Barbara Falkner
Barbara Falkner
Professional Practice Leader Clinical Pharmacy Services
(Barbara Falkner on the right)
Profile submitted by: Gordon Ling
Brief description of role or responsibilities
Barb is the professional practice leader in clinical pharmacy services for the Northern Health Authority. She oversees the clinical development of the pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in sites outside of Prince George. She is also involved in teaching the first- and second-year medical school students enrolled in UBC
Describe how the individual or team made a positive contribution to patient care or their pharmacy department:
Barb and I have known each other for a few years now, in fact she was on the interview panel when I first applied for the pharmacist position in Prince Rupert. I didn’t quite catch her full job title nor knew what she did during the interview because I was nervous; it was just a blur. I did however remember vividly her commenting on the various “out of the box” activities I had listed on my CV. They weren’t exactly out of the box but it meant a lot to me as a baby pharmacist that she cared to chat about these activities with me during the interview.
After I was officially hired, Barb connected to me with many other mentors to support my growth. Although we did live quite far apart, she closed the distance as she was always available via skype and now teams virtually. The meetings between us would typically run a tad longer as she remained curious about my life outside of work. I appreciated these gestures as they felt genuine and caring.
During my residency applications attempts; three in fact, Barb would take the time to reflect with me on my unsuccessful attempts to come up with action plans to improve my chances for future rounds. She remained one of my biggest cheer leaders as I navigated through my developments during those years. When I was a resident, she was my last preceptor and celebrated our successes with us.
When I read about Barb’s 25-year employment celebration with Northern Health a few years ago, I was genuinely confused as the numbers didn’t add up since she looked so youthful. For a while I thought she skipped a few years of school here and there and made it as a pharmacist in record time until she cleared things up with me.
I am privileged to have worked with Barb in my short hospital pharmacy career. She has remained the caring, nurturing and the positive figure since the start. Although I have never witnessed it first hand (I heard she used to waltz around in the pharmacy dispensary), I’m grateful that she has waltzed across my life.