End of Rotation 1/Start of Rotation 2

Posted by Unknown at Thursday, August 22, 2013

06/24/2013

Today was the first day of the second rotation. But first to close-out rotation #1....

Health System/Hospital aka "Institutional" will be very hard to beat in the "truly enjoyable experience" category. I must really thank Kathy Kinsey, RPh and Cathy Poirier, RPh for setting up such a great experience. The days were split into halves with the 6th Floor Pharmacy serving as a "home base". I learned so much about the operations of the pharmacy department at U of M and the dispensing tasks involved in providing medications for a 900 bed hospital. The pharmacists and technicians I met were so helpful and truly great people to be around. The OR pharmacy brings to mind a carefully and obsessively controlled drive-thru window at a fast food restaurant.  The surgery narcotic bags were being handed out to each surgeon/resident/CRNA and the pharmacy must account for every mL and mg of each and every controlled substance. There are 28 or 29 ORs at the University Hospital and I think we handed out almost 60 "general narcotic kits" on the mornings I was there. It was a great time and a good experience getting familiar with all the medications that aren't commonly seen anywhere else. There is nothing like someone approaching the window for some "iso" or "sevo".

I didn’t just learn about pharmacy on this rotation though, I had the opportunity to spend several hours shadowing a nurse and a med tech in the ICU.  I also met with a dietitian and learned about their day-to-day activities (did you know they sometimes manage 80 patients at a time?!  That’s a lot of TPN and dietary considerations!) One day I spent a couple hours with a social worker learning what they do and the different areas patients go for therapy while inpatient.  When would I have ever gotten these great experiences if it weren’t for this rotation?? 

I'll miss the Health System/Hospital rotation because it was a perfect balance of learning, fun, and companionship but I'm looking forward to the remainder of rotation 2.

Today was day 1 of Rotation #2. Manchester Pharmacy is a Hometown Pharmacy location and is the longest operating pharmacy in Michigan. It opened in the early-mid 1800’s. So far the pharmacist, Dr. Demski and the techs, Kelly, Rose and Melissa, have been very friendly and willing to teach me everything I'm interested in. I think this will be another great experience for me! I'll write more about it once I'm into the groove a little bit more. It is nice to start at 9 am vs. 6 or 7 am, although I don’t reach home until 7pm.