Welcome to the ISTM Member Spotlight, where we celebrate the people behind the practice of travel medicine. Meet Brian Stowe, pharmacist and owner of The Prescription Shop Pharmacy and Travel Clinic located on the campus of Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.
What inspired you to pursue a career in travel medicine/migration health?
In 2001, the physician clinic on campus stopped providing pre-travel consults. They recognized that the service was outside their scope of practice and started referring patients to an off-campus travel clinic. I recognized that travel health was important to the student population and I approached the director of health services and discussed the idea of providing pre-travel assessments at the pharmacy on the basis that I would study and complete the CTH certification exam. We developed a collaborative model, utilizing a medical directive that gave me authority to prescribe a defined list of travel related vaccines and medications to patients of the campus community.
To the best of my knowledge, we were the first pharmacy in Canada to establish a pharmacist-led travel clinic. At the time, many physicians took a dim view of our collaboration and I was fortunate to work with a physician who agreed to take an innovative approach to support a service in the bests interests of our community.
We continue to use the collaborative model today and these days the medical directive is a commonly found feature in pharmacist-led travel clinics in Canada
Describe your current role and key areas of focus.
At the pharmacy, I currently split my time between the dispensary work and pre-travel appointments. Much of the pharmacy work involves supporting the mental health needs of our student population. I feel that my daily involvement and experience with students across their many health care needs enhances my role in supporting them in their travel health needs.
I have also recently returned to presenting education talks on travel health, in particular directed at pharmacists. In the past few years there has been a significant expansion of pharmacies providing pre-travel appointments and I think it is quite relevant today to provide them with case examples so they can gain a better understanding of what is involved in a travel consultation.
What do you find most rewarding about your work?
I think it is helping patients gain confidence on their own pathway to good health. At the end of a travel appointment a few months ago the traveller said to me, “Thank you, I feel so much more comfortable about this trip now than before this appointment.” It was such a nice complement.
How did you first become involved with ISTM?
When we first looked at setting pre-travel services, the pharmacist colleague I was working with came to me one day and said he’d heard about this society, ISTM, and that they offer a certification exam and that there was going to be a sitting in New York in 6 months.
I said, “Wow, let’s go write the exam!” and we did.
Within months of writing the exam, a group of Ottawa travel medicine doctors, including Anne McCarthy, reached out to invite me to join in their regular travel medicine discussion group. Back then I faced a lot of resistance from physicians who felt I should not be practicing in travel health. In contrast, this Ottawa group welcomed me enthusiastically. Looking back, that really was the start of my journey with ISTM.
What has ISTM membership meant to you—professionally or personally?
The mid-career expansion of my work into travel health was an exciting change to my practice. The collaborative structure of our clinic has had an impact across all of our pharmacist services.
With regard to ISTM membership, it has been a great source of learning and collegial friendships for me. I’ve always found the content of the conference to include many practice driven presentations that are often relevant to my practice.
Over the years as I have increased my volunteer involvement with ISTM, I am always struck by the engagement and commitment of the members who volunteer to serve on the various committees at ISTM.
This engagement is a strong indication of the strength of our member-driven organization.
What is your favorite destination or travel story?
In 2019, I was travelling with my son in India. We had a driver who we learned slept in the back of the car at night rather than take a hotel room.
One of the adventures we chose to do was an overnight hike and camping in a tiger sanctuary in Periyar National Park (Kerala, southern India).
When we got to our campsite it had a big trench-like moat dug around it with a single bridge across and a 6 foot fence with barbed wire all the way around. Our accommodation was a 2-man pup tent like the one my parents used to have for back yard sleep outs when I was a kid in the 70s.
When we hiked out the next morning our driver was there to greet us. I asked him where he stayed the night, thinking perhaps there was another campground in the park.
He laughed and said, “It’s a tiger sanctuary, I slept in the hotel!”
What’s your “travel health must-have” when you’re on the road?
Comfortable shoes. And I’m always thinking about what I can take out to make my bag lighter.