaker would willlingly GO to NFLD in the middle of winter? I do have to admit the drug fair (pharmaceutical companies trying to make a lasting impression on very impressionable to-be pharmacists) was very good. I got a lot of good stuff to take back with me. Was I educated that day? I have to admit, YES. Your pharmacist tip of the month: for babies, you want to use a dropper for infants and aim for the sides of the mouth -- in the buccal area (between teeth and cheeks) to minimize contact with the tongue and improve the dose absorbed by the young child. The hotel: Delta, was not bad -- my friends and I were able to use the facilities (pool, gym, hot tub). The city -- it's a beautiful, rustic city. It's a shame it kept snowing while we were there. We did do some exploring and checking out the downtown. Nightlife: we were sheltered and travelled in packs. Couldn't see what REAL Newfoundlanders do for fun.

Coming up next: a trip to Toronto for the Hospital Assocation (CSHP) Professional Practice Conference (PPC) between Feb 2-6. In downtown TO, 2 other coworkers and I will see what breakthrough activities are done by real clinical pharmacists in teaching hospitals. Windsor has a long way to go before we even get close to what services teaching hospitals provide. Hope that with the staff increase, we'll be able to improve health outcomes for the very ill patients in the Windsor / Essex County area.