Did You Know?

• During the Toronto SARS outbreak of 2003-2004, all medical workers, including pharmacists, had to wear head-to-toe protective gear including a face shield, double gowns, goggles, double gloves, a hood/cap, and shoe covers during procedures that carried a high risk for cross contamination. Needless to say, this made communication with patients harder.

• Also during the Toronto SARS outbreak, special carts were created for use in hospitals for a “code blue” situation (signifying a heart attack). To help prevent the spread of germs, pharmacists added muscle relaxants to the drug trays on the carts to lessen the risk of patient movement during intubation (the insertion of a tube in the patient’s trachea to help them breath or to administer drugs).

• The median expected salary for a pharmacist is $111,570 a year.

• Different species of animals are used for testing new medications and products (mice, rats, rabbits and monkeys to name a few). Animal testing has helped make possible life-saving drug discoveries.

• It can take up to twenty years to develop a new drug.

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