Alumni profile: Chad Parsons
Chad Parsons, associate-owner of the Shoppers Drug Mart in the Goulds, always saw himself being involved in the healthcare eld while owning and running a business. He pursued pharmacy as a profession and has been working in the eld for 13 years, with the roles in pharmacy changing dramatically during that time. Pharmacy has become a very fast paced industry that continues to enhance the professional services it offers, something Chad has witnessed rst-hand.
Chad Parsons (Class of 2003), associate-owner of the Shoppers Drug Mart in the Goulds, always saw himself being involved in the healthcare eld while owning and running a business.
The early days of his career focused on dispensing, checking for appropriate therapies, and counselling patients on taking medications. Today his typical day includes those same responsibilities, plus managing business activities, participating in the dispensing work ow, as well as providing additional clinical services, such as administering injections, treating minor ailments, and holding clinics for things such as u shots and diabetes patients. In fact, since the Standards of Practice for pharmacists expanded, the workload at Chad’s particular location has continually increased to meet the growing demand for these services. There is a new layer of service added on top of an already high prescription volume.
Although the changes have kept him quite busy, Chad embraces his new role because it allows his patients to get medication, advice, counselling and more – all in one stop. Chad is quick to acknowledge how valuable it was to have a pharmacy team that is open to changes in the way they practice pharmacy, and actively engaged in providing and promoting the expanded services to the patients they serve. This buy-in from the start allowed Chad and his staff to successfully implement these new services into their busy pharmacy by gradually making small adaptations.
“Our Shoppers Drug Mart is located in a more urban area so we get a lot of traf c there. We slowly added the new standards of practice into our work ow to see how it changed the business, talked to our patients about changes as they were integrated, and adjusted accordingly,” he noted.
They also have a new consultation room in place that
is used for the new scope of practice and counselling services. The additional space allows patients to feel like they are in a comfortable, private and secure professional area.
“People are very happy about these new features and are using word of mouth to tell others,” added Chad. “While we’ve always provided medication advice to patients,
the added ability to inject and prescribe allows patients to come directly to the pharmacy. We hear from patients about how they’re very pleased to avoid longer waits
at a clinic to get a prescription for a minor ailment.” It also allows pharmacies to take the strain off of other healthcare settings, including physician of ces and emergency rooms.
The most important thing he has learned over his career is to not be afraid of change. Whether the pharmacy is big and busy or small and steady, Chad encourages his peers to embrace the professional changes in a way that works for them. “We didn’t jump into it all at once. Instead we picked a piece we’re comfortable with and added that in and gradually layered on more changes,” added Chad. “Small steps add up to make a big difference for our patients and our profession.”
Chad Parsons is the associate-owner and pharmacist-in-charge at Shoppers Drug Mart in the Goulds, NL. He is also the current chair of the Newfoundland and Labrador Pharmacy Board.
This profile was provided by the Newfoundland and Labrador Pharmacy Board.