Pharmacy students match with residency programs By Casey Cheap Fifteen UT graduates from the class of 2013 recently began residencies throughout the country. Dr. Martin Ohlinger, the critical care pharmacy residency program director, said residency programs are looking for students who understand that pharmacy has become more individualized and that pharmacists have to develop relationships where they actively engage their patients and other health-care providers. “We are looking for candidates who have a good understanding of that,” Ohlinger said. “Employers want candidates with good patient care skills and who have had some experience in that setting.” UT students matched with the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York and Harper Hospital in Detroit, as well as the Rutgers University Daiichi Sankyo fellowship program in Parsippany, N.J. Of the total 15 matches, 11 have been placed in Ohio.
Interprofessional Education in UTMC’s Emergency Department by Dr. Michael Peeters Interprofessional practice involves harnessing differences in perspectives and expertise among professions in order to work toward a higher level of patient care; teamwork is central to this process. Teamwork within the University of Toledo Medical Center’s emergency department (ED) has been facilitated by learners from multiple professions. Under the ED’s medical director, Kristopher Brickman, MD, a number of professional students and residents from multiple programs including emergency medicine, internal medicine, pharmacy, nursing, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners, are focused on a team-based model for patient care. Michael Peeters, PharmD, MEd, BCPS, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, is involved with precepting and facilitating the education of PharmD students and pharmacy practice residents. Learners are involved in the emergency department’s patient care and classroom based activities. Additionally, students are exposed to simulation lab experiences that provide opportunities for learners from multiple programs to appreciate and learn from each others’ different perspectives and expertise. As a recent example, critical care specialty resident Katherine Johnson, PharmD,
BCPS was involved with reviewing and restructuring UTMC’s intravenous drip medications within the computerized prescriber order entry (CPOE) system and re-organizing the emergency department’s Pyxis medication cabinets. Adding to her role as a pharmacist in the interprofessional practice model, Dr. Johnson actively participated in UT’s simulation lab with interprofessional teams practicing, teaching, and learning within various emergency medicine-related simulation scenarios. She was also involved in classroom based teaching about pneumonia and appropriate antimicrobial selection with emergency medicine residents. These opportunities helped to foster an understanding of her role as a pharmacist in the emergency department among learners from other professions. Pharmacy students have also participated in interprofessional classroom and simulation experiences as well as direct patient care activities, including obtaining best-possible medication histories. Along with other involved educators, Dr. Peeters is continuing to work with Dr. Brickman and the rest of the emergency department staff to integrate pharmacy learners into the UT Medical Center emergency department’s engaging interprofessional environment.