Pharmacy faculty members honoured
Each year, the College of Pharmacists of Manitoba, the pharmacy regulatory and licensing authority in Manitoba, collects nominations and selects award winners for prestigious honours in pharmacy care, innovation and practice. For 2015, three faculty members from the University of Manitoba’s College of Pharmacy were selected for these honours. These awards were presented at the Manitoba Pharmacy Conference on April 19, 2015.
Dr. Keith Simons – Honorary Life Membership 
Dr. Keith Simons, a Professor in the College of Pharmacy, has been a valued colleague, researcher and educator for 40 years. This award recognized his service to pharmacy practice, education and research both within Manitoba and across Canada. A U of M alumnus, Dr. Simons received his pharmacy degree in 1966 and his Masters in 1969. He completed his Ph.D at the University of Washington in 1975.
Dr. Simons has held a number of high-profile positions within the College of Pharmacy, including Division Head of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Associate Dean (Research). Dr. Simons served on and chaired most of the College of Pharmacy’s standing committees and various Faculty of Graduate Studies’ committees. He was a University of Manitoba Senator from 2003 to 2005. In the fall of 2013, he was awarded the inaugural Leslie F. Buggey Research Professorship. Dr. Simons has focused his recent research on creating a sublingual tablet that could be a potential alternative to epinephrine injections for the first-aid treatment of anaphylaxis. With more than 3,500 publication citations demonstrating his research excellence, Dr. Simons has significantly impacted pharmacy practice throughout the world, as well as personally educating nearly all the practicing pharmacists in Manitoba during his illustrious career. Dr. Simons will be retiring from the University in June of this year.
Jan Coates – Patient Safety Award 
Jan Coates is the Director of Pharm. D. Development and is leading the charge in the creation of the University of Manitoba’s own Doctor of Pharmacy degree. Prior to joining the U of M Jan was the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority’s Regional Clinical Pharmacy Manager. It was in this position that Jan was nominated for the Patient Safety Award which recognizes the achievement of pharmacists that have made a significant and lasting contribution to improving patient safety and health care quality through a specific initiative or project. Jan advocated for, and helped integrate, a pharmacist within Emergency Department at WRHA sites. Pharmacists that work as part of a collaborative Emergency Department team are able to anticipate and reconcile drug therapy problems, improving patient safety by resolving potentially life threatening issues.
Dr. Shawn Bugden – Pharmacist of the Year
Dr. Shawn Bugden is an Associate Professor in the College of Pharmacy. The Pharmacist of the Year award is given to someone who, in the opinion of his or her peers, has made a significant contribution to the profession during his or her career. This criterion fits Dr. Bugden very well. In addition to his teaching, research and university service, Dr. Bugden has served the greater pharmacy community by participating in provincial and national boards and councils. Dr. Bugden was President of the College of Pharmacists of Manitoba (formerly Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association) from 2010 to 2012, during which he helped draft the Code of Ethics and Pharmaceutical Regulations Policy. Both of these documents have now been passed and are in effect for all Manitoba pharmacists. Dr. Bugden is the Past President for the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada and remains actively involved with this examining body. Dr. Bugden has been instrumental in designing and delivering the scientific literature and ethics curriculum for all undergraduate pharmacy students.
The College of Pharmacy is very proud of these faculty members and offers its sincere congratulations to all the CPhM award winners.