Cardi Parties and Canadian Tuxedos
VGH Pharmacy Team gets Fashionable on Fridays
Infectious laughter filled the room as three women, all dressed in polka dot blouses, reminisced about their favourite Fashion Payday Friday themes.
“One week was cardigans, so we had a cardi party,” said Melanie Lamoureux.
“The funniest one, I think, is the Canadian tuxedo. I really loved that one,” shared Krista MacAulay.
“Waiter uniform, with black pants and a white top – that was cute,” added Christina Taitley.
“Hawaiian was really fun too,” MacAulay chimed in.
What started as a fun outfit coordination between two coworkers in December 2023 has now grown into a bi-weekly “booster shot” for morale for the entire pharmacy team at Victoria Hospital.
“After COVID were we feeling a little bit down and this bi-weekly activity just came about as a way to counter that,” said MacAulay, a pharmacist. “We wanted to look forward to something and laugh a bit more.”
Every two weeks, the team celebrates their payday with a unique fashion theme. Over the past year, the team has dressed up in a variety of coordinated outfits including polka dots, neon, plaid, florals, leopard print, various colours, camo, monochrome, pieces of flair, and many more.
“We get to experience the anticipation. It builds up over two weeks, we talk about it, and it creates this positive banter in the department. Like, ‘remember it’s polka dots on Friday,’” explained MacAulay. “It’s a fun activity that we can talk about leading up to the Friday, and then what’s even better is when we look at the pictures. Those are really funny.”
Coordinating these bi-weekly events requires little effort to organize at no cost. Every second Friday the team gathers at 2 p.m., when the morning staff are back from their lunch break and the evening staff come into work, to take a group photo in their themed outfit. Then one of the team members sends out an email to the group with the photo and announces the next theme.
“Over time, we’ve seen increased participation. It started with just a few of us, then it snowballed, and now everybody participates depending on the theme and if they have the attire available,” said Taitley, a pharmacy assistant. “Because there are three main classifications amongst us and we’re very separated in the work that we do, this is a great way to bring us together to bond as a team.”
The Victoria Hospital pharmacy team provides medication dispensing for the entire hospital. The team has about 20 staff members, including pharmacists, pharmacy assistants, and pharmacy technicians who deliver medications, while other pharmacists work in clinical roles in specific units like the mental health unit and medicine unit.
Lamoureux, a pharmacist on the team, encourages other departments in healthcare facilities to try organizing similar fun, casual events to boost morale and encourage bonding. “You just have to start. Pick a date and see how much involvement you can get. Not everybody’s going to be on board at the beginning, but you just need a few people to show initiative,” said Lamoureux. “It really costs us nothing, and it has provided us with plenty of laughs – after all, laughter is the best medicine.”