New Year, New Pharmacy

Goodbye 2025, hello 2026! The start of the new year is the time for turning over a new leaf by shucking off last year’s habits and creating new year resolutions. When we make personal goals for ourselves, the benefits are almost undoubtedly clear (of course it makes sense to eat more vegetables), and hanging up a new calendar (physically or figuratively) makes for good motivation for change. So why not use the same motivation for your pharmacy goals?

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Afterall, 2026 is poised to be an exciting year for pharmacist prescribing across the country. Here are just a few examples of the upcoming scope changes:

• In a monumental first, pharmacists in New Brunswick will be able to assess and prescribe for the management of obesity.
• PEI has expanded their Pharmacy Plus program to include testing and prescribing for strep throat.
• The Ontario College of Pharmacists submitted their proposed regulatory amendments to the Minor Ailment program to the province in December, and we expect to see 14 new ailments added to the program any day now.

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Regardless of which province you’re practicing in, having professional or business goals makes sense for a healthy career, and like eating more vegetables, often the benefits are undoubtedly clear. Where can your pharmacy use some improvement? Consider these goals for inspiration:

• Differentiate yourself from your neighbouring pharmacies
• Diversify your revenue streams to build resilience
• Improve patient satisfaction
• Increase efficiency in service delivery
• Invest in infrastructure or resources

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Define Your Path with SMART Goals

Once you’ve picked your pharmacy goals, how do you make sure you’re continually progressing towards them? The implementation of your resolutions is the hardest step and the reason why many people fail to eat more vegetables. What does it mean to “eat more” and how do you measure that? Consider creating SMART goals for yourself (e.g., “Increase the number of prescribing services delivered by 10% in 3 months”) so that you know exactly what you’re hoping to achieve and when. Make them small and manageable so that you can easily track progress and redirect if necessary. Also consider posting your SMART goals somewhere for other team members to see, so that you have someone to hold you accountable.

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Celebrate Wins and Maintain Perspective

Don’t forget to reward yourself for a job well done! As front-line healthcare providers, it can be easy to lose perspective and forget why we do the things we do. When you achieve your goals, celebrate your wins to remind yourself and your team of the broader picture and to use as motivation to carry on. Even if you miss your targets, use the opportunity to re-frame your goals and recognize your progress while acknowledging the challenging path ahead.

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Embrace Growth in an Evolving Field

The practice of pharmacy is constantly evolving, and this statement has been true for decades. Pharmacy professionals must continuously adapt to keep up with the changing environment, so why not use the motivation of the new year to self-reflect and set new goals for yourself? As 2026 ramps up, we hope that you are embracing a new and improved you.

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