AMBUTUTIONALIST: an "institutional" rotation at Spectrum Health

Posted by Anna at Friday, November 09, 2012

I have just completed my rotation at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, MI. Although technically an advanced institutional rotation, I feel it would be better classified as an ambu-tutiona-list rotation. This new classification stems from the varied components of this rotation that went beyond the traditional “institutional” requirements by combining ambulatory care, institutional tasks, and generalist activities. A list of some of my experiences better demonstrates this variety:

Ambulatory Care:
- One week at the West Michigan Heart clinic working with pulmonary hypertension and heart failure patients
- Performed medication histories and patient counseling
- Made recommendations to the provider and charted my interactions in the medical record

Institutional:
- Product dispensing and medication order verification
- Patient chart review
- Discharge counseling (Meijer Heart Center)
- Antibiotic pharmacokinetic monitoring
- Developed nurse-directed educational project on QT-prolonging agents in conjunction with nursing
- Two journal club articles and a formal patient case presentation

Generalist:
- One and a half weeks with the medical surgical unit performing patient chart review and work-up for 12 to 16 patients per day
- Rounded with interdisciplinary team and made treatment recommendations when warranted

My hours typically ran from around 7:30-4 (although this varied a bit), and for the most part I worked with a few select pharmacists. My preceptors were clearly dedicated to my education—you could tell they wanted me to be there and that they enjoyed teaching. This specific rotation was only introduced at Spectrum Health this year, and I was their second student. Many of the kinks had been worked out with the previous student (sorry Mary Lou!), and everything flowed much more smoothly for me. Although there were a few of those inevitable days where it felt more like a shadowing experience than a practice experience, overall the preceptors allowed me to be very independent and kept me busy!

I applied for this rotation specifically for the opportunity to see how things were done in a different health system. I personally benefited greatly from being in a different environment, and it provided me a chance to see how another health system is making changes to advance pharmacy practice. I also loved the opportunity to interact with other pharmacy students, as many Ferris State University students have rotations at this site. I was surprised by how inviting the atmosphere was to an “outsider,” and I would highly recommend this site for an institutional rotation!

My next rotation brings me back home to the University of Michigan Health System. For the next six weeks I will be exploring the world of informatics and administration on my “non-traditional” rotation!