A pair of University of Waterloo students gained some important, real world experience working at a pediatric hospital in Ottawa that was in need of help.
The Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) was overcapacity with children battling respiratory viruses in November. It put out a call to universities for anyone that could help in the pharmacy department. Third year University of Waterloo Pharmacy students Parsa Ali and Duaa Osman were already in Ottawa for their co-op placements. When they heard about the hospital’s need, the pair jumped at the opportunity to help fill clinical roles.
"It was great to be able to apply it in a real world context," Duaa Osman said. "It was a little overwhelming at first, because it was very busy at the hospital with the surge of respiratory illnesses.”
"It was quite busy no doubt. There was a lot going on at that time, so to be able just to see firsthand the experience and what was going on was very eye-opening," Parsa Ali said.
Hospital staff said the assistance was a much needed injection of energy.
"It did help a lot on the morale I think on our team, feeling that other people were coming to help," Ariane Blanc, the director of pharmacy at CHEO said.
"They learned, we learned, but it was also helping. We received a lot of great feedback from our team. They were really happy to have them on board,” Blanc said.
Between their co-op and in the hospital, the two students spent every day of the holiday season working and taking care of patients.
“To be able just to talk to them and to discuss and making sure that all around their care is going well, I think that was something very exciting and very valuable," Ali said.
Now that they have firsthand experience working in a hospital, both Ali and Osman feel they chose the right career path and want to find a job in a similar location.
"I feel like it's going to help prepare me [to be] an even better healthcare provider," Osman said.
