Described by colleagues as a “natural-born leader,” Steven Kary is determined to pay it forward by helping cultivate future pharmacy leaders in his home province of Saskatchewan.

A clinical instructor at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Pharmacy and Nutrition and president of CSHP’s Saskatchewan Branch, Kary is currently working towards his Master of Health Administration (MHA) through the University of Regina’s Johnson-Shoyama School of Public Policy. His Wellspring Leadership grant will be put towards completing his studies and then developing a leadership-focused experiential learning rotation for fourth-year pharmacy students to begin in 2024.

“Steven has taken on a gargantuan challenge [as] one of only a select few clinical instructors for the new University of Saskatchewan Pharmacy Experiential Learning program,” noted a colleague who nominated him for the award. “He developed the entire learning plan, established a Saskatchewan preceptor network, and instructed dozens of students to successful completion of their Saskatchewan Heath Authority rotations.”

The MHA program focuses on improving program and policy development, effective health service delivery, and managerial and administrative performance. Kary’s latest courses will delve into policy, law and Indigenous health policy, which he says will not only help in developing new learnings for pharmacy students, but also will help support advocacy for improved patient care through his role at CSHP. As pharmaceutical care in Saskatchewan continues to evolve at a rapid pace, Kary says the MHA program is providing him with the skills he needs to move pharmacy practice forward. “The knowledge and skills that are developed within the MHA program have been instrumental to my success as a leader, and the ability to continue this education will only serve to further enhance this work.”