My journey to Canada began with love

We're pleased to present another of the essays submitted to Pharmacy Practice + Business' essay contest for internationally trained pharmacists.Dear Canadian Healthcare Network readers,I currently work as a pharmacy manager at Dundas West Village Pharmasave in Toronto. When I first read that you were looking for stories from internationally trained pharmacists, I hesitated because I have lived in Canada for 25 years, and I no longer think of myself as “international.” But then I realized that my journey is still very much a story worth telling.I was born into this profession, as we say in my home country Czechoslovakia. Whenever my parents asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer was always the same: a pharmacist. My father used to tell me that pharmacy is respected and demanding, but a deeply rewarding profession needing the commitment of my whole life. I didn’t fully understand his words then, but I do now. One of my favourite memories is from the day the Faculty of Pharmacy at Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia posted the list of accepted students. My father went to check the results. He started from the bottom of the list, assuming I wouldn’t be near the top. When he didn’t see my name, he moved to the top 20—and there I was. He cried with joy. My five years of study were intense and unforgettable. We learned pharmacology, chemistry, pathology, physics, biochemistry, Latin, compounding, public health studies, and even how to extract active ingredients from pharmaceutical herbs. Pharmacy education in Slovakia wasn’t very different from what I later experienced in Canada. I loved spending time in the medical garden, collecting plants and isolating medicinal compounds. I still remember extracting digoxin from Digitalis—realizing that something so small could help a person improve heart functions amazed me. After five years in 1997 I graduated with honour, and right after started working at the community pharmacy in my home town Trnava, Slovakia, as an entry level pharmacist. For five years I enjoyed working there.Recently, I visited Slovakia and returned to my alma mater. Sitting in the botanical garden, I closed my eyes and felt as if I were back there 30 years ago, a student full of dreams and curiosity. Sometimes I still wake up in the middle of the night panicking about whether I passed a biochemistry exam—then I remind myself it was only a dream. My journey to Canada began with love. I met my husband in Slovakia while he was visiting to learn about his family roots. He was born in Canada after his parents left Czechoslovakia in 1968. He stayed in Slovakia for a year, we married, and eventually decided to build our life in Canada. I arrived in June 2002 and immediately began the long process of becoming licensed in Ontario: the evaluating exam, qualifying exam, OSCE, jurisprudence, English exams, a year of student placement (thank you Gabriella my preceptor at TWH), and six months of pharmacy internship (thank you Jason my preceptor at Smart meds Burlington). It was a demanding journey, but one that shaped me, and I was licensed in August 2006 in Ontario.Over the years, I have worked in many areas of pharmacy: as a pharmacy assistant for four years at Toronto Western Hospital, as a clinical pharmacist for 10 years in a home-care pharmacy specializing in sterile compounding medications, as a relief pharmacist in community pharmacies, and now for eight years as a pharmacy manager—something I never imagined when I first arrived in Canada.During COVID-19, I faced some of the most challenging and meaningful moments of my career. I began administering Sublocade under a medical directive because many of my patients with opioid use disorder were struggling. With the rise of addiction in Canada, I eventually became a Sublocade day trainer, both in person and virtually, for other pharmacists, teaching them how to administer Sublocade injection. I continue to do this work with passion and am trying to change the scope of practice for Ontario licensed pharmacists to administer Sublocade. One of my greatest achievements was when the father of one of my OUD patients thanked me for saving his son’s life. His son continues to return every month for Sublocade injection. Moments like that remind me why I chose this profession—and why it chose me.I feel privileged to have walked this path and grateful to everyone who supported me along the way. I am committed to giving back, as a preceptor for newly registered pharmacy technicians by helping them succeed in pharmacy practice in Ontario. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my story, my growth, and my dedication to my patients.Truly yours,Jana MayerJana Mayer is the Pharmacy Manager at the Dundas West Village Pharmasave, in Toronto.

My journey to Canada began with love

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