Rotation 2 – Solid Organ Transplant: A New Lease on Life

Posted by Emily VanWieren at Sunday, September 18, 2016

Rotation 2 – Solid Organ Transplant

A New Lease on Life

First Impressions

I was super excited to start my first day with the surgical transplant team. There are a multitude of complex medications used in transplant recipients, and I knew there would be a great role for a pharmacist on the team. I wasn’t super excited that rounds start at 6 AM. The first day I set my alarm at 4:15 was painful - I am not a morning person!

There were over twenty people on the surgical transplant team, which turned into a super intimidating herd of white coats blocking the hallways on rounds. The team was inter-disciplinary and consisted of physicians in all ranges of training from attendings on down to fellows, residents, interns, and medical students. There were Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners, and also the pharmacist. You could tell the team respected my preceptor because they straightened up when they heard her walking down the hall. She had recommendations on dosing, stopping this drug, starting that one, ordering new labs, and the team accepted the changes she suggested. I was so impressed by all her knowledge of the patients and their medications!

A Day in the Life

The team I was with transplanted livers, kidneys, and pancreases. My typical day consisted of early morning rounds with the surgical transplant team followed by rounds with the nephrologists in the morning and the gastroenterologists in the afternoon. In between rounds, I would look up questions from the medical team and talk to the patients. I interacted with even more interdisciplinary members of the team and I got a full appreciation of all the care that goes into each transplant recipient. There were social workers, nurses, discharge planners, dieticians, and even interpreters for a deaf patient.

My favorite part of this rotation was educating patients on their new medications. There are a lot of new medications transplant patients have to take to suppress their immune system and prevent infections and they have to take them on a very specific schedule. I taught them the names of their medications, why each one is important, when to take them, and when they need to get their blood levels checked. I got to establish relationships with the patients and it was cool to see their new lease on life and how serious they were about taking their medications to keep their new organ.

Megan and I were able to watch a kidney transplant from a living donor to a recipient. We weren't sure how our stomachs would handle it, but we were both so fascinated and didn't feel squeamish at all. The surgeons talked us through the procedures and we were able to see inside a living human's body! It was also cool to see the anesthesiologists in action since they choose, prepare, and administer all of the medications on the spot. It was humbling to see the whole process from donor to recipient and then educating the recipient on their new medications.

Reflections

On this rotation, I learned a lot about transplant medications and many other therapeutic areas such as diabetes, hypertension, and kidney and liver disease. It was very rewarding to be able to make an impact on patients’ lives by teaching them about their medications and how to support their new organ. On my next rotation, one of my patients recognized me and waved me down. She wanted to thank me again and tell me how well she was doing and that she hasn’t missed a dose. I spent many long days at the hospital and sacrificed sleep on this rotation, but it was well worth it to see the full impact of a pharmacist’s role on the medical team.