APEX Awards

About the APEX Awards

The Alberta Pharmacy Excellence (APEX) Awards recognize excellence in pharmacy practice in Alberta. Initiated in August 2007, the awards were jointly funded, promoted, and presented by the Alberta College of Pharmacy (ACP) and the Alberta Pharmacists’ Association (RxA) until 2021. RxA is now the independent host of the APEX awards.

How to Nominate a Candidate

Nominations for the 2024 APEX Awards are now open!

Prepare your nomination letter in a Word document. 

  1. Click the nomination button when you are ready to proceed.
  2. You will be prompted to enter your contact information and the nominee’s information in an online form.
  3. In the online form, you will be prompted to upload your letter of nomination and any supporting documentation.
nominate now!

Guidelines

  • Nomination letter should not exceed 1,000 words (approximately 2 pages, single-spaced.)
  • In your letter, share examples, stories, statistics (the results) about an individual’s work.
  • Supporting documentation is encouraged (e.g. newspaper articles, reference letters, certificates of achievement, CV or biography.)
  • You can only submit one nomination at a time.
  • Nominations must be submitted by January 15, 2024. 

Helpful Hints

Here are some suggested questions to address in your nomination letter:

Award of Excellence

  • Describe the unique accomplishments and/or contributions made to pharmacy or the time where they have gone over and beyond for their patient and demonstrated excellence in patient care in their professional practice. The encounter or project should have occurred in the last calendar year.
  • Bring this person to life – is there anything else you would like us to know about this nominee?

M.J. Huston Pharmacist of Distinction

  • Examples of how this nominee has demonstrated a long-term commitment to
    • innovation,
    • continual professional development, and
    • quality patient care.
  • How has the nominee’s leadership in pharmacy advanced
    • the practice of pharmacy, and
    • patient care?
  • Bring this person to life – is there anything else you would like us to know about this nominee?

W.L. Boddy Pharmacy Team Award

  • Provide examples of
    • outstanding patient care,
    • exceptional collaboration skills (internally and externally),
    • practising to full scope, and
    • inter-professional collaboration.
  • Bring this team to life – is there anything else you would like us to know about this team? 

Friend of Pharmacy

  • Specify how this nominee has contributed to the profession of pharmacy.
  • How has this contribution advanced patient care and the profession of pharmacy?
  • Bring this person to life – is there anything else you would like us to know about this nominee?

Future of Pharmacy

  • Please specify how this nominee has demonstrated
    • initiative in their practice and professional development,
    • commitment to patient care, and
    • leadership in their profession.

The Bowl of Hygeia Award for Outstanding Community Service

  • How has this nominee contributed to the profession of pharmacy?
  • Provide examples of the nominee’s exceptional community service.
  • Bring this person to life – is there anything else you would like us to know about this nominee?

Mentorship Award

  • Examples of how this nominee has demonstrated a long-term commitment to mentoring pharmacy peers by:
    • Promoting training and career development
      • Guidance and support provided.
      • Mentee’s successes
  • Bring this person to life – is  there anything else you would like us to know about this nominee?

Questions?

Please contact us at rxa@rxa.ca.

Award Categories

Award of Excellence

This award recognizes individuals who have developed and/or implemented an innovative, original pharmacy program or service, which is significant to their area of practice or have had a patient encounter(s) where they have gone over and beyond for their patient and demonstrated excellence in patient care in their professional practice. For more details, see the terms of reference.

M.J. Huston Pharmacist of Distinction

The M.J. Huston Pharmacist of Distinction award is presented annually to a pharmacist who has demonstrated leadership and advanced the pharmacist profession through a long-time commitment to innovation, continual professional development, and quality patient care. For more details, see the terms of reference.

W.L. Boddy Pharmacy Team Award

This award is presented to a healthcare team (pharmacy staff team or multidisciplinary team that includes one or more pharmacists) in Alberta who, by virtue of their collaboration skills and use of the
pharmacist’s full scope of practice, positively impact the health of individuals in their community. For more details, see the terms of reference.

Future of Pharmacy

The Future of Pharmacy Award is presented to up to three pharmacists per year who exude a passion for pharmacy and offer extraordinary promise to the profession. Nominees will exhibit strong leadership skills and the initiative to become one of the profession’s role models. For more details, see the terms of reference.

Friend of Pharmacy

The Friend of Pharmacy Award is presented to a non-pharmacist/non-pharmacy technician who has contributed significantly to the success of the profession of pharmacy. The recipient will have gone beyond the day-to-day expectations of their work to exemplify excellence in their field of work as well as in their contribution to pharmacy. For more details, see the terms of reference.

The Bowl of Hygeia Award for Outstanding Community Service

The Bowl of Hygeia is awarded annually to a pharmacist who has compiled an outstanding record of community service which, apart from their specific identification as a pharmacist, reflects well on the profession. For more details, see the terms of reference.

Mentorship Award

The Mentorship Award recognizes excellence among mentors in the pharmacy profession. The recipient of this award has shown extraordinary commitment throughout their career in guiding, supporting and promoting the training and career development of others and has had a significant positive impact on their mentee’s careers. This award is based on the training experiences and success of the nominee’s mentees. For more details, see the terms of reference.

2023 APEX Award Recipients

We are thrilled to announce the recipients of the 2023 Alberta Pharmacy Excellence (APEX) Awards!

Our 2023 APEX Awards recipients were nominated by their peers for providing exceptional patient care to Albertans and contributing to the advancement of pharmacy practice. We applaud the efforts of all our award recipients, as well as the efforts of those who took the time to share their story through a nomination letter.

All titles, work locations, and names correspond with the time of nomination or the period in which the individual(s) earned their nomination.

Award of Excellence – Dean England, Tom Baker Cancer Centre

M.J. Huston Pharmacist of Distinction – Trish Molberg, Neighbourly Pharmacy

Friend of Pharmacy – Cst. Anthony Thompson, Calgary Police Service (CPS)

Future of Pharmacy 

W.L. Boddy Pharmacy Team – Provost IDA Pharmacy Team

Bowl of Hygeia – Dr. Caitlin Clarke,  LifeMed Pharmacy Whitecourt

Thank you to the APEX Awards Committee for their time and effort: Mark Percy, Brittany Zelmer, Clark Jantzie, Nella Fehr and Jantz Selk.