LEADING THE WAY IN PHARMACY PRACTICE by
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Sandra Pysklywyc
UAlberta Pharmacy: Spring 2016
ROSEMARY BACOVSKY’s curriculum vitae (BSc ’74, BSc Pharm ’77, M Pharm ’85, MHSA ’97) reminds one of the Beatles song “The Long and Winding Road.” And, like the fearsome foursome was with music, Bacovsky has been a pioneer in the field of pharmacy. For those contributions, she was honoured last fall with the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Outstanding Alumni Award. The award is presented to “alumni in recognition of outstanding contributions to their professions, their communities, to society at large, or to the University of Alberta Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences”. Bacovsky began her journey at the University of Alberta when she entered the Faculty of Science with a goal of becoming a marine zoologist. “Once I realized that I would have to spend all my time in the lab because I couldn’t swim well enough to scuba dive,” says Bacovsky with a laugh, “I began to look at alternatives
and, having had some friends in pharmacy, I thought it looked interesting and I applied.” Bacovsky graduated from the pharmacy program and followed up with a hospital residency, after which her career took her to the Cross Cancer Institute. While at the Cross Cancer Institute, she started up a new and innovative clinical program. “I implemented one of the first, if not the first, clinical pharmacy-based chemotherapy IV admixture program in Canada,” says Bacovsky. “Essentially, this program meant leading in pharmacy practice for the province and the country.” Her 10 years at the Cross Cancer Institute also saw her develop the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists (CSHP) standards for the handling and disposal of hazardous pharmaceuticals. The standards she developed were endorsed by the Canadian Standards Association. Bacovsky is also credited with being “instrumental in establishing the International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners and in