The SEIU-West Education Committee recently sponsored members to attend the Pharmacy Association of Saskatchewan 2026 Conference. We love hearing the reports from events and encourage you to have a read!
Rachelle P:
I am very thankful for SEIU-West for sponsoring me to attend the 2026 PAS Conference in Regina. This was my first time attending and I was excited but nervous! There weren't very many technicians attending but amazingly a technician asked to sit at my table while finding seating for the banquet. We were able to visit and get to know each other over the weekend. We shared our experiences of working in different sized hospitals and different roles that we were responsible for. We shared our feedback with each other regarding the information sessions and panel discussions. It was great to get another technician's perspective in the moment. We shared our contact information with each other and will keep in touch.
I loved that the information sessions were only an hour each followed by a short break. It gave me the opportunity to learn and gain more information in several areas in one day and then helps me to know if that might be an area of interest that I want to pursue further after the conference. I also appreciated that the group size was relatively small and not overwhelming being in a large group.
The two presentations that I gained the most beneficial information from were on Drug Shortages and Workplace Burnout. Both of these presentations are daily issues at my workplace. I really appreciated that the conference planners recognized that workplace burnout is affecting so many people and acknowledging it. Providing workers with tools and suggestions to overcome this issue is so valuable and important. The conference was definitely geared towards pharmacists but the more technicians that attend each year will help promote our important work and will lead to more
technician related information sessions being presented at conference.
I can't express how thankful I am for SEIU-West choosing me to attend. The conference is not cheap and why many technicians chose not to go. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Miranda C:
I am very grateful for the opportunity to attend the PAS Conference this year courtesy of SEIU-West. The experience was greatly beneficial and enjoyable. I moved to Saskatchewan 4 years ago and work in a rural hospital pharmacy. As a result, I have not met many pharmacy professionals in the province. Not only did I feel more connected to the professional community, but I was able to meet many different people that I feel will have a significant impact. I met fellow SHA employees, some new, and some that I have frequently interacted with during teams meetings but never in-person. I was able to sit down with them and ask questions about how they do things in practice to allow me to adapt and understand the reasoning and methodology behind various procedures and systems used in my workplace. I also met other professionals outside of the conventional community and hospital pharmacy that gave me a better understanding of other roles in the profession and how they contribute to practice.
One of the presentations on emotional intelligence and burnout in pharmacy helped me to re-evaluate how I perceive and respond to certain situations that occur in everyday work. I spoke to this presenter later in the day and found it quite enlightening to speak to someone with a similar professional personality. I was also able to gain some insight from the conversation which was very impactful personally. During the Drug Shortages presentation, I was able to connect with the Healthpro representative from Ontario. She was able to answer some questions that I probably never would have asked otherwise. I was able to get added to a newsletter and meetings related to drug shortages. Speaking with her and some of the other fellow SHA employees mentioned earlier made it much more comfortable for me to reach out with work-related questions moving forward. It was enlightening to hear about other pharmacies, their clientele, and the unique services they provide using outside-the-box thinking. It was inspiring to see how much they care about their community and patients as well as their willingness to make unique changes that benefit themselves, their business and their patients. During the tradeshow I was able to have an amazing discussion with the representative of the diamond sponsor, Zonnic. As a smoker in a healthcare profession, I was able to ask real-life questions about the product from more than a clinical perspective and get real time answers. I was also able to talk with someone about malpractice insurance and was able to get a more convenient and beneficial policy.
It has been 15 years since I was at any type of pharmacy conference but going to this one was so incredibly beneficial. It helped remind me how an organization like this can benefit me, how much I can learn from it, how much I love the career I chose and how fun it can be... and to boot, I am now a member of the Pharmacy Association of Saskatchewan.
Thank you SEIU-West!