Policy and Practice
Learning Loops: Policy-driven evidence and evidence-driven policy
Evidence-informed policy, while often touted as the gold standard, can be difficult to achieve in practice. It takes considerable organizational effort and resources to understand complex problems and develop appropriate strategies. In recent years, the Nova Scotia College of Pharmacists (NSCP) has been working to achieve just this. Since 2018, they have invested in an embedded researcher role, and worked to establish meaningful relationships with academic and consultant researchers. This effort is exemplified in their Staffing and Workload Initiative for Safety and Effectiveness (StaffWISE) project, which has collected more than one million data points to better understand the relationships between pharmacy staffing, practitioner wellbeing, and quality of care. This has led to the implementation of a new Pharmacy Staffing Level policy, as well as broader opportunities to understand the pharmacies they regulate. Join us to learn more about the NSCP’s data-driven approach to their work and how this supports a culture of learning within the organization.
Meet our Speakers
Dr. Andrea Bishop
Director, Research and Engagement, Nova Scotia College of Pharmacists
Dr. Bishop is the Director of Research and Engagement at the NSCP. Dr. Bishop completed a PhD at Dalhousie University in 2013 exploring patient engagement in patient safety. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Saint Mary’s University in organizational psychology, as well as another fellowship in behavioural and implementation science at the IWK Health Centre that explored communication behaviours across transitions of care. Dr. Bishop was a founding member of SafetyNET-Rx, a research and outreach program that encouraged and supported an open dialogue regarding medication errors and quality within community pharmacies in Nova Scotia. At the NSCP, she hosted the Wicked Problems Summits in 2018 and 2019, facilitating nation-wide dialogue on wicked problems facing the profession. Dr. Bishop holds an adjunct faculty position with the College of Pharmacy, Dalhousie University.
Eric Coates
Director, Professional Services, Nova Scotia College of Pharmacists
Eric Coates is the Director of Professional Services at the NSCP. In this role he is responsible for overseeing Quality Assurance, Pharmacy Practice, and Professional Accountability. Before joining the College, Eric spent nine years in various leadership roles at Nova Scotia Health. Most recently, he held dual positions as Clinical Director of the Halifax Infirmary Emergency Department and Central Zone Director of Clinical Transformation. He also served as a Health Services Manager in Emergency Departments located in Windsor, Sackville, and Halifax, along with a brief tenure as a Quality and Patient Safety Leader in the NSH Accreditation Unit. Eric brings a depth of experience in quality improvement, patient safety principles, clinical practice standards, and interdisciplinary leadership. As a leader in Emergency Medicine and former paramedic, he has successfully implemented process improvements, conducted quality reviews and developed new care pathways.