Good Times at Bristol Regional Medical Center
For my 3rd Block of rotations, I was at the Bristol Regional Medical Center. During those 6 weeks, my days consisted of doing rounds with the Critical Care Medicine Team under my preceptor, Dr. Ann Hylton. Words cannot describe how amazing this rotation was, because I learned so much about critical care, specialty medications, and general knowledge on the pathophysiology of many different disease states. If you are a student that has even the slightest bit of interest in working in a hospital, this rotation is PERFECT for you. Rounds are by far one of the most rewarding things you can do as a pharmacist, because you actually have a say in what treatments are being ordered and administered. Dr. Hylton did a great job of catching any and all medication errors for every patient, and she would take the time to pull her students aside to get our thoughts on the issue. If we didn’t know what the issue was, we would then have to look it up and present it to her in order to have an informal, patient care discussion. She would ask great questions to help guide us down the correct thought process. We were also introduced to numerous machines and devices, some of which I had never even heard of before. These included ventilators and their settings, how to program IV infusion pumps, as well as a Vigileo is and what it does. It was a great opportunity to be able to learn new things that weren't really thoroughly discussed in class.
Even though this rotation is a lot of fun, it also required great deal of work. Attending Physicians would sometime want to start rounds earlier, which required us to show up earlier during that week in order to work up the patients in enough time. A basic patient workup included an extensive review of their labs and medication lists in order to make sure the dose and dosing interval was correct. We also made sure that each medication had an appropriate indication. Rounds throughout the day varied based on the attending physician. Some doctors were more strict than others and wanted a much more thorough presentation of the patient’s history and profile. One aspect of this rotation that I really did enjoy was the willingness of Dr. Hylton to get her students into as many surgeries as you wanted to watch. She allowed me to spend a day in surgery where I got to view a CABG. For those unfamiliar with the procedure, I practically witnessed a patient’s beating heart and cut open chest 4 feet in front of me. I was also able to watch a hip replacement surgery, which was more like being in a mechanic shop than an operating room. Funny side note: the musical selection was completely different in both of these surgeries. The more delicate CABG surgery had mid-2000’s pop hits playing, and the hip replacement had Rob Zombie playing in the background lol.
Overall, this rotation is excellent choice for anyone with a strong desire to learn and have some new experiences. I learned so much from this rotation, and I highly recommend any student to take this if its available. I don't know of many rotations where you learn a great deal AND have as much fun as I did here. All students should take advantage of those rotations when they get the opportunity. For anyone seeking more information on rotations, classes, or PLS, contact a current PLS member for more information. In all I really learned so much from this rotation, and I highly recommend any student to take this if its available. The school doesn’t have many rotations where you learn a great deal AND have as much fun as I did here, so take advantage of said rotations when they appear.
