Safe Handling

Safe Handling of Hazardous Drugs

Forming part of the Canadian Association of Pharmacy in Oncology (CAPhO) Oncology Essentials Series, along with Oncology Basics, Safe Handling of Hazardous Drugs Program, consisting of 5 modules, is an online self-study program available to CAPhO members 24/7 at no charge.

This online education program is available to CAPhO members only and is intended for pharmacy personnel who may come in contact with hazardous drugs including pharmacy technicians, pharmacy assistants, and pharmacists, and consists of an introduction, 5 self-study modules and an evaluation survey, as follows:

Module 1: Introduction to Hazardous Drug Handling
Module 2: Personnel and Designated Responsibilities
Module 3: Facility Design and Equipment
Module 4: Personal Protective Equipment
Module 5: Cleaning and Disinfecting
Module 6: Hazardous Drug Spill Cleanup

The Safe Handling of Hazardous Drugs educational initiative is a product of the efforts, resources, and time of many. Special thanks to Yvonne Dresen, Colleen Thurber, Samantha Wright, Julie Melmoth, Richelle Bailey, Andrea Harris, Michelle Koberinski, and the project support team.

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Module Overview | Contributors

Overview

Module 1: Introduction to Hazardous Drug Handling
This module will provide you with an introduction to the safe handling of
hazardous drugs.

Module 2: Personnel and Designated Responsibilities
This module provides an overview of the roles and responsibilities of key personnel involved in hazardous drug compounding.

Module 3: Facility Design and Equipment
This module provides outline of the requirements facilities must meet in order to perform sterile and non-sterile compounding.

Module 4: Personal Protective Equipment
This module will provide you with a summary of appropriate personal protective equipment to wear when handling hazardous drugs.

Module 5: Cleaning and Disinfecting
This module will provide you with the requirements for cleaning, deactivating, decontaminating and disinfecting areas reserved for compounding hazardous drugs.

Module 6: Hazardous Drug Spill Cleanup
This module will provide you with an overview of hazardous drug spill management.

Contributors

Safe Handling of Hazardous Drugs is an educational initiative that is a product of the efforts, resources, and time of the following CAPhO members:

Michelle Koberinski

Coordinator, Oncology Certification Program, Provincial Pharmacy, BC Cancer — Kelowna, British Columbia

Michelle Koberinski has worked as a pharmacy technician since 1999 in various community and hospital settings in BC and Alberta. She currently works for Provincial Pharmacy at BC Cancer as the Coordinator of BC Cancer's Pharmacy Oncology Certification Program where she developed, implements, and maintains an Oncology Certification program for pharmacy staff in British Columbia that prepares and dispenses oncology medication. In 2010, Michelle received CAPhO’s Merit award for her work on BC Cancer's Pharmacy Practice Standards for Hazardous Drugs Manual. Michelle dedicates much of her time to improving aseptic compounding processes that involve hazardous drugs and developing guidelines for safe practice.

Yvonne Dresen

Coordinator, Pharmacy Sterile Compounding Services and Distribution, Pharmacy, Northern Health - UHNBC — Prince George, British Columbia

Colleen Thurber

Senior Pharmacy Technician, Pharmacy, Saskatchewan Cancer Agency — Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Colleen graduated with a Pharmacy Technician Certificate from SIAST in 1998 and started her career with the Royal University Hospital pharmacy department in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan the same year. She has worked as an oncology pharmacy technician at the Saskatoon Cancer Centre since 2004 and moved to a senior technician position in 2009. Colleen is also the Co-chairperson of the Occupational Health and Safety Committee at the Cancer Centre.

Samantha Wright

Manager of Operations, Cancer Centre, The Ottawa hospital — Orleans, Ontario

Samatha has been exposed to many various jobs over the years, and as a supervisor over came barriers via collaborative and successful efforts. As a manager, she is responsible for a variety of projects, with a particular focus on NAPRA implementation and a corporate approach to the operational side of the pharmacy. She is looking forward to continuing lo learn in my new capacity and making an impact at TOH.

Julie Melmoth

RPhT., Drug Information & Application, Alberta Health Services — Westlock, Alberta

CAPhO BOD & Technician/Assistant Education Committee Chair

Richelle Bailey

— Saskatchewan

Richelle earned her Pharmacy Technician certificate from SIAST in 2005, launching her career at the Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She went on to dedicate almost two decades to the Saskatoon Cancer Centre, where she worked as a pharmacy technician in both frontline and senior roles from 1999 to 2023. During this time, she pursued further education through Selkirk College’s bridging program, becoming a regulated pharmacy technician.

Now an instructor in the Pharmacy Technician program at Saskatchewan Polytechnic in Saskatoon, Richelle continues to stay active in the field, working casually at the Saskatoon Cancer Centre pharmacy.

Andrea Harris

Pharmacy Technician Supervisor, Pharmacy, BC Cancer - Kelowna — Kelowna, British Columbia

Andrea started her career as a pharmacy technician in Vancouver over 30 years ago. After almost 10 years at St. Paul’s Hospital, she moved to Red Deer (AB), then Burlington (ON), and finally to Kelowna (BC), where she and her husband raised their 4 children over the past 18 years. She has enjoyed her role in the implementation of the NAPRA Model standards in her pharmacy and continues to support her technicians to work in their full scope of practice. When not at work or watching her kids in their sports, Andrea enjoys hiking with her dog Finny. She also loves to travel and recently went on a trip through Italy with her family which was one of the best family trips yet.

The project support team consisted of:

Sea to Sky Meeting and Association Management (Administrative support)
The Film Factory (Video Production)
BC Cancer - Kelowna (Venue for video production)