Student Literary Challenge
Sponsored by the Canadian Pharmacists Association & CAPSI National
Topic Suggestions 2014-2015
The following is a list of topic suggestions for the Student Literary Challenge. These are
intended to serve as a starting point for students having difficulty picking a topic they are
passionate about. Please note that the students are NOT limited to this list of suggestions.
1) Write a position paper on a current “hot” topic in pharmacy such as the expanding scope of
practice in different provinces, entry-level PharmD implementation, remote dispensing, etc.
2) Discuss ways in which the pharmacist impacts healthcare costs, shed some light on the increasing
senior population.
3) Discuss the impact of community pharmacists and the role they can play in chronic conditions.
4) Progressive and unorthodox health services are used as strategies for combating various health
problems. One example is the "Treatment as Prevention" strategy which was pioneered by the
BC centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. Comment on such programs from the perspective of a
pharmacist (e.g. Insight supervised injection sites).
5) Drug adherence is one of the most common reasons for drug therapy problems. Discuss some
innovative ways, which can help improve adherence.
6) Currently in Canada there is no unified national body, which represents the profession of
pharmacy. Often cases the government looks to CACDS when implementing changes to
pharmacy practice. Comment on the idea of a national representative body for pharmacy (e.g. a
"Royal College of Pharmacy").
7) There are many ways in which pharmacists can innovate in their profession and go beyond
traditional practice. Describe a unique, sustainable and innovative practice method or service,
which can help advance the pharmacy profession.
8) Discuss medication disposal and your opinion on the potential impact of environmental exposure
to medications. Who should be responsible for safe disposal?
9) With increasing demand for international aid in developing countries, what can we, as
pharmacists, do overseas to help contribute to this aid? Discuss the ethical implications that may
be involved in medication access (i.e. anti-retrovirals) to these developing countries.
10) Discuss a recent innovation in drug discovery and speculate its impact on the profession over the
next 10 to 20 years.
11) With the upcoming new Pharmacy Technician regulation occurring in many provinces across
Canada, discuss how you think this will change the role of the pharmacist and what you foresee
the future role of the pharmacist to be.
12) Comment on the cost of cancer treatments that, in some cases, only extend a patient's life by a
matter of months. Is this an appropriate use of publicly funded healthcare?
13) You and your “non-pharmacy” friends are in an argument about the role of the pharmacist in the
community pharmacy setting. Your friends see the pharmacist simply as an over paid and
glorified technician. How would you defend and justify the role of the community pharmacist to
these friends?