Thank you to the many friends and family that have taken the time to reach out since my last post on March 15. What seems like years ago was in fact the day my home province of Nova Scotia first reported active cases of Covid-19. As Wikipedia summarizes:

On March 15, Nova Scotia’s first three presumptive cases were detected, all travel-related.

The world has not been the same, and as a result we have all been challenged to find the positives while living within the chaotic uncertainty of the dreaded ‘new normal.’

I have been no different. Isolation was torturous. Mentally, my strength ebbed and flowed much like a tide; I felt that certain days offered some hope that things would return to normal sooner than expected, but there were significant stretches where that semblance of a familiar routine seemed to be getting further and further away. Productivity was down, tensions were up, and distance was affecting relationships.

2020 has so many memes depicting all the horrible and controversial events of the year, and there are too many to list. At what point can we get this train to slow down?

After writing for 7 years, I’ve always relied on this method to put thoughts down and read them back later. It forces me to frame what is happening and what I’m feeling as part of a bigger picture instead of allowing an event (or in the case of 2020, a ridiculous series of events) to overtake all the beauty in the world. After 6 months on hiatus, it’s time to once again channel that energy by writing about the positive changes we’re seeing, particularly in the pharmacy profession:

• Essential Workers – by any description, those that kept essential services running, and those who worked to support each other through the worst of the pandemic, your passion and dedication is inspirational. I am especially proud of my pharmacy colleagues everywhere for stepping up in so many ways to fill significant healthcare gaps.
• Conditionally-Licensed Pharmacists – In March, clinical rotations were cancelled, licensing exams were postponed and grad ceremonies were a pipe dream. In many jurisdictions the Class of 2020 were granted the ability to practice at full scope at a time when staff were being quarantined, case loads were rising and teams were being separated. They did not disappoint!
• Technician Expanded Scope – the move in NS to allow Technician or Technician candidates to perform medication administration via injection will significantly help reduce the burden on what is expected to be a high-demand flu season.
• Focus on Diversity and Inclusion – The awareness, continued discussion, and meaningful action to address underrepresented and marginalized groups will lead to a much stronger society. We are just scratching the surface and need to keep issues of inequality and equity at the forefront.
• Social Networks – Physical distancing has kept families and friends apart for way too long, but that distance has been necessary to avoid viral spread to vulnerable members of our society. Video chat applications are now much more prominent in the workplace and the home to keep people engaged. So far I’ve tried Zoom, FaceTime, MS Teams, Webex, and Skype for one-on-ones, group chats with my theatre company, and for hosting education sessions with university classes. It doesn’t replace in-person, but sure beats marathon conference calls!
• Redefining work environments – Similar to above, we are recognizing that many administrative functions may be transplanted off-site from a traditional office environment. There is less time spent traveling, and schedule coordination is easier.

We are coming out of Wave 1 for the worst pandemic the world has seen since 1918, so recovery is expected to be slow and arduous. I’ll be using these written words to remind myself that we learn and grow no matter the test to our personal constitutions. It will prevent the wrong type of pessimism to affect my outlook for the remainder of 2020.

It’s good to be back 🙂

 

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency, employer or affiliation.