Every year HealthPRO Canada welcomes students as part of its placement program to help them gain real-world experience while contributing to the organization.

Obinna Okafor-Justin, a fourth-year student, from the University of Toronto (U of T) just completed a 5-week rotation under the mentorship of Tracy Gallina, HealthPRO Canada’s Product Quality, Clinical Director.

We had the pleasure of interviewing him to share his experience.

What motivated you to pursue a career in pharmacy?

Since high school, I’ve had a passion for science and business, and I ended up working in a pharmacy throughout my entire undergraduate degree. I really enjoyed the working environment and I liked the versatility that pharmacists have in their career – from working in the community, in a hospital setting or corporate, there seemed to be a ton of flexibility and job opportunities.

How would you summarize your experience at HealthPRO Canada?

It’s been a very rewarding and eye-opening experience, where I got to work on many projects over a short period of time. Prior to joining HealthPRO Canada, I had little experience with drug procurement, and it’s not focused on in school that much, so every day I was learning about the importance of the pharmaceutical supply chain and how it impacts members, suppliers and patients.

What part of your placement at HealthPRO Canda did you enjoy the most?

I really enjoyed attending and participating in HealthPRO Canada’s Pharmacy Advisory Council Meeting. During the 2-day conference, I was able to network with members across the country and participate in discussions around drug shortages, product evaluations and sustainability within the pharmaceutical supply chain industry. It was a great way to end my placement at HealthPRO Canada.

What type of pharmacy practice do you think you’ll pursue once you graduate?

After my placement at HealthPRO Canada and getting to hear from members and my coworkers, I’ve realized I’d like to gain more experience working in a hospital setting.

Tell us about a project you worked on.

As part of my training around Product Concerns, I got to hear from members about product quality issues, product lookalikes, labelling and barcoding and how we can work with suppliers to resolve these issues and ensure they don’t happen again. It really demonstrated to me that HealthPRO Canada is not only focused on helping members secure the best price from suppliers but patient safety and better patient outcomes is also top of mind.

What is it about HealthPRO Canada that appealed to you?

Having worked in community pharmacy for many years, I wanted to gain a new experience and try a different field of pharmacy. Through networking and my own research, I knew that HealthPRO Canada was a leader in healthcare procurement and it would be a great place to learn more about that side of healthcare.