Rotation - IPPE1 Nuclear Pharmacy

Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience

Nuclear Pharmacy (9/21/2012)

My most recent new experience has been shadowing at a nuclear pharmacy. It was wildly different than I expected it to be. For starters, the building had no signs advertising the business name. As soon as I walked in I heard a background beeping noise, a lab area, and an office area. I began with getting an introductory overview to nuclear pharmacy from the pharmacist followed by watching the pharmacist work in the lab. There are few practicing nuclear pharmacists in the United States and typically a nuclear pharmacy is not associated with a hospital but rather serves an area of many hospitals.  This is because the nuclear pharmacy equipment is very expensive and it saves the hospital money to contract out the medications they need instead of doing it at the hospital.  Also a nuclear pharmacy tends to serve an area fairly close to them because with further distances, more of a drug has to be dispensed to take into account the half-life of the medication.  For further distances, it would not be cost effective to send medications.  Also, a nuclear pharmacist works with much fewer drugs than one would see at a hospital or community pharmacy.  The coolest part of the experience was to hear the Giger counter beep really fast when the radioactive component of the medication was taken out of the thick shielding container.  Overall I became comfortable with the idea of nuclear pharmacy.  I understood that the business name was not advertised because the general population is not knowledgeable about nuclear pharmacy and it would make people unnecessarily worried.  In just a few hours I learned so much about nuclear pharmacy and I left feeling that it was an absolutely amazing experience! 

Rotation - IPPE1 Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience

Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (9/6/2012)

Last week I shadowed on the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit which was really an eye-opening experience into the world of hospital pharmacy.  There are two main areas of hospital pharmacy which include ambulatory care and acute care. Ambulatory care refers to patients who are able to ambulate or 'walk'. Patients usually go here when they are leaving the hospital. Acute care includes areas such as oncology, hematology, pediatric intensive care unit, neonatal intensive care unit, etc. The pediatric floor has a satellite pharmacy on the floor to focus specifically on the needs of the pediatric patients. I really enjoyed this experience because I learned about how the healthcare team works together to provide the best care for the patients. During rounds, the medical doctors, medical residents, medical fellows, nurses, social health worker, and pharmacy resident walked to each patient's door to discuss the most recent update on the patient and how to improve the patient's health.  Rounding was really collaborative. At the beginning of my visit I found it tough to see kids being so sick but towards the end of the visit I saw how rewarding it was to see when some of the patients had improved outcomes. I look forward to continue learning more about this area in the coming years. 

Pharmacy Organizations

Pharmacy Organizations

Which to Join?

Four weeks of pharmacy school have already passed and now I am trying to get a navigate all the numerous and wonderful pharmacy organizations I have the opportunity to join. Let’s go through a few of the here: American Pharmacist Association (APhA), American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP), Student National Pharmacist Association (SNPhA), Iowa Pharmacy Association, Johnson County Pharmacy Association (JCPA).  Both the ApHA and the ASHP have student organizations which are called the American Pharmacist Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) and the University of Iowa-Student Society of Health-System Pharmacists (UI-SHP).  APhA is the first and largest national pharmacy organization that serves as a collective voice of pharmacists.  ASHP is a 35,000 member organization that focuses on pharmacists who practice in more of a clinical setting such as hospitals, health maintenance organizations, and long-term care facilities. The student level organization of the national organizations such as the APhA-ASP and APhA provide great opportunities to attend national and local meetings, to network, and to do service projects.  The Iowa Pharmacy Association (IPA) and the Johnson County Pharmacy Association (JCPA) are good ways to be involved and learn about pharmacy issues that are closer to home. Here is a site that lists many more national organizations: http://www.accp.com/stunet/compass/organizations.aspx Good luck exploring all these organizations. Keep learning and keep growing!

Welcome to the Profession Ceremony

Welcome to the Profession Ceremony 

University of Iowa - College of Pharmacy (8/18/2012)

 The Welcome to the Profession Ceremony is also known as the White Coat Ceremony.  We had ours just prior to the beginning of classes.  The ceremony included a welcome from the dean of the college of pharmacy and other leaders from the Iowa Board of Pharmacy.  As part of the ceremony, other pharmacists, family, and friends were invited to support the students.  Following the speeches, each student is called on the stage and their professional mentor put the white coat on the student. Next, the whole class stood up and read the oath of the pharmacist.  

The white coat ceremony helps to emphasize the importance of choosing the pharmacy profession as career. It helps students to understand the seriousness of that choice and the importance of professionalism. The white coat to me means that when someone sees me wearing it, they expect professional behavior.  The ceremony formalizes the entrance into to pharmacy school which is important because the knowledge we learn in the coming years will have a real impact on the health of their patients.

  Following the ceremony, I definitely feel more serious and focused about attending pharmacy school because I know that the knowledge that I learn will be very important in the future. Having our peer mentor put the white coat on us is important because it shows that not only do we have support in the coming years but that we also are truly being welcomed into the pharmacy profession.  Also, in a few short years we will eventually end up working with these mentors.  One point that was emphasized was that we should be involved and reach out to have a deeper understanding of the profession and I look forward to the coming years to do just that!