Pharmacy Corner
RESOURCES FOR PHARMACY

An interview with Dr. Jake Thiessen part three

In fact, isn’t it true that business management will be part of the curriculum?

Dr. Thiessen: “Absolutely. It doesn’t matter whether you are dealing with a community Pharmacy, a hospital practitioner, a primary health team, a start-up company or even a new School of Pharmacy, all are predicated on an underlying business model. Healthcare professionals often find the business end of their practice difficult and frustrating. So every student in our program is going to be trained in business management, entrepreneurship and Human Resources. They need to know how to manage people. We are also entertaining extended study options. For example, what about adding an optional extra year to the program, during which a student could complete an MBA? This illustrates that we’re creating a diverse education that will allow our students to better realize their dreams.”

What’s your goal for the school, the “big picture” that you’re trying to achieve here?

Dr. Thiessen: “We have lofty ambitions on various fronts. We want to be transformative and excellent, because the chance to shape young lives and impact the future of a nation is a humbling privilege. As educators, creating a wave that brings personal and common good to succeeding generations is something most are very keen to do. For us, this includes many faces of Pharmacy. For example, I’ve gone on record as saying that as a nation we need to get to a place where we mature in the world of pharmaceuticals. People have always hoped that Canada will do something progressive in this field -- make discoveries, develop innovations -- but we’ve never embraced this mindset and made it a national priority. We’ve always been ambivalent or even content to let someone else do it. Countries like Ireland have targeted pharmaceuticals, and said ‘We can make this a national resource’. India has done that too. Canada is a glorious nation with a petrochemical industry that can make anything, an intelligent workforce, and everyone in the world loves us, yet we have no prescribed agenda when it comes to pharmaceuticals. We regard pharmaceuticals only as a negative, as a cost. We’ve never thought, here’s an industry that we should champion and develop. Among many ambitions, that’s one I’d like to get to. That’s the attitude we’d like to foster here.”

There’s much more of our interview with Dr. Jake Thiessen to come. Next month, read an expanded story about the unique Medicine Garden, and why the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy considers it an important part of their program.

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