User Spotlight: Improving Healthcare Accessibility for Students at Coast Mountain College

Shannon Doyle has seen healthcare delivery from many angles. As a community pharmacist in Ottawa, the Northwest Territories, and BC, she's worked in diverse settings with varied patient populations. Now, as Director of Student Health Services at Coast Mountain College in BC, she's using those experiences to help students navigate a healthcare system many are encountering independently for the first time.

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Meeting Students Where They Are

‍"A lot of students are coming here right out of high school, and their parents or guardians may be many miles away. They’ve often never had to navigate the healthcare system on their own before," Shannon explains. "When you’re 18 years old and newly on your own, it can be hard to know where to start – especially when it comes to finding a family physician or understanding how to seek care.”

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With the Health and Wellness Center open on campus, accessibility looks different.

‍"Students are able to just drop in when they need support. When you think about younger students, a lot of the healthcare access they need is related to minor ailments. Being able to address those on campus helps them avoid long waits in the emergency department and keeps those services available for more urgent needs. My favourite part of my role is when I’m working with students."

Providing that level of accessibility is easier to maintain when the administrative side of the work is streamlined. Before MAPflow, Shannon completed all of her documentation by hand. Now, having province-specific documentation that’s 100% automated helps her spend less time on paperwork and more time with those students. That efficiency is essential for her to balance clinical care with her other responsibilities as Director.

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Building Confidence Through Continuity

Shannon’s work goes beyond treating immediate concerns. She’s building healthcare literacy and competence with every interaction.

‍“If I do need to refer a student, I’m able to walk them through the process and help them understand how the healthcare system in BC works. It’s about supporting them in the moment, but also helping them feel more confident navigating things on their own moving forward."

As practice standards for minor ailments continue to evolve, Shannon’s primary focus is maintaining a system she can trust. She values MAPflow because it is built to grow alongside the profession; since the platform is updated in real-time to reflect shifting regulations, she can practice with confidence, knowing she is always providing the best possible care to her students. 

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Beyond Treatment: Empowering the Next Generation

The feedback from students and staff at Coast Mountain College has been overwhelmingly positive. By offering minor ailment assessments directly on campus, Shannon has filled a vital gap in care, but her impact goes beyond a simple prescription or referral.

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She is using these clinical interactions to build healthcare literacy, teaching students how to advocate for their own wellbeing and move through a complex system with confidence. Shannon’s work is a clear example of how the right support allows pharmacists to reclaim their time, shifting the focus away from administrative hurdles and back toward making healthcare truly accessible, one student at a time.

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