Fort Edmonton Park

Apparently I seem to be giving the impression that I'm on holiday more than I'm working. I bet it is more fun and iinteresting reading about the leisure stuff rather than the work stuff.

Anyways, went out again today. Sun was shining and the weather was perfect for an outdoor walk. Would love to go for a picnic someday. Though I think CY will never be game for it, since it's not a Singaporean thing to do. So we went to Fort Edmonton Pa and had quite some fun looking at historic things ranging from the late 1700s to 1920s. There are buildings built exactly like what they used to be and people dressed up in period costumes performing tasks eg baking, running errands, chatting and reading. It's just bizarre.

Less talk more photos!
Old steam engine train.

Trading house in the early 1800s.

Room in the 1800s

Me with skunk fur at trading house.

Fool's gold.

Year 1885. Someone's house. The lady was baking. The original house owner has 9 children.

Transportation in 1885.

Rutherford's (founder of U of A) house

2 ladies baking in 1885.

Drug store of 1885.

Garage office in 1920s.

Millinery (boutique) in 1885.

Some photos

HI Mosquito Creek. Accommodation for the night in Banff. We were staying in the middle of the forest where grizzly bears roam around freely.








HI Jasper. View from the outside in the morning.











Icefields Parkway. View from the back of the van.












Random photo of mountains.









The prairies in Canada.

Me after the shower.

Edmonton City Hall.

Lousy and disappointing Chinatown.

Photo taken at a viewpoint near Fairmont Hotel and with the background of North Sasketchewan River.

2nd week. *sob*

It is 9.30pm now and the sun has just begun to set. It is still rather bright outside and I would love to stay out a little later, but I am just too tired.

Anyways, this week has been great. Was really busy though, that is why there isn't much updates. On Monday evening, I got back from Banff/Jasper tour. On Tuesday evening, went to Chilli's to watch a hockey match with 4 other Canadians and CY. One of the guys tried to hit on me I think. -_-" Not bad for an Asian, who is completely new on a foreign angmoh land eh. Heh. Then on Wednesday evening, I was busy doing work and studying. Thursday evening, I finish work at 8pm and got back not wanting to do anything else besides sleeping. Then on Friday evening, Prof Cox drove us all to the nearby Elk Island National Park. Of course, someone actually thought it was supposed to be a zoo. I'm not sure whether I should LOL on this. But still. There's just so much of ignorance one can have.

Anyways, here is a picture of a buffalo we saw along the way in Elk Island. He was happily munching on the grass, then looked up with a whatcha-starin'-at look when we slowed the vehicle down and watched. Well, contrary to the name of the park, we did not see any elks at all! Grar.














So today we went out to explore the downtown of Edmonton. Nothing to shout about. Just buildings after buildings and we easily covered the whole area in like 45 minutes. Very small. And CHINATOWN was a great dissappointment. There is NOTHING resembling a typical Chinatown there and buildings were not even compact. It looks and feels exactly like a ghost town. What a pity.

Work at the pharmacy was great, now that I am more involved in the processes. It is really fantastic being able to be involved in the management of people's health. So far I have been doing counseling in stuff like antibiotics (amoxicillin, penicillin, cephalexin, tetracyclines, nitrofurantoin, metronidazole, macrolides and clindamycin) , NSAIDs (naproxen, diclofenac, ketoralac and ibuprofen), painkillers with narcotic ingredients (Tylenol #3), antihistamines, some sedatives (zopiclone and cyclobenzaprine), OTC products and non-oral dosage forms (MDI, diskhaler, eye and ear drops and topical creams (including corticosteroids)). So that is really a lot of stuff eh. I will be handling some diabetic patients next week, so I hope it will go well. There is not much time left for me...only 2 more weeks!! And there is still so much to learn!

So that is all for now. There is still work for me to do. I'm contemplating whether I should do it tomorrow morning when I wake up bright and early. :)

Banff and Jasper

The weekend just past was a long weekend in Canada. Victoria Day was on Monday so we went on a trip to Banff and Jasper on Saturday and got back to Edmonton on Monday night. It was a fabulous trip. Made a few friends a long the way and experience "roughing" it out in the wilderness.

Just a few pictures here to whet your appetite. There's like hundreds of photos, but I have yet to organise them and post it up.

Johnston Canyon











Columbia Icefields













Beautiful and famous Lake Louise















Athabasca Falls













Snocoach















Columbia Icefields. Was cold that day!












Hostel we stayed in for the first night. No running water and electricity.














Bighorn Sheep we saw along the highway to Jasper.












Athabasca Falls again.














View on the hiking trail to Siffleur Falls.

Getting better

So what have I been up to lately? Been learning tons and tons of things from my preceptor. I have already begun counseling on patients since yesterday. Today, I have added acetaminophen with codeine and some antibiotics into my repertoire. Slowly, I will be doing most of the counselings.

I have learnt lots from the pharmacy technicians there. My pill counting is still slow, but that is not a great concern. I am almost completing the whole process - accepting Rx, counting the pills, packing them and finally, dispensing them to the patient and giving proper counseling.

One good thing about this place is people are very patient. And as long as you show the willingness to learn, they are very happy to teach and share their knowledge. They are also very understanding even when I trip up during the counseling sessions. And I really like that. They don't demand attention like the Singaporeans do.

No pictures lately because I have been very busy working. And there really isn't much to take anyways. Will be traveling to Jasper-Banff this weekend (Woohoo!) and there will definitely be more lovely pictures. It's the Rockies, man. :)

Edmonton Oilers has won the game last night. They are going to meet the Anaheim Ducks tomorrow or sometime this weekend I think. People just went crazy after the win. apparently there were like, 20 000 people crowded onto Whyte Ave. It was crazy. And we missed all those. :(

Anyways. One interesting thing I noticed is that the weather is so dry here, there's hardly any condensation. By that, I meant a cold water bottle will not have water droplets on its outside as we get back home. And it's no problem stuffing icecold water bottle into my bag as there's no water of condensation to wet my bag! Heh.

OK. I have already done more of my work. Will go to sleep now and resume work tomorrow. Btw, I work from 12noon till 8pm on Thursdays. Other days, I work from 9 to 5.

May 17, 2006

Skipped the post for Tuesday because I did not do much, except visit a blood pressure clinic in a seniors' residence (old folks' home, very nice place) and help the residents there monitor their blood pressure. Talked to a 81 year old Asian lady, born in HK and married a Singapore. Have traveled around Malaysia several times, according to her. Have been learning tons from the pharmacy student. Watched him counsel patients and he taught me the counseling process (which I must admit ashamedly that Mr David have been trying to teach me that last year, and it is exactly the same) as well.

Yesterday was more exciting. My preceptor was around and she quizzed me on so many things. Really had trouble remembering them all. Especially those simple ones like NSAIDS and antihistamines. Also ran through counseling points with me on amoxicillin, cephalaxin, acetaminophen with codeine and eye/ear drops, the metered dose inhaler (for asthma and COPD) and probably something else, but I cannot remember everything offhand now cos I left my notebook in the pocket of my white jacket and it's in the pharmacy. But it was a good day. I learnt tons. Also prepared solution for people on methadone programme (to help people with addiction get off it).

I think that's about all. I'm getting busier now cos there's so many things I need to review before going to work. So I sleep early and wake up really early to do work. Till then.

First day of work

It was simply overwhelming. I was assigned to a huge drug store, much bigger than the one in Jelita. They carry all other products - toiletries, food, beverage, paper products, photo printing service and many others I might have missed out. The number of OTC products available on the shelf is sufficient to put me in convulsions. Different kind of brand names, different dosage forms for just one drug (enteric-coated, delayed release, caplets, tablets, gel capsules, liquid gel capsules etc etc JUST for ibuprofen 200 mg, not to mention there are the extra strength ones, those in liquid forms, and those in combination with antihistamines and so on), different packaging (the stuff here are more colourful!) and the different deals that go with it. It is simply impossible to keep track of everything. So my preceptor suggested keeping a few "favourites" in mind for recommendation.

So that was just a short intro about the pharmacy.

This morning we went to meet our abroad officer, which took us on a walk around the campus, where most of the buildings we have already seen on Sunday. Then she took us to get our uni ID card and computer password. For the latter, I must say that she is a little dim-witted. I have already told her specifically in an email that we have already received our computing username and password. And yesterday, when we were about to go into the building, I asked her again whether we are applying for the above and she said no. I think there is a major communication breakdown here. So after we got our new randomly generated passwords, we were unable to log on to the internet at night and hence, cannot do work and cannot book tour to Jasper/Banff.

After that, we went to see our placement coordinator who walked us through the objectives and expectations of the programme. We talked about what we wanted to do (to go for a home care and hospital visit) and she gave us a little tour around the faculty after that. She showed us the pharmacy practice lab, which was tastefully furnished and fully equipped with probably all the drugs in the world. It is a very nice lab to have counseling/dispensing sessions in.

Lunch was at a little pizza joint just about 3 blocks or so away from the Pharmacy building. Thin-crusted pizza with nice cool weather outside and a sunny sky makes a lovely lunch outing. Then we walked 5 blocks to CYYC's pharmacy and left her there while prof and myself made the remaining journey to downtown, where my pharmacy is located.

The trip downtown was rather crazy as we were quite late for our appointment. Ran to the train station, and ran for the bus as well. I thought the pharmacy was of a walkable distance, but looks like I will have to cover more than 20 blocks to get to the pharmacy from my residence. So maybe investing in some travel tickets will be good. If the weather is nice enough and if I wake up super early, I might want to take a 30 minute walk there.

My preceptor is a very young woman, probably just 2 or 3 years (or less) older than myself. She talks real fast and I was trying very hard to understand what she said. met the other workers in the pharmacy, they have 2 pharmacists in store, a pharmacy manager, 3 pharmacy technicians and 1 other pharmacy student from U of Alberta. I think I might actually look like a fool because the other student is also a 3rd year going on to his 4th (final) year but he's already counseling patients like his second nature. And he obviously knows more things than I. I really wanted to dig a hole and hide there. Stressful lah!

Did not do much when I was there, just hung around the store and learning up the types of brand names and the type of combination products they have. So far I have very quickly went through pain/fever, cough, cold and flu medications. Today (yes, I didn't actually write this yesterday after work. Was too tired to think and reflect) I will move on to the GI section where there are MILLIONS of TUMS preparation available. Sigh. Why can't they just keep it to ONE kind of plain antacids?! Grrrar.

Talked to some of the technicians and they showed me how they package drugs for people on polypharmacy (people on more than 5 drugs at a time). Most seniors would require this to help them remember taking medications. The tray has 28 slots, divided into 7 days and 4 "meals" per day. So if the drugs are to be taken in the morning, it will be slotted in the appropriate hole and so on. The end result is like a blister pack, filled with 5 or more drugs inside one blister. Looks nice, but is quite scary cos these people usually have all the disease at a time - diabetes, hypertension, hyperlidemia and very likely hyperthyroidism for ladies - and needs many drugs to keep their disease in control.

So that is about it. Couldn't help but to feel very much overwhelmed by the amount of work to be done and the expectations placed on me. And also, to try my best to learn as much as I can. My preceptor hopes to get me to counsel on all sorts of medications, which includes eye/ear drops, asthma inhalers, topical drugs, antibiotics and so on. And I will be doing much reading up on diabetes mellitus as I will have to do a minimum of 2 counseling sessions for patients with this condition. I have absolutely no idea what kind of counseling it will entail, but very likely it will involve monitoring their blood glucose levels and making sure that it stays at target. And whether the patient is suffering from side effects and whether the drug regimen fits into their lifestyle. I must always remember that pharmaceutical care means "the responsible provision of drug therapy to achieve specific outcomes to improve the quality of life of the patient"

It is going to be a steep uphill learning curve, but I am expecting a lot from myself so as to make this learning journey (literal sense too, since I travelled so far. Heh) a fruitful one. I just hope I don't crack. :)

May 14 in Edmonton

Was woken up at 630 am again by the sun. Urgh. Need to find ways to shut the blinds tightly so that I won't be unduly woken up by the sunshine! Also attempted to open the window of the room and stick my body out so that I can take a nicer picture. In the process of doing so, the window decided to slip from its position and came sliding down on my back. Haha.


Picture of the room view. Not very interesting cos no flowers yet. Am hoping to catch the blooming flowers.

Anyways, today was rather interesting. We took a walk around campus from 9 am onwards and headed towards Butterdome (the uni sports and recreation centre). Did not take the exterior of the buiding because it is bright yellow and ugly.
Indoor track.

Then we walked over to Horowitz Theatre and found that the Alberta dance Festival is on! So we went into the theatre and sat there to admire the pretty little girls and watch solo jazz performances of 12 year old girls. Some were very good, but some had really bad technique. Bad turn-outs, "blunt" pointes, and some had bad posture to begin with. But otherwise, is an interesting show. Apparently it is going to go on for the next few days, so I'm hoping to catch the ballet ones. After the show, we walked around a bit more then it was almost 11 am. And since we were just right outside St Joseph's College (our hostel), we decided to just go into the chapel and attend the Sunday Mass. Felt very good to be back in the CHIJ-like environment. Hymns, liturgies, communions etc. Then we took a long walk (about 13 blocks, around 6 km) to Whyte Avenue, where the happening shops were. Had Greek pita for lunch and then we decided to head to the largest mall in the world - West Edmonton Mall.

Real flamingoes in the mall.
Bourbon Street-themed area.
A humongous water park in the mall itself! With fake wave pool and beach.
Sea lion shows at 2pm and 4pm. They even have an underwater world thing nearby where you can see sharks.

By 5+pm, we were both veryvery tired. I almost felt like falling asleep while walking. The mall was HUGE. Besides the water park, sea lion/flamingo enclosure, there's also a roller coaster/fun ride park, casino, IMAX theatre, an ice skating rink and plenty of stores and food chains. That's where we see more Asians. Heh.

After getting back from West Edmonton Mall, we head to Safeway to get dinner (yucky frozen food, need help on making food using the microwave only!!). Took a short rest before we head outside to sit in the sun and absorb all the lovely sunshine and cool air (today's weather was FABULOUS). Then Prof Cox came again to pick us up to her son's house to watch a (ice) hockey game. It was very interesting. Things happen so fast and they just literally crash into each other. Did not stay till the end though, cos we decided to come back early to get some ironing done and have a rest before the big day tomorrow.

So that's about it! We found some detergent lying around in the laundry room, so we decided not to get any, since the smallest portion they sell was 1.89L. Like, 20+ washes! We are not going to wash our clothes THAT often! Heh.

So, I will have to go to bed now. Take care.

First post from Edmonton

Hello all. The date and time is now May 13 2006, Saturday, 11.39 pm This is me writing from my room in St Joseph's College, University of Alberta, Edmonton. Quite a mouthful eh.
Me in the St Joe's room.

But anyways, I am very glad that the traveling has finally come to an end! Was in a journey from Singapore to Taipei, which took about 4 hours. Then a SIX-HOUR long transit there before taking the long connecting flight to Vancouver, which took 10.5 hours. After arriving, we had to stay overnight in the outskirts of Vancouver so that we won't arrive in Edmonton at 1 am in the morning! Haha. This morning's flight took a very short 1 hour and we were promptly greeted by Prof Cox. At least she came with her trusty car and drove all our (heavy) luggage to the residence. I really cannot imagine lugging all those things on my own!
Changi

I had a great time just absorbing everything. Somehow, Canada doesn't amaze me that much, most likely because it is so similar to the US. The same kind of highway advertisements, the same kind of cars/trucks, the same kind of bumpy and holey roads (due to snow and ice) and so on. The trees were lovely, though the flowers are not in full bloom yet since it is still early spring (middle of May already!) The sun rose at an ungodly 5 am and set at 9.45 pm. That's a really long summer day for you. And apparently, in June, the sun starts setting at 11 pm. Gosh. I woke up very early this morning cos the sun shone into the room (probably not due to jet lag I hope). And it felt odd to be drinking hot chocolate with the Prof and her husband at 9.30 pm when all is still rather bright, something like late 6 pm at home.

This morning I took a lone walk to Minoru Park located just right behind the hotel we stayed in. CYYC was still sleeping, nursing her tiredness and jetlag I think. It was a BEAUTIFUL morning. Took some pictures of black bunnies hopping around and ducks frolicking about in the lakes. A squirrel came up to me (just a mere 5 cm away) hoping that I would offer it some food! Haha. The morning air was great and the chilly air froze my nose and ears (which I kinda like. Heh.) Must admit that I am rather underdressed for this climate. Even though it is above 10 degree Celcius, it is still quite cold. Maybe I could invest in a thicker coat to tide me over for the next 5 weeks. Anyways, I loved that morning walk. Saw many joggers and they're really friendly. They'd greet passerby's a good morning and may even add in a little comment or two about how nice the day is. And the most interesting was, out of the 10 joggers I saw, only ONE is Caucasian! Haha. The rest were mainly of Chinese origin. One Chinese guy even told me that the ducks like me cos they came very close to me. Haha.



Was feeling very tired after arriving in Edmonton. We took a short walk to the building opposite to grab a late lunch/early supper. Had teriyaki chicken with rice and mixed vegetable (carrots, broccoli, cabbage) fried ala teppanyaki style. That's the only food store open in the entire buillding, so we didn't really get to choose. Came back to the room for a short nap before meeting Prof Cox for a short drive around Edmonton city and some hot chocolate at Tim Hortons (the Starbucks of Canada). Enjoyed the time out with her and her husband (a civil engineer!) and they offered to pick us up again tomorrow evening for a (ice) hockey game against San Jose. They are really crazy about hockey, these Edmonton people. They have flags and banners and messages all over the city cheering their team on.

I am rather enjoying this new experience. I really can't wait to start work on Monday and learn more about pharmacy practice here. (And prove my dad wrong about retail pharmacist being just a salegirl.)

It's cold in here, since the boiler was turned off (for some odd reason) and the heater doesn't work. I hope the temperature outside will not affect the temperature in my room though.

Till then, the next update. :)