Introductory Institutional-Practice Pharmacy Experience

I completed my second Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience at Walgreens Pharmacy in Tallahassee, FL. Over the course of three weeks, I worked under the supervision of Aisha Wilder, PharmD, R.Ph. I also worked alongside two pharmacy technicians and one pharmacy intern.

My strongest impetus for the study of this major is pegged on the personal urge to improve the lives and health of those around me. I would only be able to serve the health of others when I am fully acquainted with the knowledge of pharmacy, which to me is one of the noblest professions. I am deeply concerned about the welfare of others. My experiences, especially as I visit hospitals form a significant part in influencing my choice to study pharmacy. At one point, I felt very bad when a pharmacist in a hospital I had visited was very indolent in serving a patient. All human beings would feel adored and valued when they are given appropriate attention in regard to their health. The health profession has a mission geared towards safeguarding people's health and that mission is perfectly in sync with my desires. I want to be exceptional, to do my best in caring for people, and attend to their interest to the best of my knowledge. I admire nourishing hope to desolate patients and always give them a reason to

As future pharmacists, we are going to face with not only the medications but also the patients, which the former ones are our tools while the latter ones are the people we use correct tools to care about. We are required to combine our pharmacy knowledge among medications with patients’ different health conditions to create the patient-centered care and provide the best outcomes. However, this care trend is in transition now, from professional-orientated to patient-centered.

During the two and a half years of my pharmacy journey, I have been thinking what can a pharmacist do within the healthcare interprofessional team to better help the patients in order to achieve the best health outcome. I work in a clinic as well as inpatient pharmacy, additionally, I had my rotations at CVS and Regions Hospital. all these experiences shape my version of the pharmacists at different settings. Therefore, in various pharmacy settings, pharmacists can work differently with the whole healthcare team. The recent PED-Rx events inspired me how important pharmacists can play roles in when working in a team.

My interest in the PGY1 Residency Program at Kaiser Permanente Orange County has been sparked by my attraction to the field of hospital pharmacy. More specifically, I am interested in an inpatient hospital pharmacy experience that the Kaiser Permanente provides. During summer 2017, I was an intern pharmacist at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, and I learned a lot about the pharmacist’s role in a hospital setting. After completing that rotation, I hoped I could learn more about the pharmacist’s role in a hospital setting. The reason I am more interested in residency program at Kaiser Permanente is many different kinds of experiences that Kaiser provides, such as Ambulatory Care, and Drug Use Management.

I have worked at Walgreens as a pharmacist technician, but never had an experience working in a hospital pharmacy before. During my rotation, I noted that nearly everyone admitted into hospital have an acute condition that justifies the admission. The conditions also tend to be more severe or unusual, which leads to a greater variety of medicines being used. Also, in the hospital a doctor or nurse is not hesitant to contact a pharmacist when they need advice and pharmacists are accessible.

My IPPE Institutional was at St. Joseph Mercy Health System, a part of Trinity Health. I was fortunate to be assigned to this location and with my preceptor as it has impacted the way I view hospital pharmacy and the profession as whole. My preceptor is the director of the hospital’s Pharmacy residency program and she has an established curriculum/schedule for IPPE and APPE students from Pharmacy Colleges in South East Michigan and some part of Ohio. As part of my experience, I shadowed and had some hands on experience in inpatient pharmacy, oncology pharmacy (Chemotherapy department), investigational drug department, aseptic compounding, and drug acquisition and distribution. I also went on rounds with Surgical Intensive care team, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Emergency Department and attended various inter-professional committee meetings, ground round, policy review meetings and medication safety meetings.

I’m enjoying and learning a lot during my first IPPE Community rotation. I am however still a bit timid working in this setting because there are many responsibilities involved with this career. I supposed my apprehension should be obvious because this is only my second week working in a pharmacy.

Attached for your review are my job responsibilities during my internship in River’s Edge Specialty pharmacy. During my internship in River’s Edge Specialty, I served various type of patients: cancer patients, HIV patients, Hepatitis C patients, patients living in long term care facilities and nursing homes, as well as typical outpatients. River’s Edge Specialty practice incorporates elements of both the typical community and institutional functions and thus working on River’s Edge Specialty enriched my in both

In my NUR-301 Class, I had the opportunity to practice on Interprofessional Education. Our nursing student team was partnered with first year pharmacy school students to learn about each other professions and to study on how we could work in a team of healthcare professionals to attain a common goal. As this was my first time experience to meet other students from a different department of Notre Dame of Maryland University, I was not sure what to expect from our discussions. Even if I have some experiences working both in hospitals and in a pharmacy, I was no fully aware of the responsibilities of a pharmacist directly to the patient or to the healthcare field specialists.

As I reflect on my experience of a pharmacy practice, I realize how much of my personality has changed in only few months. The experiences I gained during my first rotation at Walgreens were particularly rewarding, especially those gained while working as a team to achieve a common goal of a patient’s well-being. I did not have any previous experience in the pharmacy setting, therefore I was determined to take advantage of this opportunity to grow and develop skills that are vital to be a good pharmacist. During the rotation, I performed many activities that were assigned by the preceptor, learned new skills and competencies, identified my strengths and weaknesses, and made plans for continued development throughout the journey of pharmacy practice.

I had the pleasure of completing my 80 hours of institutional IPPEs at Hardin Memorial Hospital in Kenton, Ohio over winter break. My preceptor was Dr. George Wuo, who is the Site Manager of Pharmacy Services at the hospital. Hardin Memorial Hospital is a critical access hospital that is affiliated with OhioHealth. During my time at Hardin Memorial Hospital, I experienced the opportunity to apply classroom knowledge in an institutional setting, observe several healthcare professionals’ roles throughout the hospital, and compare my IPPE experience at a smaller institution to my internship at a larger hospital. My experiences at Hardin Memorial Hospital were positive and provided me with further insight and knowledge about my future

In this rotation, I learned to type up prescriptions and resolve third-party issues. Learning about third-party rejections were confusing and difficult for me at first; however, I was able to resolve them after I processed a couple of prescriptions. Also, I learned production or dispensing medications, listened to voicemail messages, transfer prescriptions, and apply pharmacy law to controlled substances. During my rotation, I got the chance to see the pharmacist performing immunization. Through out this rotation, I was able to understand and see the workflow of a retail pharmacy. This rotation was amazing and it gave me a great overview of a retail pharmacy.

I am writing to you during the week 6 of the quarter and I am doing well. This quarter im taking it easy because I need to start completing some classes to fulfill requirements for graduation. I am taking some general education classes like art history, dance appreciation, and economics while also taking genetics. I have my schedule all figured out and right now I am studying for upcoming midterms.

This semester has been a tough one but I feel like I have learned a lot about pharmacy over these past few months. I have had a lot of courses so far and in each one, I have been able to make connections to the practice of pharmacy. In this essay, I will reflect on some of things I learned in my courses and how they relate to my future career as a pharmacist. I will also identify areas where certain topics intersect in different courses.