Road to PharmD

As midterm exams were looming around the corner that is February, I took a leap of faith and decided to skip an entire day's of class to participate in what would become a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Our team, PharmaSee, had a week to prepare a solution for the case to us in the form of a 10 minute pitch followed by a Q&A session with the judges. I won't bore you with the details of the day and what happened, but rather I'm going to present what I took away. Pharma companies are made of people, too I often forget this, especially since the media doesn't always portray them in a positive light. But after speaking with staff members from many departments, it was clear that their passion isn't much different than that of a healthcare professional, which is to fight for patient outcomes and improve quality of life. Case in point:  A recent, but promising, drug trial for Alzheimer's Disease was considered a failure. The staff's reaction to the re

Great conference and again, an event like this reminds me of why I am in healthcare. Key take-aways - Healthcare as a service , meaning there is a relationship aspect to the care you provide - Some times our activities are defense, ie. fear of loss of license, and leads to waste Using a systems approach  to improving efficiency while maintaining safety - changing conditions given human limitations - designing something that decreases the need for training is key - 3 paradoxes to keep in mind: 1. Paradox of Expertise - one knows too much, but often do not spell out the details they know about 2. Paradox of Preference vs Performance - focus on performance, the actual actions, rather than the objective experiences provided by users 3. Paradox of Choice - too much leads to little to no choice made Final Keynote by Stephen Lewis - "No brainer" should really be brainers in that opportunities for change is obvious but making them a reality is much harder - How

MTM has been fun and contains very applicable learning. Just wanted to make a note of the things to keep in mind when building and visualizing your framework before a counselling session. Develop a framework of how to approach counselling: Tailor each session to suit the patient's needs and ensure other pertinent information is covered (storage, side effects etc.) ASK QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU TAILOR THE SESSION. Know stuff + Being empathetic ; Being sensitive comes first! - Introduce self - Use of neutral tone (give facts about medication, give reasons/provide the benefits when asking questions that are personal) - Be assertive - Be empathetic (acknowledging patient and their concerns [what are they experiencing as a result of their diagnosis/condition/symptoms or how they are feeling about their current situation] + how you can help to support their goals - Find out their concerns - Grave illnesses (ie. cancer) -> patients don't need you to feel sorry for them but

Know what you want out of residency set learning goals learn about what you can learn there Think about American and out-of-province residencies  be flexible, open mind, open to different areas of care Be a well-balanced candidate understand that residency is demanding and really requires a high level Have sustained activities, quality over quantity Demonstrate an attitude toward the profession That you are an advocate of pharmacy services and excellent care Get to know hospital pharmacists at local hospitals Arrange an informational interview Residency projects come in a large range Develop the skills necessary for doing such projects Residency will give you exceptional transferable skills, no matter the area of care Develop a learning process as a resident Knowledge base changes, so you have to learn to keep on top of it to maintain first-world practice Show you are excited to do the work as a resident, demonstrate an interest and that you are up for

Learning does not stop upon graduation. Here are a few ways that can be used to keep on top of you'll need to learn in the rest of your career. 1. Set Goals - Be specific, reasonable, etc. 2. Actively Engage - active learning improves retention of material 3. Interact with Content - debate with others, make connections, analyze the information 4. Reflect and Plan - Consider what you've learned and how you will put the new knowledge into practice. Again, be specific about what you will do and when you will do it. Your practice will get busy and time-constraints often limit continuing education. Make time throughout the year to learn what you want. Make an annual plan. Telling others about your goals increases the likelihood of you completing them.

An interesting snippet from an article I ran into. The author boils down the last step of the patient care process in order to simplify the decision that has to be made: The three critical things you must know are embodied by the simple question: Is what I am about to do going to make the situation? Better:  If so, do it. Worse:  If so, don't do it. Have no impact:  If so, let the patient decide. Source: http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/the-only-3-things-you-need-to-know-to-be-a-good-pharmacist/pharmaceutical