By “Grace”
Hello, student pharmacists! I hope everyone had a nice holiday season and some much-needed time to recharge. With the start of a new year and semester, I wish everyone the best of luck and success. I want to give you an update on my recent rotation experiences.
Honing my MTM skills
In October, I went outside of my usual health care system to a medication therapy management (MTM) clinic that provides free medications to patients who can’t afford them. The clinic conducted interviews with patients for a full MTM, which included updates regarding their medication list (including both prescriptions and OTC), family history, allergies, social history, diet, and exercise. I would work up the scheduled patients for the day and conduct these interviews either over the telephone or in-person. If the patient came in-person, we would also check their weight, blood pressure, and pulse.
An important tip is to make the patient feel as comfortable as possible, to let them know you are there for them, and to incorporate motivational interviewing skills. It takes practice to conduct interviews, especially over the phone since you can’t read body language. I found it is important to ask open-ended questions in order to facilitate conversation; that way, the patient talks more than you. If you have a patient who may give short answers, I learned to reply with “Can you tell me more about that?” Everyone finds certain phrases that work the best with them, so I urge everyone to gain experience and find your own style!
Specialty pharmacy rotation an eye-opener
In November, I went back to my usual health care system for rotations, this time with the specialty pharmacy. The specialty pharmacy services are located on the main campus across three different locations. For the entire month, I learned about specialty medications that targeted certain disease states like HIV, hepatitis B/C, psoriasis, and migraines. This was a challenge for me because I had barely any experience with specialty medications or diseases. I experienced multiple outpatient clinics (for things like pediatric cystic fibrosis, dermatology, and hepatitis C) and called patients about their therapy. I was with different pharmacists every day, and I enjoyed how attentive they were to my learning experience.
I enjoyed this rotation. Before, I had no idea what specialty pharmacy contained; the rotation opened my eyes. I encourage all student pharmacists to check out a specialty pharmacy, if you can.
Residency application pep-talk
As a final-year PharmD candidate who has applied for residencies. I want to give a pep talk to everyone in the same boat. I hope you get interviews for the programs you are interested in, and do well in them. Be yourself; I wish you the best of luck! Breathe—you got this!
For our Preceptor Feedback author
What tips and advice do you have for student pharmacists who talk to patients over the phone?