Dr. Curtis Harder completed his undergraduate pharmacy training at the University of British Columbia (UBC), followed by a pharmacy residency at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver. After working as a clinical pharmacist for 4 years at St. Paul’s and then the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, BC, he returned to UBC to complete his Doctor of Pharmacy degree. Since then, Curtis has worked in both clinical and leadership roles with the Vancouver Island Health Authority. He served as the Coordinator for Pharmacy Education & Practice Residency (regional role) between 2011-2017 and then as the Clinical Coordinator for Pharmacy at Victoria General Hospital between 2017-2021. Curtis has a clinical background in critical care pharmacotherapy and served as the Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Adult Intensive Care at the Royal Jubilee Hospital between 2007-2016. After 10 years serving in formal leadership roles, some overlapping with clinical practice, he returned to a pure clinical role as Clinical Pharmacy Specialist role in Adult Intensive Care at Victoria General Hospital in 2021.
Curtis has an appointment with the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences as a Clinical Assistant Professor. He is especially passionate for pharmacy education and is an active preceptor/facilitator for Island Health Pharmacy Residents and UBC Doctor of Pharmacy students and the occasional out-of-province student. Curtis has precepted more then 30 experiential rotations in leadership/project management, infectious disease, and critical care. Curtis has also supervised numerous pharmacy residency projects and has numerous peer-reviewed publications mostly focused in either pharmacy practice or critical care.
Curtis has had the opportunity to apply his special interest in pharmacy education through service on the Canadian Pharmacy Residency Board (CPRB), with which he served three years on the Executive Council and contributed to the development of new Year 2 (Advanced) Pharmacy Residency accreditation standards and a national pharmacy residency application and matching service (PRAMS). He has surveyed many pharmacy residency programs across the country and continues to serve as co-surveyor with the CPRB. Following his two terms on the CPRB, he was appointed as the CSHP representative to CCAPP in June 2020. His sustained commitment to the profession was recognized through conferral of Fellowship status by the Canadian Society of Pharmacists (CSHP) in 2020.
Curtis is a husband and father of three teenagers, and his entire family are cycling enthusiasts. Outside of work, Curtis can often be found exploring the hilly and curvy country roads on southern Vancouver Island, and getting outpaced by his kids who just keep getting faster.