Dr. Shirin Abadi

Dr. Shirin Abadi oversees clinical and educational pharmacy services at BC Cancer in Vancouver, and teaches as a Clinical Professor for the faculties of Pharmacy and Medicine at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Shirin obtained her B.Sc.(Pharm.) degree from UBC, accredited Hospital Pharmacy Residency Certificate from Lions Gate Hospital, Doctor of Pharmacy degree from University of Toronto, Pharmacy Leadership Academy Diploma from Center for Health-System Pharmacy Leadership, and Executive MBA degree from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. Shirin is a registered pharmacist with the College of Pharmacists of British Columbia and a Fellow of the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists (CSHP). She is an Executive Council Member of the Canadian College of Health Leaders, and the Vice Chair of Nurse Practitioners Panel at British Columbia’s College of Nursing Professionals. To date, Shirin has given more than 100 local, national and international presentations on a variety of clinical, leadership and research-related topics, and has more than 40 academic publications and posters to her credit. She is a key contributor to oncology practice and supportive care protocols and is passionate about the provision of exemplary patient care with the ultimate goal of improving patient health outcomes and safety, and reducing healthcare costs.

1. Tell us about your current job in the field of pharmacy and how did you get there?

" I oversee clinical and educational pharmacy services at BC Cancer in Vancouver. I also teach as a Clinical Professor for the Faculties of Pharmacy and Medicine at UBC. I completed my B.Sc.(Pharm.) degree at UBC, followed by an accredited hospital pharmacy residency program at Lions Gate Hospital, and a Pharm.D. degree from the University of Toronto, in order to prepare for an advanced pharmacy practice and leadership role at BC Cancer.  I subsequently completed a pharmacy leadership academy diploma with ASHP and an executive MBA degree with SFU, to enhance my leadership skills."

2. Tell us about an experience that has changed how you practice pharmacy.

"When I was the President of CSHP-BC, my team and I had to respond quickly to an announcement by the BC Ministry of Health, which attempted to rollback hospital pharmacists’ wages.  Ever since then, I have learned that we need to regularly let our colleagues, patients and members of the public know about what we do and how our work improves patient health outcomes.  Our contributions to patient care go far beyond counting pills and sticking labels on bottles.  We need everyone’s assistance to  educate others about our work."

3. What does an average day in the life of a BC Cancer pharmacist look like? Do you often work as part of an interprofessional team in your practice setting?

"Our BC Cancer pharmacists are involved in a variety of collaborative team-based work throughout the organization, ranging from optimizing cancer treatments to identifying and resolving drug therapy problems and providing education to healthcare professionals and patients, to responding to drug information questions, teaching and research activities, developing chemotherapy monographs, contributing to the content of cancer treatment protocols, pre-printed order forms, and patient information handouts, to working with Health Canada to bring in special access medications for our patients and assisting with clinical trials, and much more."

4. What is the most rewarding part of your position, and what do you find to be the most challenging?

"The most rewarding part of my position is working with a very dedicated team, who makes a positive difference for patients with cancer every day.  The most challenging part of my job is knowing that we still have a long way to go to improve survival and quality of life for all of our patients, who are diagnosed with cancer."

5. What advice would you offer students interested in pursuing oncology?

"Consider enrolling in the 3rd year oncology elective course (PHAR 458) and completing an accredited pharmacy residency program in oncology!"