In 2009 I made one of the biggest decisions of my life, I moved to Canada with my husband and child. I was a newcomer to Canada under the skilled worker program. I applied to the program as a pharmacist with 8 years of experience in Jamaica.
Adapting to our new home
We immigrated to Canada with big dreams and hopeful that our child would get a better education and more opportunity. I also wanted to do more with my pharmacy degree and have more impact.
When we landed in Ontario, we had just enough money to sustain a simple lifestyle for at least 1 year. We were in survival mode and focused on the rent, food, public transportation. My husband who was a teacher worked at several factories to take care of his family. This enabled me to focus on studying for my pharmacy examinations.
Pharmacy Exams
There were three different pharmacy exams that I had to take before I received my pharmacy license in Ontario. PEBC Evaluating Exam $880
Qualifying Exam $825
OSCE $1825.
https://pebc.ca/
After I landed and completed the evaluating exam I started to plan the next step on my journey to my pharmacy license. I reached out to another Jamaican pharmacist that came to Ontario before I did. She highly recommended the International Pharmacy Graduate Program at the University of Toronto. I enrolled in the 6 months course in 2010 and got a student loan from Scotia Bank to cover my school expenses.
International Pharmacy Graduate Program
The IPG program included therapeutic practices, communication, role playing various pharmacy scenarios, pharmacy calculations, social networking.
After completing the IPG program I attempted the Qualifying exams MCQ 1 and 2 and the OSCE.
I was successful in the written exams, but I failed the OSCE, which is an oral, practical portion.
In 2011 I started to apply for pharmacy jobs to gain some Canadian pharmacy experience. as a newcomer this proved to be very challenging even though I had 8 years experience as a licensed pharmacist and English was my first language. I applied to all the local pharmacies and got turned down several times. I remember going to an interview in Richmond Hill and the interviewer advised me to look for a Jamaican Pharmacist to help me.
Canadian work experience
So, I took his advice, and the universe led me to Mr. Clarke, a Jamaican Pharmacist who owned his pharmacy. He hired me as a pharmacy assistant, couched and guided me for 6 months. I gained some confidence and a lot of pharmacy experience under his tutelage.
I retook the OSCE and passed it after the third attempt. While attending the IPG classes I communicated with Rexall about potential pharmacist jobs with there company. As soon as I pass all my exams, I reached out to them, I completed my Pharmacy studentship and Internship with Rexall Pharma-Plus in Kingston Ontario. I became a licensed pharmacist in Canada in 2012.
