Understand the Culture in Which You Practise Hyperthermia: Are ...

in conversation
the level of unconscious competence where one performs
a task without even thinking about it. Feedback
from a teacher or trusted mentor/preceptor can
be invaluable in helping pharmacists know how effective
these new behaviours are within a Canadian
practice context.
Since most of the work performed by pharmacists involves
interactions with other people, a clear understanding
of cultural differences makes a significant difference in the
daily professional activities of the average pharmacist. Pharmacists
need to learn to communicate with culturally different
patients, colleagues, managers, and employees, adapt
their patient counselling skills to the needs and expectations
of culturally different patients, and learn how to operate in a
multicultural team.
Pharmacists today work in complex multicultural environments.
They must be able to apply their therapeutic and biomedical
knowledge in situations where judgment is required.
They must communicate effectively and diplomatically with
physicians, nurse practitioners, dentists, and other professionals
in order to resolve or prevent problems or errors.
Pharmacists need effective conflict management and negotiation
skills to work in increasingly multidisciplinary team settings
with professionals of diverse backgrounds. In addition,
pharmacists must manage busy dispensary settings, supervising
a variety of different staff members, and ensuring adherence
to laws and regulations governing practice. And, of
course, pharmacists must work with patients and their caregivers,
applying and communicating their therapeutic knowledge
in an empathic and effective way, to ensure patients’
health care needs are met in a cost-effective manner. In all
these situations, the pharmacist must be sure to maintain an
appropriate, professional demeanour.
In order to become pharmacists in Canada, many International
Pharmacy Graduates (IPGs) enroll in the IPG program
offered by the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the
University of Toronto, or in similar programs offered by
the University of British Columbia. The combination of onthe-job
and classroom training, with a significant emphasis
on patient counselling skills, helps many IPGs develop the
knowledge and skills necessary to safely and effectively perform
the variety of roles required of pharmacists in Canada.
Given the differences in pharmacy practice expectations,
the roles and responsibilities of pharmacists,
and norms regarding interpersonal communication
in different parts of the world, it is no surprise that
some IPGs may not be aware of what is required and
expected of them in Canada. Through its combination
of lectures, small-group learning activities, and simulated-patient
tutorials, the IPG program allows students to
build upon their previous experience to work effectively
within the Canadian health care system. To date, over 800
IPGs have enrolled in the program. Success rates on licensing
examinations and in practice of IPG program graduates
is comparable to that of Canadian graduates. More importantly,
graduates of the program report feeling more confident
in their skills and abilities, and better able to meet the
needs of patients they see.
Similarly, the advanced training workshops for preceptors
provided by the Ontario College of Pharmacists help preceptors
learn how to be more effective when they are precepting
or working with an IPG. This, in turn, enables them to help
IPGs integrate more quickly into the profession. Preceptor
workshops can provide pharmacists interested in working
with IPGs with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to be
more effective in their teaching and assessment activities.
The College has offered an advanced preceptor workshop
on “Managing Cultural Differences” over the past few years.
A new workshop that will continue to focus on helping preceptors
develop cultural competence is being planned for this
fall. More information is available on the OCP website under
Licensing > Training and Assessments > SPT.
The entire profession takes responsibility for successful integration
of IPGs into practice. When practitioners, educators,
regulators, and employers work together with the common
goal of assisting IPGs to better understand how to apply
their existing experience within a Canadian practice context,
the results are positive and significant.
Lionel Laroche, Ph.D., P.Eng., is the President of MCB Solutions
Inc., an organization that specializes in helping organizations
and professionals reach their business / professional
objectives in culturally unfamiliar environments. He can be
reached at lionel@mcbsol.com
16 pharmacyconnection • July/August 2009