CAPhO
Looking Back and Looking Forward
December 19, 2011
In This Issue
From the President
Executive Members Updates
NOPS 2011
2011 Awards
Research Grant Summary
NOPS 2012
Membership Benefits
Association Management
Quick Links
Chris RalphGreetings!

Our last e-newsletter of 2011 brings you a welcome from our new President, Executive Members updates, a summary of NOPS 2011 and our 2011 award recipients, and a short background on Sean Hopkins' grant-winning research proposal. 

 
We are looking forward to a very prosperous New Year, with the release of the first online education module in Oncology Practice Essentials and the development of the second module, ongoing membership initiatives, organizing NOPS 2012 in Saskatoon, and many other projects.

 

Maybe one of your New Year's resolutions will be increased involvement in CAPhO as a volunteer (I am looking for new members to join the Communications Commitee...)!  

 

From the CAPhO Executive to all of the members, we wish you a wonderful holiday season that is filled with lots of snow (for those staying home) and lots of sunshine (for those heading south!).  

 

Happy Holidays,
Sincerely,
 
Christopher Ralph
Communications Committee Chair
communications@capho.org 

Message from the President

Jennifer Judd It is with much excitement that I embark on my presidency for CAPhO!  Why all the excitement?
 
First, an incredible amount of work went into the creation of the new CAPhO website. It's more interactive and user-friendly, but will continue to provide members with the tools they require for their day-to-day practice in oncology pharmacy. You'll also notice the increased presence of social media. By adding social media elements (such as Twitter and FaceBook), we're hoping to continually keep you updated and engaged in what we're doing. And, I do hope you noticed the new logo! The new logo was unveiled at NOPS 2011, with its design reflecting the joining of forces towards a common goal, which sums up what CAPhO is all about. The new, modern look of the logo and website reflect the direction that CAPhO is headed, a journey we'll all travel together!

Second, I'm pleased to provide you with a quick update on CAPhO's 5 strategic priorities, first presented to the membership in April 2010. The 5 priorities include:
  1. a new website design
  2. provision of educational opportunities
  3. an evolving and engaging membership campaign
  4. representation through advocacy
  5. standardization of a Pharmacy Technician Certification Program
As mentioned above, the website is new!  Your Executive Committee is committed to maintaining the website for our members. We will strive to ensure it will remain current, relevant and interesting in regards to both content and technology.
 
Educational opportunities available to oncology practitioners are listed on the website's Education & Resources page. In addition, a new accredited education module, entitled Oncology Basics, will soon be available. Oncology Basics is just the first of several modules in development under the Oncology Practice Essentials banner, so stay tuned!

The membership committee is continually recruiting new members, ensuring our association grows in both numbers and diversity. Representation from technicians and pharmacy assistants is essential as we continue working on our endeavors and, as such, we would like you to encourage technicians and pharmacy assistants to become members and invite them to volunteer for the Executive Committee. Direct potential members to the website's Membership page that outlines all the benefits of membership. We are also committed to bilingualism and are striving to ensure we provide resources for all oncology pharmacists, technicians and pharmacy assistants practicing in Canada.

Advocacy is an important initiative for us. CAPhO will continue to evolve and engage with other organizations and agencies to establish policies, endorse educational programs, as well as recruit and educate students and residents in universities and schools in Canada about the specialty field of oncology. We are committed to becoming the voice of oncology pharmacy practitioners in Canada. Follow our advocacy initiatives on the Advocacy page of the website.
 
Our goal to develop a Pharmacy Technician Certification Program continues. Currently, the Education Committee is creating a Safe Handling Module (as part of Oncology Practice Essentials) which will also serve as a necessary step in the creation of a Pharmacy Technician Certification Program.  More to come...

Like I said, this is an exciting time!  As we join forces to accomplish a common goal, I, on behalf of the Executive Committee, would like to thank you for your support through the upcoming years. Your future contributions and engagement will ensure CAPhO continues to evolve and remain progressive.

Jennifer Jupp
President
president@capho.org
 
Executive Members Updates

Joan Fabbro
The 2011 NOPS conference in Quebec City was an exciting event for me this year because of the learning opportunities provided by the excellent conference programs, but also because I got an introduction into the workings of the CAPhO Executive Committee. I feel very fortunate to have joined this group of progressive thinkers on the CAPhO Executive who are working so hard for the association and its members. I have much to learn as the President-Elect and look forward to actively participating in the CAPhO organization. There is much to accomplish and this executive group has set the bar high!

Joan Fabbro
President-Elect
presidentelect@capho.org  


Tara LeslieHello everyone!  My name is Tara Leslie and I am thrilled to be the new Education Co-Chair (CEC) for CAPhO.  I am a hematology/BMT/oncology pharmacist at Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary.  Similar to many CAPhO members, professional development and education are key priorities for me. I am looking forward to facilitating CAPhO's education mandate. My predecessor, Rhonda Kalyn, did a fabulous job during her term as CEC Chair and I hope to continue to build on the foundation she established, such as the education and resources portion of the new website and the "Oncology Practice Essentials" modules. It is an exciting time for the Education Committee as the first module, "Oncology Basics", is almost ready to launch. Just a few finishing touches and it will be available to CAPhO members on our website. At that time, I will be sure to notify all of you. Thanks so much for this opportunity, and please email me if you have any questions or comments regarding the Education Committee.

Tara Leslie
Education Co-Chair (CEC)
educationcec@capho.org
 
NOPS 2011 NOPS 2011 a été un immense succès!

On behalf of the National Oncology Pharmacy Symposium (NOPS 2011) Organizing Committee, I would like to thank all the attendees, presenters and sponsors for making NOPS 2011 such a wonderful success. Reading through the evaluation survey results, I am delighted to see such positive feedback on the presentations, as well as the Saturday Evening event at the Museum of Civilization, which was a personal highlight for me!

This year we introduced some new innovations such as providing all presentations on a memory stick and having a Town Hall Meeting, both of which garnered positive feedback from attendees. It was great to be able to network and chat with many of you in the Exhibit Hall which was buzzing on Saturday and Sunday, and thanks go out to our sponsors for their participation and presentations throughout the four days.

NOPS 2011 also featured the launch of the new CAPhO website (www.capho.org). I recommend you take a moment to tour the website and see the many features that can assist you in your day-to-day practice. If you weren't able to attend NOPS 2011 or missed a presentation, you can find the slides and audio from all scientific presentations in the NOPS 2011 section of the website (www.capho.org/nops-2011).

Finally, make sure to reserve the dates of October 25 to 28, 2012 for NOPS 2012 in Saskatoon (www.capho.org/nops-2012).  NOPS 2012 Chair Kathy Gesy and her committee  have already started planning and I am confident next year's NOPS will be as remarkable as 2011!

Have a safe and happy holiday season.

Sincerely,

Gabriel Gazze
NOPS 2011 Chair   
gabriel.gazze@muhc.mcgill.ca
Awards for NOPS 2011

Congratulations to the Award Winners of 2011.

CAPhO Merit Awards

Congratulations to Joanne Leclair from the Winchester District Memorial Hospital, Ottawa

- View Joanne's Nomination Letter
- The nomination was submitted by co-worker Mohamed Gazario.

CAPhO Distinguished Service Award

Congratulations to Hélène Bourget Letarte from the Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre, Ottawa

- View Hélène's Nomination Letter
- The nomination was submitted by co-worker Joanne Leclair.

2011 award winners Honorary Life Membership in CAPhO

NOPS 2011 hosted for the first time a special membership category: Honorary Life Member. This is an honor granted to individual oncology pharmacists to recognize outstanding, long-term (more than 20 years) career contributions related to the oncology pharmacy practice and CAPhO.

This special honor was bestowed on two very special individuals who have longstanding and very active contributions to CAPhO. Very special congratulations go to:

- Edgar Goldstein, Quebec
- Betty Riddell, Saskatchewan

Poster Awards

Pharmacy Administration: Lucie Surprenant, Martine Pettigrew, Petr Kavan, St Mary's Hospital - "Comparative Net Cost Impact of the Utilization of Panitumimab Versus Cetuximab as Monotherapy for the Treatment of Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer in Quebec"

Pharmacy Research: Shirin Abadi and Crystal Amos, BC Cancer Agency, Agnes Lee, Vancouver Coastal Health, and Chelsea Nam, UBC - "Implementation and Evaluation of a Pharmacist Managed Chemotherapy-induced Nausea and Vomiting Algorithm in Patients Receiving Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Early Breast Cancer in an Ambulatory Outpatient Oncology Clinic"

Pharmacy Practice:  Shirin Abadi, Dennis Jang, Mario de Lemos, Paul Koke, BC Cancer Agency - "Prevalence of Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis in Hospitalized Patients with Cancer"

Victoria Kletas
Awards Chair
awards@capho.org
CAPhO Research Project Grant - Research Protocol

"Sequence of Administration of Docetaxel and Cyclophosphamide in the TC Regimen for Adjuvant Breast Cancer - A Randomized Pilot Trial"

This research idea started when we were evaluating the safety issues surrounding the administration of TC (docetaxel + cyclophosphamide) chemotherapy at The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre (TOHCC).  There were issues around what needed to be used as primary prophylaxis for febrile neutropenia, but also the issue of other side effects came up.

There have been two intriguing abstracts presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) looking at the sequence of administration of TC chemotherapy, and the effect the sequence had on adverse events. One retrospective looked at the effect on acute hypersensitivity reactions; the other looked at other side effects like fatigue, edema, neuropathy and myalgias. Both abstracts claimed that administering the cyclophosphamide first reduced all the side effects experienced by the patients; however both abstracts had large deficiencies including their retrospective nature, imbalanced numbers of patients, and a very uncontrolled group of patients.

As a result, it was proposed to the Breast Disease Site Group (the Group) at TOHCC that we perform a randomized pilot trial looking at the effect of the sequence of administration of TC chemotherapy on the known side effects of the chemotherapy regimen. Once the Group understood the issues surrounding the concept (and our medical oncologists realizing they had no idea how it was given anyways!), we embarked upon writing a protocol.

It was around that time that CAPhO organized a weekend research retreat and this was an ideal place to present this research idea. The weekend allowed a group of pharmacists from across Canada to meet and discuss research in general, as well as look at a potential protocol that could be developed sufficiently for use by pharmacists across Canada in various practice settings.  Once that weekend was completed, we continued working in Ottawa to develop this research protocol - making inquiries at Health Canada and completing literature searches as well as Ethics applications.

As a result of this work, we are now ready to present the protocol at Clinical Epidemiology Rounds in Ottawa as well as work with CAPhO to engage other pharmacists to participate in some high quality research, and to demonstrate our ability to drive practical and useful research outcomes.

Sean Hopkins
Pharmacist, Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre
shopkins@ottawahospital.on.ca 
Mark Your CalendarsSaskatoon

National Oncology Pharmacy Symposium 2012

When: October 25 to 28, 2012
Where: Sheraton Cavalier Hotel, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Information: www.capho.org/nops-2012

Tourism Saskatoon says: "Discover the city you thought you knew.  Saskatoon is the place to experience fine dining, bustling nightlife, beautiful trails and outdoor spaces as well as cultural institutions such as the Mendel Art Gallery."
Membership Benefits - Highlights

New and Events
Do you have a local, national or international event to promote or some oncology pharmacy related news to share? Have it posted on CAPhO's "News & Events" web page by sending an email to services@capho.org.

Awards and Travel Grants
CAPhO's awards and travel grants provide members with recognition and opportunities not typically available through the workplace. Make sure to check the Members "Awards and Grant Details" page on CAPhO's website in the new year for updates and deadlines. (You need to be logged in to see the page.)

CAPhO's Association Management Office

Sea to Sky logo with WebsiteSea to Sky Meeting Management is CAPhO's Association Management Office. Sea to Sky is supporting us in many ways, including member registration, Executive Committee support, and NOPS management.

If you have any questions about membership, services, the NOPS conference, or the association, you can contact the CAPhO Association Management Office directly:

E: info@capho.org
T: 778-338-4142
F: 604-984-6434
W: www.seatoskymeetings.com

Suite 206, 201 Bewicke Avenue
North Vancouver, BC Canada V7M 3M7
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