CAPSules

Not everything is fun and games down in the “Big Easy.”

From December 4th to 8th, pharmacy students from around the nation converged on New Orleans, LA for the 46th ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting and Exhibition.  This provided our 150 UNC ESOP students in attendance a great opportunity to network, learn, and advance their knowledge of pharmacy in a unique and vibrant setting.  But meetings are not just about work, as UNC held a lively reception at the House of Blues for those in attendance.  Make sue to attend next year, when ASHP takes over one of the world’s most exciting convention and meeting destinations: Las Vegas, NV.

Katie Morgan, PY4 Student

Student Name: Katie Morgan                       
Site: National Institutes of Health, Clinical Center
Location: Bethesda, MD   

Description of Average day of rotation:
During the rotation we rounded on half of the service on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We typically rounded on patients who were admitted over night or were severely ill and needed to be followed closely by the team. We rounded with a group of about 20-25 people who consisted of physicians, medical residents, nurses, primary investigators for the clinical trial the patient was on, pharmacists and students, it was very interesting to see the attending physicians at work, because since many of the drug therapy choices were not evidence based, discussions went on on a daily basis between them about what the best course would be. Rounding would take the entire morning, then after lunch we would have topic discussions about each type of antibiotic class. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we would usually have drug information questions from the nurses or physicians in the mornings, which we would answer based on the best evidence available, since sometimes there was minimal data to answer the questions. On Thursday I attended lectures given by the attending’s for the medical residents. Often in the afternoons, I would be assigned some drug information questions that came up in rounds the day before that would facilitate my learning of the therapeutic choice, a drug interaction or a potential alternative treatment option. Throughout the rotation I followed about 5 patients, I also did two journal clubs, and an update on endocarditis guidelines.

Favorite thing about rotation thus far:
My favorite thing about this rotation is being in the presence of world renowned physicians. Dr. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) often rounded with us and he was a great teacher and a presence to be around. I was able to interact often with Dr. Olivier, one of the authors of the non-tuberculosis mycobacterium guidelines by the IDSA, I also had the opportunity to attended his lecture on pulmonary MAC. Some of the other physicians were the people who actually discovered the diseases that our patients were being treated for, so being able to hear them talk about how they discovered it and how they continue to find new things about the disease was fascinating.

Type of people you interact with and what to expect on a day to day basis:
The patients were usually patients who had a specific immune deficiency, Chronic Granulomatous Disease (CGD), STAT 3 mutation or Job’s Syndrome, DOC 8 mutation, or a disease called monoMAC or patients with a GATA 2 deficiency. Some of the CGD patients had undergone bone marrow transplants to treat an invasive fungal infection or CGD associated colitis, so often times we would have a lot of transplant related therapy as well as infectious disease related therapy. All of these patients with immunedeficiencies were susceptible to a specific set of infections so it was important to know the bacteria and fungus the patients usually are susceptible to and the best way to treat it. We also saw patients who were infected with molds or non-pathogenic bacteria who’s underlying immune deficiency has not be identified yet.

What do you do for fun on weekends or down time at your site?
Bethesda is a really nice city. There is a lot to do right near the NIH, plenty of restaurants, shopping, and movie theatres. DC is also very close to the NIH and you can get there by metro, which is very cheap! There are many restaurants, museums, and lots more to do in DC.  So there are many things close by to keep you occupied on the weekends, if you don’t have enough to do for rotation!

Advice for younger students:
Before coming to this rotation I would have liked to know that for this particular site, it is more an observational rotation than a hands on inpatient rotation. Understandably, many of the recommendations are not evidence based and as a student you are just trying to keep up! But the clinical pharmacist does have a huge impact on drug interactions, dosing recommendations and therapeutic drug monitoring.

UNC CAPS had a contest to determine the best UNC submission for the APhA-ASP’s PharmFlix Video Contest!  There were three submissions and this year's winner was the PY2 class.  Students were challenged to create a short public service announcement related to the theme "Share Your Story" to advocate for the profession of pharmacy.

Megan Hartranft

What is the title of your position?

Student member of the Commission On Affiliate Relations (COAR)

What are your typical monthly or annual commitments for your position?

My main responsibilities occurred during September at Policy Week in Bethesda.  Every year ASHP invites members of the five Councils and the Commission to gather and develop policy that is later reviewed by the Board of Directors and eventually voted on by the House of Delegates.  The COAR is responsible for making recommendations on petitions for state affiliation.  Before Policy Week, I had a conference call with the other COAR members for orientation and training purposes.  I did a lot of reading, and I had to be prepared to present the affiliate applications from three state organizations.  I also enjoyed leading the discussion on developing resources for state affiliates to increase student activities.  The pinnacle of Policy Week was Legislative Day, when all the Council members went into DC to lobby our state senators and representatives about important pharmacy issues like drug shortages.

What is your favorite part about your involvement with ASHP?

I loved being a part of developing pharmacy policy and having an impact on the way our profession evolves.  Working with and learning from the leaders of health system pharmacy was an amazing experience.  I made a lot of great connections and I’m excited about continuing my involvement as my career moves forward!

What advice do you have for students who are interested in getting involved?

Don’t be afraid to jump in and seek out a leadership position.  Everyone I met at Policy Week was extremely eager to hear the student perspective and put our ideas to use.  Students definitely bring a unique perspective to the practice of pharmacy and I hope UNC continues to lead at a national level.

Sarah Johannes

What is the title of your position?

Member of the Pharmacy Student Forum Executive Committee (PSFEC)

What are your typical monthly or annual commitments for your position?

Annually, I am granted the privilege of attending the ASHP Summer Meeting and Midyear Clinical Meeting.  It is during those meetings that the Executive Committee comes together to discuss our progress as a forum.  At the Midyear Clinical Meeting, the committee is also responsible for facilitating the Pharmacy Student Forum programming.   The Executive Committee holds monthly conference calls in addition to communication via email throughout the month.  Each committee member serves also as a liaison to one of the five Pharmacy Student Forum Advisory Groups.  Each Advisory Group has its own chair, however my role is to serve as a direct link to the entire Pharmacy Student Forum.  Therefore, I must be present on those monthly conference calls as well.

What is your favorite part about your involvement with ASHP?

Getting to work with students from across the nation is by far my favorite part of being involved with involvement with ASHP.  There are so many enthusiastic students who are excited about ASHP and what the association has to offer.

What advice do you have for students who are interested in getting involved?

Don’t doubt yourself, you are more than capable of getting involved nationally.  At first I thought I would never be able to achieve a national position, however a close mentor gave me the support I needed to apply.

The deadline for ASHP National Positions is November 15, 2011.  Please visit http://www.ashp.org for more information.

The 2011 Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund - Walk to Cure Diabetes was held on a chilly, rainy Saturday morning at the end of October. Nevertheless, the weather did not hold back the participation of the CAPS Operation Diabetes volunteers or the participants of the event. Watch the following video for some pictures from the heartwarming event!

The 2011 Aging in Stride 5K Race to Benefit the Frail and Elderly Fun of Orange County was a great success. Watch the video below for highlights of the event!

Cameron Jordan
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Memphis, TN
Pediatric oncology

Description of average day of rotation:

A typical day started around 8 am.  I spent the morning catching up on existing patients and any new admissions.  I was responsible for monitoring electrolytes for TPN adjustments, assessing pain medication usage, determining whether any pharmacokinetic tests would need to be ordered for the day, and checking all medications dosing.

Round began at 9:30 am.  Our patients were all diagnosed with either leukemia or lymphoma, and may have been admitted for neutropenic fever, chemotherapy administration, evaluation for new disease, or any other complication to their treatment.

The team consisted of the attending physician, an oncology fellow, two pediatric residents, two pediatric nurse practitioners, a pharmacist, a pharmacy resident, and myself.  While it seems like a large group, the pharmacist often allowed the pharmacy resident and I to manage the service under her guidance.

After rounds, I was responsible for making adjustments to TPN nutrition as well as following up on any PK tests done and determining appropriate dosage adjustments.  I met with my preceptor and the pharmacy resident to go over the patients and medication changes.

In the afternoons, the resident and I were responsible for counseling patients and their caregivers on all medications and relevant tests before they were discharged from the hospital.  I also attended numerous meetings throughout the week.  Some were exclusive to pharmacy students and focused on important topics in a pediatric oncology setting, such as febrile neutropenia, nutrition, and different types of cancer seen at St. Jude.  I also participated in weekly meetings with the interdisciplinary team, which included discussion about patient cases and protocol issues.

Favorite thing about rotation:

The involvement that pharmacy had in making therapeutic decisions.  Because this patient population experiences many side effects to their chemotherapy regimens, the medical team relies on pharmacy to be knowledgeable about all areas of patient care, not just oncology.

Type of people you interact with:

St. Jude is a pediatric oncology treatment facility, so most patients are children or adolescents with cancer accompanied by their parents or caregivers.  Additionally, St. Jude houses clinical research facilities, which means that there are research scientists as well as medical providers.

What do you do for fun on weekends or down time at your site?

Weekdays were very busy, but I did have time to talk to other pharmacy students, pharmacists, and physicians during the afternoon.  I had a lot of reading to do at home, so most evenings were spent catching up on that and preparing for the next day.  I was able to explore Memphis during the weekends.  I attended the Cooper Young Festival one weekend, an event in the arts district of Memphis with local crafts and live music.  I also explored Shelby Farms, a large park that has lots of mountain biking and running trails.  I had planned a trip to Nashville, which was only about three hours away, but wasn’t able to make it.  Since I was in Memphis, I had to catch a glimpse of Graceland, visit Beale Street, and try the barbeque at a few different places, since each person I talked to in Memphis recommended a different place as the “best” in Memphis.

Advice to the younger students you wish you knew before!

Take advantage of your out-of-state opportunities.  It requires a bit more work on your part, but start contacting people early to see what rotation experiences are available.  It’s true that pharmacy is a small world, so make the best use of your opportunity to network with practitioners in another part of the country.  Also, don’t be afraid to explore a new area or a unique patient population.  Children with cancer can certainly be daunting – but I found out through my experience during this month that they are also very rewarding to work with and are often too busy “being kids” to let their cancer slow them down.

Anyone who is interested in this rotation or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital can contact me (cljordan@email.unc.edu) - I’d be happy to share more about my experiences!

Butt Clean-Up

A small group of CAPS members gathered on October 15th outside of Kerr Hall to do a Butt Clean-Up around the School of Pharmacy and other health disciplines. We split up into 3 groups and covered the area around the pharmacy school, social work school, public health, nursing school and the HSL. We were able to gather a good amount of cigarette butts and a lot of other trash found around the schools. We were surprised at the amount of butts we found considering we are a smoke-free campus! We hope to hold another clean-up next semester and think it was a great success! Here is a little about our events coming up this month:

Employee Health Fair with the Nicotine Dependence Program and Smoking Cessation from 12-6 on Tuesday, November 8^th in the Women's Hospital lobby.

Our mid-semester meeting will be held on Monday, November 14th at 12pm in Beard 116. We will be discussing events for next semester, new ideas, and Alice Pollard from the School of Social Work will be coming to speak to us about the Nicotine Dependence Program.

Great American Smoke Out on Thursday, November 17^th – there will be a table from 9-5 in the UNC Family Medicine Center to promote smoking awareness and harm of secondhand smoke.