College of Pharmacy

Baptist Memorial-Union City is a small hospital with a census between 15-40 patients in the entire hospital at a given time. This may seem like there's not much to learn, but the fact that I could know the cases of every single patient for a given day helped me grow as a pharmacy student tremendously. I was able to attend rounds with the nurses, physicians, social workers, and case managers and understand what every single discipline was talking about because of that. I grew in my ability to work interprofessionally with the disciplines. Also, because there was "slow time" in this hospital, Dr. Segraves was able to talk to me about every aspect of hospital pharmacy and just hospital in general. Before pharmacy school, and even prior to this rotation, I knew very little about hospitals period, much less, how hospital pharmacy worked. Throughout my entire month at Baptist Memorial Union City, I was able to spend the day with a nurse, attend multiple cath lab procedures, and multiple surgeries. I attended safety, P&T committee, and clinical pharmacy meetings. This gave me a much more well-rounded knowledge of the logistics of how hospitals work and how different people in the healthcare team interact. I understand the entire process of a hospitalization of a patient from the presentation to the ER, to the admitting process, to maintaining care, to planning for discharge, and what happens at and after discharge. This helped put the pieces together of all the clinical knowledge I have gained from pharmacy school and my more clinical rotations and the practicality of pharmacy-related things as well such as certain medical devices to deliver medication, what to look for when verifying orders, working in the IV room, and how to remain compliant with Joint Commission standards. I wish I could type in this evaluation all the tidbits of information that have helped me understand and feel more comfortable in the hospital setting even when I had little to no experience. I cannot express how important this rotation has been for me, and I am so thankful I ended up with it.

If I could take this rotation with Dr. Guinn in the ER at JMCGH every month, I would! I have absolutely loved it! I have learned so much and I feel like I have really grown in my critical thinking skills. Dr. Guinn has been phenomenal. She is so energetic and passionate about pharmacy. I love her energy. Dr. Guinn handled many situations with grace and with the degree of professionalism you would expect. I can tell she loves what she does. No matter how busy we were, she faced each situation with patience and a calm resolve, yet with a sense of urgency. There were many instances where we stayed late to make sure the patients received the care they deserved and to provide the nurses and physicians with the help they needed from pharmacy. Nothing was left hanging. I loved the thoroughness with which she attended each patient and situation faced. And on top of everything going on, she still found the time to explain things to me and to make sure I got the most out of this experience. I'm thankful I had the chance to take her before her rotation becomes well known....it will be one students fight for!

I am so thankful for how Dr. Eschete at North Mississippi Medical Center challenged me this month. She had me thinking in ways that I normally wouldn't and put me to work on things that were new to me (i.e. TPNs). She helped me address my weaknesses and grow and learn from them. She also provided me with different avenues to learn and new experiences. She provided me guidance, yet also allowed me time to learn things on my own. It was evident that the patient comes first. Dr. Eschete went to great lengths to make sure that every patient received the care that they deserved. She was a true team player. She was compassionate and passionate about patient care. I really wish I could have had this rotation with her during a longer month!

Dr. Slagle at Providence Alaska Medical Center is the epitome of what an oncology pharmacist should be. She is very knowledgeable in her field and is skilled in providing optimal patient care. She will go above and beyond to help out her patients whether it involves creating a medication calendar, review sheet, or printing out resources for the patient's reference in the future. She is a strong role model for oncology pharmacy and as a clinical pharmacist in general. She is very high energy and provides encouragement to students, making us feel more confident in our abilities by reinforcing learning points and providing constructive criticism so we can work harder to improve in the future. This rotation was a great experience, and I felt that I was challenged to expand my oncology knowledge and think critically. Dr. Slagle asked many questions during both formal and informal topic discussions, including random rapid-fire questioning, and encouraged continuous learning by repetition, taking notes, and constant review. I believe that I learned a great deal and am now even more comfortable working as a part of an oncology team. It was a challenging but fun environment as I was never demeaned for not knowing the answer but was encouraged to consult my resources and research for better recall in the future. The entire oncology team was very welcoming and easy to work with. This rotation was a great experience, and I felt that I was challenged in a good way to expand my oncology knowledge and think critically.

My preceptor, Dr. Cripps at VA-Murfreesboro, provided an optimal learning experience for my ambulatory care rotation this month. I was initially intimidated by working in a fast-paced environment such as the VA and my preceptor made me feel comfortable. She was patient, supportive and encouraging. She believed in me from the beginning, which made me feel more confident. She always encouraged me not to forget what I had learned and to think through each situation. I learn best by doing things on my own. She allowed me to think on by own and be independent. All the while, she was always available for questions and suggestions. After completing this rotation, I feel more prepared to be a Pharmacist after graduation next year. My preceptor is very passionate about being a pharmacist and educator. She does a great job explaining the MOA of drugs, Pathophysiology of disease states, etc., I thought she would have made a great professor. It is her passion, however, to work hands on with patients and make the biggest impact she can. I am grateful for the opportunity to have learned from her at the VA.

Dr. Pierce at Walgreen's-Humboldt is, by far, one of the best preceptors I have had the privilege to follow under. I would highly recommend him to anyone for a rotation but especially students who have no retail experience. Dr. Pierce was very patience with me when it came to this new environment. He was a GREAT teacher. He answered all my questions and explained things as they happened within the pharmacy. He also took the time to teach me about management position within the retail setting. Dr. Pierce was a great preceptor who helped me see the real world application of what we learned in school. If I had to pick my advanced chain rotation over again - I would come right back here with Dr. Pierce. I can't say enough about how great of a rotation it was!