www.nspharmacy.ca, the official website of the Nova Scotia Pharmacy Regulator (NSPR), provides information about the pharmacy regulator, pharmacist and pharmacy technician registration, pharmacy licensure, and pharmacy practice in our province.

The information on this site is intended as a resource to pharmacy professionals and future pharmacy professionals, and to the public.

Public interpretation of health information on this site should not be substituted for the advice of a healthcare professional. For specific health matters, visitors to this site are encouraged to consult their pharmacist or other appropriate healthcare provider.

Occasionally, alternate websites are referenced on this site. This does not imply an endorsement by NSPR. The Nova Scotia Pharmacy Regulator does not endorse specific organizations, products, or therapies.

Nova Scotia Pharmacy Regulator is located in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People, and we acknowledge them as the past, present, and future caretakers of this land.

We respect and honour the Peace and Friendship Treaties that were signed in this territory, setting the terms of coexistence between settlers and the Mi’kmaq people. These Treaties remain in place today.

We recognize our responsibility to uphold the Treaties in the spirit of Reconciliation and collaboration. We acknowledge the harms that have created and continue to create health inequities for Mi’kmaq People, and we commit to moving forward in partnership.

We are all Treaty People.

We recognize the histories, legacies and contributions of African Nova Scotians, a distinct people with connections to the original 52 land-based Black communities. African Nova Scotians have been a key part of enriching the culture and history of Mi’kma’ki for more than 400 years.

Mi’kma’ki includes all of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, part of New Brunswick, the Gaspé region of Quebec, part of Maine, and southwestern Newfoundland.

September 25, 2025

Nova Scotia Pharmacy Regulator Seeks to Redefine “Pharmacist”

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The Nova Scotia Pharmacy Regulator (NSPR) has launched a new awareness campaign – Redefining Pharmacy Care – that highlights to the public that pharmacists have the knowledge and skills to treat a broad range of their healthcare needs.

As part of the campaign, the NSPR has formally submitted a proposal to the Oxford English Dictionary to update its definition of “pharmacist”, moving away from an outdated understanding of the pharmacist’s role that is limited to preparing and dispensing medications, to one that reflects the full healthcare professional role that they serve in meeting the care needs of their patients in 2025.

The NSPR has been collaborating with the provincial government and other system partners over the past decade to ensure that the public receives the full benefit of pharmacists’ knowledge and expertise. In recent years, this has included ensuring that pharmacists are working to their full scope, which refers to the healthcare they are educated and permitted to deliver in Nova Scotia. Pharmacists are being repositioned in primary care delivery, including:

• assessing patients to prescribe renewals of their medication;
• adjusting the dose of the medication or changing to a different medication, when appropriate; and
• treating patients for common conditions like shingles, Strep throat, and uncomplicated bladder infections.

“We work on behalf of all Nova Scotians so that they can get the full benefit of their pharmacist’s expertise and be confident in the quality of care they receive,” says Beverley Zwicker, NSPR CEO & Registrar. “This is about making sure it is competence, not tradition, that determines the care a healthcare professional can provide. Now more than ever, we need to ensure that our healthcare system makes full use of pharmacists as healthcare professionals and medication experts.”

The public awareness campaign includes social media, billboards, and transit shelter ads. These visuals showcase a more comprehensive definition that better reflects the full range of a pharmacist’s knowledge and the care they are providing.

Nova Scotians are encouraged to visit the campaign website at redefiningpharmacycare.ca to learn more about the healthcare available from their pharmacist.

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About the Nova Scotia Pharmacy Regulator (NSPR) The Nova Scotia Pharmacy Regulator (formerly Nova Scotia College of Pharmacists) is the regulatory body for licensed pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and the community pharmacies where they practice. It governs the practice of pharmacy in the interest of the health and well-being of the public, working to ensure that all Nova Scotians can access safe, quality pharmacy care.