Prism of possibilities: Ontario pharmacy students connect at annual summit

The Ontario Pharmacy Student Integrative Summit (OPSIS) 2022 is the 10th annual conference held by U of T and University of Waterloo (UW) student leaders from the Undergraduate Pharmacy Society (UPS) and Society of Pharmacy Students (SOPhS).

This year, the networking and professional development conference was organized in a hybrid style, with case competitions and debates held online for more than 70 delegates and inspirational speakers from across pharmacy professional career paths shared developments in pharmacy and included:

o   Pavithra Ravinatarahan (Manulife)

o   Charina Alducente (MedMe Health)

o   Michael Do (MedEssist)

o   Cheyenne Matinnia (SickKids)

o   Rahim Dhalla (Hybrid Pharm Cannabis)

o   Jaspreet Chager (Pharmasave)

 “It has been a long time since we have had the opportunity to do in-person networking at a pharmacy event."

“It has been a long time since we have had the opportunity to do in-person networking at a pharmacy event. It was so nice to get to meet our future pharmacy colleagues from the University of Waterloo, to build connections and further our pharmacy knowledge. It was an even better experience to be able to plan the event with the amazing student leaders that are on SOPhS,” said Chelsea Alder, U of T PharmD student (2T3).

Students from both U of T and UW pharmacy programs appreciated the opportunity to meet and network in-person.

“We don’t have too many opportunities to collaborate with our UofT pharmacy friends, so it’s always a great time when we get to put this conference together and connect our two schools,” said Kevin Huynh, Pharmacy student at UW.

The 2022 OPSIS Planning Committee: consisted of Christine Tan (UPS President), Chelsea Alder (UPS Vice-President), Angad Bains (SOPhS President), Kevin Huynh (SOPhS Vice-President), Al-amin Ahamed (UPS President-Elect), Rachel Ma (UPS Vice-President-Elect), Kia Moazzami (SOPhS President-Elect), Reema Bhardwaj (SOPhS Vice-President-Elect).

The 2022 OPSIS event was supported by Shoppers Drug Mart, U of T’s Shaping Student Life and Learning Donor Fund, Pharmasave, Undergraduate Pharmacy Society and Society of Pharmacy Students, this conference would not have been possible so thank you for all your support.