Read the following article from a website.
Nova Scotia’s health department wants pharmacists to start treating twelve more common conditions next spring, including pink eye, minor skin infections and mild bladder infections. Patients would be able to walk into a pharmacy, speak with a pharmacist in a private room and leave with a prescription, without seeing a doctor first. The province says the change could free up about 90,000 doctor visits a year. Doctors, pharmacists and patients have filled the comment period with very different views.
Bronagh Mullan, who leads the provincial pharmacists’ association, says her members are ready. “A pharmacist spends four years learning about medicines, and we already renew prescriptions every day,” she said. “When someone with pink eye waits six hours at a walk-in clinic, that is not careful medicine. It is a traffic jam.” Mullan says every pharmacist would complete an online course before treating the new conditions.
Kojo Nyarko, a family doctor in Truro, supports the idea in part but worries about what could be missed. “Most rashes are just rashes, but now and then one is the first sign of something serious,” Nyarko said. “If the pharmacist cannot see my patient’s full history, that sign gets missed. Then the patient comes to me three weeks later, much sicker.” He wants every pharmacy visit to appear in the patient’s electronic record within a day. Sigurd Moen, who owns the only pharmacy in a village near Yarmouth, likes the plan but doubts he can staff it. “I am the only pharmacist on duty most days, and I already fill two hundred prescriptions a shift,” Moen said. “A fifteen-minute assessment means a line out the door.”
Thulani Mahlangu, a bus driver in Dartmouth, says the debate is personal. He waited seven hours at a clinic last winter for a sore throat that turned out to be minor. “I lost a full day’s pay for a test that took two minutes,” he said. “If the pharmacist down the street can do it, let them. I would rather spend that time with my kids,” Mahlangu added.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
Kojo Nyarko’s concerns would likely be supported by 2..
Thulani Mahlangu is most likely 3..
All of the people quoted seem to agree that pharmacists 4..
This article would most likely appear in 5..
The following is a comment by a visitor to the website page. Complete the comment by choosing the best option to fill in each blank.
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Correct Answer: letting pharmacists treat more common illnesses
Why this is correct: The health department wants pharmacists to start treating more common conditions. Every speaker gives a view on that change.
Passage Reference: health department wants pharmacists to start treating
Tips: Check each option against what Mullan, Nyarko, Moen and Mahlangu say. The option you keep should be something each of them could give a view on.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a shortage of family doctors in small villages: Moen works in a village, but nobody describes a shortage of doctors there.
- a new online course for medical students: Mullan mentions an online course for pharmacists, not for medical students.
- the cost of prescriptions for seniors: Nobody in the article talks about what seniors pay.
Correct Answer: a case where a missing history hid a serious illness
Passage Reference: now and then one is the first sign of something serious ... If the pharmacist cannot see my patient’s full history, that sign gets missed.
Why this is correct: Nyarko fears a pharmacist without the full history will miss a sign of something serious. A case like that would back up his concern.
Tips: Take each option as a new piece of evidence. Would it back up what Nyarko says, or would it suit someone else in the article better?
Why the other options are wrong:
- a report that pharmacists renew prescriptions safely: Safe renewals support Mullan’s case that pharmacists are ready.
- a survey of patients who lost pay waiting at clinics: Lost pay is Mahlangu’s story. It supports the change, not Nyarko’s concern.
- a study showing small pharmacies are short of staff: Staffing is Moen’s problem. It does not touch Nyarko’s point about patient history.
Correct Answer: a parent who is paid for the hours he works
Passage Reference: I lost a full day’s pay for a test that took two minutes ... I would rather spend that time with my kids
Why this is correct: Mahlangu lost a full day’s pay while he waited, so he is paid for his time. He also says he would rather spend that time with his kids.
Tips: Gather the facts about Mahlangu from his quotes and from the reporter. Keep the description those facts allow, and drop one they rule out.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a pharmacist who wants to treat more patients: Mahlangu waited at a clinic as a patient. He talks about pharmacists from the outside.
- a doctor who works at a walk-in clinic: He waited seven hours at a clinic as a patient. He does not work there.
- a retired man who is free most days: Mahlangu lost a day’s pay, so he still works.
Correct Answer: could take on at least part of this job
Passage Reference: says her members are ready ... supports the idea in part ... likes the plan but doubts he can staff it ... If the pharmacist down the street can do it, let them.
Why this is correct: Mullan says her members are ready, and Mahlangu says “let them.” Nyarko supports the idea in part, and Moen likes the plan.
Tips: Go speaker by speaker: Mullan, Nyarko, Moen, Mahlangu. An option survives only if all four of them would say yes to it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- should be paid more for each patient visit: Nobody in the article talks about what pharmacists should be paid.
- already have more work than they can handle: Only Moen says he is already too busy. Mullan says her members are ready.
- should finish an online course before starting: Only Mullan mentions the online course. The others say nothing about it.
Correct Answer: a news site for people across the province
Passage Reference: Doctors, pharmacists and patients have filled the comment period with very different views.
Why this is correct: This is a report on a provincial plan and the views of doctors, pharmacists and patients. A news site for people across the province fits it.
Tips: Think about who this story is for and what it does. Then pick the publication that would run it without changes.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a textbook for students training as pharmacists: It reports opinions on a plan. It does not teach pharmacy students.
- a medical journal reporting a new drug trial: No drug trial is described. The article is about who can treat common conditions.
- a travel guide for visitors to the Atlantic coast: Nothing in the article is for travellers. It is about health care for residents.
Correct Answer: twelve
Passage Reference: wants pharmacists to start treating twelve more common conditions next spring
Why this is correct: The health department wants pharmacists to treat twelve more common conditions.
Tips: This blank needs how many conditions would be added. Find the health department’s plan.
Why the other options are wrong:
- eight: The article gives a bigger number.
- ten: The article gives a slightly bigger number.
- twenty: The article gives a smaller number.
Correct Answer: 90,000
Passage Reference: the change could free up about 90,000 doctor visits a year
Why this is correct: The province says the change could free up about 90,000 doctor visits a year.
Tips: Find the province’s own estimate of how many doctor visits would be saved.
Why the other options are wrong:
- 30,000: The province gives a bigger number.
- 60,000: The province gives a bigger number.
- 120,000: The province gives a smaller number.
Correct Answer: six hours
Passage Reference: When someone with pink eye waits six hours at a walk-in clinic
Why this is correct: Mullan gives the example of someone with pink eye who waits six hours at a walk-in clinic.
Tips: Two waiting times appear in the article. Use the one from the association leader’s example, not the bus driver’s.
Why the other options are wrong:
- three hours: Mullan gives a longer wait.
- seven hours: Seven hours is how long Mahlangu waited. Mullan’s example is shorter.
- nine hours: Mullan gives a shorter wait.
Correct Answer: Truro
Passage Reference: Kojo Nyarko, a family doctor in Truro
Why this is correct: The article introduces Nyarko as a family doctor in Truro.
Tips: The commenter means the family doctor. Several towns appear in the article, so check which one goes with him.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Yarmouth: Yarmouth is near Moen’s village pharmacy, not where the doctor works.
- Dartmouth: Dartmouth is where Mahlangu drives a bus.
- Halifax: Halifax is not where the family doctor works.
Correct Answer: two hundred
Passage Reference: I already fill two hundred prescriptions a shift
Why this is correct: Moen says he already fills two hundred prescriptions a shift.
Tips: Here the writer means the village owner. Find how busy he says a normal shift is.
Why the other options are wrong:
- one hundred: Moen gives twice this number.
- three hundred: Moen gives a smaller number.
- four hundred: Moen gives half this number.
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