Stanford University Medical Center
As we know pharmacy differs drastically across the nation, and even between cities right beside each other. Which is why I asked for a rotation at Stanford. Stanford is one of the nation’s leading medical facilities and I was blessed to have been able to go on rotation there. Having been on rotation in Virginia, North Carolina, Dominican Republic, and California; I was hoping to get a very varied experience and exposure to how medicine works and the role that a pharmacist plays. At this point I can say that I have been at facilities without any protocols, and others that refuse to operate outside of protocols; which I highly recommend that students in the future take the chance to do so that you can understand the nuances of pharmacy. Stanford offers a variety of rotations, mine was done with an Ambulatory care focus.
I had a very unique structure to my rotation, every day I was at a different location within the Stanford campus, and got to work with 5 different preceptors. The main focus of the rotation was diabetes management, anticoagulation management, and drug information. Everyday presented with new challenges and every patient was unique. Day 1 I was asked to shadow my preceptors and see the interview process and telephone interviews. By the end of the week and after assessing my skills and knowledge, I was allowed to conduct interviews myself, and when it came to making changes to therapy I would make the recommendations to my preceptor who would let me know if it was alright. I was charting on patients, and interviewing like a pro by the end of week two. Basically I was given the opportunity to operate with a lot of autonomy, and only really checked in when I had questions or needed to make therapeutic changes. My preceptors knew that I wanted to get a residency in the future, so they did their best to make sure that I got the same responsibilities as the residents and same exposure, to really see if that was something I would be interested in. Part of the rotation was that I would have a weekly topic discussion with a resident, and go over new guideline changes and disease state management topics.
During my time there I got to participate in world diabetes day and set up an info booth for patients. After the first week, I was allowed to teach a weekly patient class on diabetic diets and medications. Furthermore, I had made recommendations about the protocols, that were actually accepted, so I got to amend the protocols. I also was able to work on a pharmacogenomics project, and helped the resident complete her residency study project.
My advice to P2 students and current P3’s is always seeming eager to do things, the more eager that you are and willing to work, the more responsibility you get. Always build a healthy relationship with your preceptor based on trust and knowledge, if you don’t know the answer say that. Every preceptor appreciated when I told them I did not quite know something, they gave me the time to look up things and they knew if I was alone with a patient or provider I would not give them recommendations or make false statements. Basically always put your best step forward, and it’s okay not to know the answer.
