Val Langevin, pharmacist and former owner of Sylvan Lake Value Drug Mart (now Shoppers Drug Mart), was awarded the prestigious M.J. Huston Pharmacist of Distinction by theAlberta College of Pharmacists (ACP) and the Alberta Pharmacists’ Association (RxA) at an awards celebration held March 3, 2016 in Edmonton.
M.J. Huston Pharmacist of Distinction is awarded to a pharmacist who has demonstrated leadership and advanced the pharmacist profession through a long-time commitment to innovation, continual professional development, and quality patient care.
Val Langevin is a pharmacist and former owner of Sylvan Lake Value Drug Mart, a local business he owned for just over 30 years. Val sold the business to Shoppers Drug Mart in2015 and remains on staff as a pharmacist working part-time. Throughout his career, Val has proven his commitment to excellence in pharmacy practice by helping to create innovative clinical programs within his pharmacy. When the Bethany long-term care facility opened, Val established pharmacy services that provided residents with pharmaceutical care plans, quarterly medication reviews, and a pharmacist to attend interdisciplinary rounds and family conferences.
Val was an early adopter of pharmacist injection services; developed a community-based Anticoagulation Management Service in collaboration with local physicians; and participated in EPICORE’s Rural RxAction study, a randomized trial using pharmacists with additional prescribing authority to manage hypertension. He is a true pioneer of innovative community pharmacy practice, and a passionate believer in the importance and value of the community pharmacist to the health of Canadians.
In addition to being a leader within his pharmacy, Val is also a leader in his community. Val has been a member of the Sylvan Lake Chamber of Commerce, the Value Drug MartAssociates’ Board of Directors, the Red Deer Chapter of the Canadian Diabetic Association and the Teen Sexual Health Clinic.
Ashten Langevin, a clinical pharmacist practicing at Calgary Foothills Hospital was awarded the Future of Pharmacy Award by the Alberta College of Pharmacists (ACP) and theAlberta Pharmacists’ Association (RxA) at an awards celebration held March 3, 2016 in Edmonton.
The Future of Pharmacy Award is presented to up to three Alberta pharmacists annually who exude a passion for pharmacy and offer extraordinary promise to the profession.Recipients exhibit strong leadership skills and the initiative to become one of the profession’s role models.
Langevin is a clinical pharmacist at the Internal Medicine Medical Teaching Unit (MTU) at Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary. The team – consisting of one attending physician, 6-10trainees, one clinical pharmacist – work collaboratively to care for approximately 20 complex, and often very sick patients. Ashten thrives in this broad, challenging environment and is passionate about learning as much as possible from her colleagues and patients. “I want to learn everything there is to learn,” Ashten says. “I’m so fortunate to be part of this teaching unit. I don’t think I could get this kind of experience anywhere else.”
Ashten is described by her colleagues as an extremely well rounded pharmacist with a skill for effective teaching, a collaborative spirit, and a tenacious drive to investigate complex patient pharmacological issues. She works with the team and her patients to determine acceptable therapies through shared decision making. “At the end of the day, my goal is to set my patients up for success,” says Ashten. “I want my patients to clearly understand what the plan is going forward, and I want them to be comfortable with it.”
In addition to meeting the demands of her day-to-day responsibilities, Ashten contributes to the profession as a preceptor for pharmacy students, having taken on at least one student each year since starting at the MTU three and a half years ago. She is also actively involved with the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists (CSHP) and is currently chair of the education committee.
As part of her ongoing commitment to professional development, Ashten recently received her Additional Prescribing Authorization and is currently working towards her Doctor ofPharmacy (PharmD) at the University of Alberta.
The APEX awards recognize excellence in pharmacy practice in Alberta. Initiated in August 2007, the awards are jointly funded, promoted, and presented by the Alberta College ofPharmacists (ACP) and the Alberta Pharmacists’ Association (RxA).