Pharmacists as integral members of the health care team provide a wide range of services to stakeholders in terms of direct patient care and medication management. Pharmacists at CAMH also work in management and leadership capacities and participate in medication safety, education, training, policy development and dissemination as well as research. There are also specialty positions in pharmacy practice such as drug information and drug use evaluation and medication safety.   Pharmacy assistants play an integral role in supporting the full range of pharmacy operations including in-patient and out-patient drug distribution, purchasing and inventory control, packaging and bulk compounding.

CAMH requires that all pharmacists be registered with the Ontario College of Pharmacists. As with all regulated health professionals at CAMH, pharmacists must provide annual proof of registration in good standing with the College. There are two registers for pharmacists maintained by the College, i.e. "part A" for pharmacists with active patient care practice and "part B" for pharmacists who do not participate in direct patient care (e.g. those who work in industrial, governmental, academic or regulatory settings). Pharmacists at CAMH must be in "part A" of the register. For information pertaining to the College, please access the College web site www.ocpinfo.com.   At the present time, pharmacy technicians are now regulated by the College. With the new regulations, there is a process of mandatory registration of pharmacy technicians through the College. Information regarding registration may be accessed on the College website.

The department participates widely in the education of pharmacy students and pharmacy technician students. Pharmacy staff serve as preceptors and mentors in a number of  programs coordinated by the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, and several community colleges offering accredited pharmacy technician programs. The Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto is undergoing a curricular change which will enhance the traditional Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy (B.Sc.Phm.) Program. Through faculty-based didactic and expanded clinical experiences, the enhanced program provides a more rigorous preparation for contemporary practice.  As a result of this change, CAMH pharmacists are currently offering preceptorship and mentorship to students in the both the traditional B.Sc.Phm. program and the new B.Sc.Phm. (Professional) Degree. The clinical rotations currently offered at CAMH include; the Early Practice Experience Programs 1 and 2 (EPE 1 and 2), the Structured Early Exposure Program (SEEP), the Structured Practical Experience Program (SPEP) and the Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) rotations. The EPE programs offer students a one month opportunity to gain clinical practice experience after year 1 and year 2 of the B.Sc.Phm. (Professional) degree curriculum. The SEEP program provides second year pharmacy students with early exposure to pharmacy practice in hospital settings. The SPEP program offered to pharmacy students in the last semester of the fourth and final year of the traditional B.Sc.Phm. program consists of an intensive 8-week structured practicum in a hospital setting as well as an additional 8-week practicum in a community pharmacy setting. The APPE rotations are available at the end of Year 3 and provide a diverse range of practice experiences to enable students to apply their knowledge, skills and professional values in different practice environments. In addition to the above, CAMH Pharmacy also offers a general one-year hospital pharmacy residency program to graduate pharmacists interested in obtaining intensive experience in a hospital pharmacy setting, with a concentration in addictions and mental health. Pharmacists are also involved in didactic teaching at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto. The department is also a site for specialty training of Residents and Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD.) students who wish to include a specialty rotation in addictions and mental health in their overall training. The Pharmacy also serves as a training site for pharmacy technicians who receive their primary training at a community college.

There is a Pharmacy Practice Council at CAMH chaired by the Director, Pharmaceutical Services/Pharmacist-in-Chief and pharmacists are participating in the deliberations of this Council. The Council organizes a number of staff development initiatives each year and oversees the development of professional practice models, student education and research.

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