Rotations

[I Lovely Gator]

Just wondering if anyone can explain their rotation experience, the location and what type of rotation it is. I am curious about how much preceptors expect out of students. What which is your favorite and which is worst rotation? (please include location).

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[KARM12]

Just wondering if anyone can explain their rotation experience, the location and what type of rotation it is. I am curious about how much preceptors expect out of students. What which is your favorite and which is worst rotation? (please include location).

From my rotation experience, I can say for sure that is varies greatly depending on the site and preceptor. I've had some amazing ones and some really bad ones. The preceptors that expect more and push you a lot, you will learn a lot more there.

Best rotation: Oncology/Hematology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago - simply amazing because it is such an area where pharmacists can really help manage medication therapy and side effects of treatments

Worst rotation: Walgreens- community rotation...basically a slave for them for 6 weeks.

 

[dgroulx]

Just wondering if anyone can explain their rotation experience, the location and what type of rotation it is. I am curious about how much preceptors expect out of students. What which is your favorite and which is worst rotation? (please include location).

Since you're at UF, you will do 11 months of rotations.

8 weeks Adult Medicine - mandatory hospital rotation
8 weeks Ambulatory Care - mandatory hospital or clinic
4 weeks Drug Information - mandatory (site will vary)
4 weeks Community - mandatory retail
4 weeks Geriatrics/Pediatric/Oncology - mandatory - you will choose 1 of these
The rest are electives. You rank them and the computer assigns them.

I ended up with none of my top selected rotations. My favorites were Adult Medicine at Bartow Regional Hospital and Surgery at Bay Pines VA Hospital. My worst was Community at Target.

 

[KARM12]

6 weeks community
6 weeks hospital
6 weeks general medicine
6 weeks ambulatory
6 weeks clinical specialty (anything you want ID, peds, oncology, cardio, surgery...lots to pick from)
6 weeks elective (anything you want...another clinical/community or non traditional things like teaching, nuclear, compounding, vet pharm, management, industry)

 

[I Lovely Gator]

besides (studentdoctor.net) does anyone know of a forum just for pharmacy students/preceptors to share and discuss their clinical/community rotations?

 

[Trancelucent1]

Just wondering if anyone can explain their rotation experience, the location and what type of rotation it is. I am curious about how much preceptors expect out of students. What which is your favorite and which is worst rotation? (please include location).

I'm in the middle of my second rotation now which is Geriatrics w/ the Senior Resource Alliance (funded by the government). I work one day a week at a local indigent/low income health clinic. It's alright, most of my work is tech work at the clinic but that's only 1 day a week. I've enjoyed the other stuff though because I've been exposed to many programs that I didn't even knew existed. It's good to see public money being put to good use. My last rotation was Adult med and was two months. It was my first rotation and I was petrified but I REALLY REALLY loved the rotation. I went on rounds on most mornings with various physicians and we each had our own projects to work on. I rarely spent time in the pharmacy and was mostly decentralized. I found it very beneficial since I have a few more rotations in hospital settings. I rearranged my schedule with what was left so that I was mostly in Orlando. You usually will have a chance to rearrange your schedule at list to switch out a few rotations. My schedule changed completely from my initial one but mostly that was because one of our facilitators offerred to take me for a few rotations which allowed me to be local. Here's my schedule (the asterisks are required):

Mar/Apr- *Adult Med
May- *Geriatrics
Jun/Jul- *Ambulatory Care
Aug- *Drug Info
Sep- Critical Care
Oct- Hospice/Palliative Care
Nov- Pain Management
Dec- off
Jan- Academic
Feb- *Community (at a hospital thank goodness!)

I'm really pleased with the schedule and think I have a good mix.

 

[imperial frog]

UF (Orlando area) rotations so far:

Ambulatory Care (2 months) - at a pharmacy for a HMO. The rotation consisted of reviewing patient charts for CI for a variety of drugs and contacting the PCP if we found any for changes and a few research projects that entailed a couple hours at the most. No journal club YAY!!! Best thing was every week we were given a list of drugs with a question or two on real world problems associated with them that we researched and talked about. When looking over past questions for NAPLEX, these were the types of questions which seemed to come up quite frequently.

Long-Term Care (1 month) - A more accurate discription woult probably be Consultant Pharmacy. Work consisted of mainly visiting nursing homes with various consultants and reviewing charts. Projects include SOAP notes, journal article reviews, new drug review, and a care plan.

 

[12345]

Brevard county florida area
So far I have had psychiatry, nuclear, and I am on adult now.

Psychiatry was at a VA clinic and was so freaking sweet. Pharmacists at the VA have prescribing abilities. So we would basically see patients all day and manage there medication, pretty much exactly like they teach you in school. How do you feel this is working, any side effects... The whole deal and then continue with current medication, change med, change dose, add med. Really cool. What made it the most interesting is that well it was psychiatry and sorry to use this term but I feel like it helps put things into perspective, many of the people were crazy. Some of the patients were just funny to talk to(one bipolar manic just sat and talked straight without stopping for 30 min really fast) some were strange, and I am 6' 220 and more than once I was really on the edge of my seat bc I didn't know if the patient was going to go postal or what. my preceptor confirmed my fear by saying if I wasn't there she would have had someone else come in the room. And some patients came in more than once and you sorta got to know them and it felt very rewarding to be trying to help them.

Nuclear- alright, pretty chill job, doing stuff besides counting pills which basically consists of filling syringe's with the radio active meds. but you are working in a hood and using all kinds of radiation shielding stuff which makes it alittle more interesting.

Adult- At a hospital, basically I print out all the patients that are on pharmacy consult and I have a floor I am supposed to do. Mostly dosing coumadin and antibiotics. I have to do case presentations, and research stuff. Some interesting things, I saw someone code blue and get chest compressions for 30 min while the team tried to revive him. I got to watch an open heart surgery which was really cool. Alot of the research I did was actually put into use. But overall I really don't like it, I am bored alot. Like right now I am here and just surfing the internet bc I have nothing else to do.

 

[PedsPharmD]

Not sure if this belongs in this post but couldn't really find an answer to this...
Has anyone tried do their rotations in another state besides where they attend school? I know there are special ones like FDA, Indian Health, etc, but I was wondering about the required ones...SO basically do pharmacy schools share their sites?

 

[KARM12]

Not sure if this belongs in this post but couldn't really find an answer to this...
Has anyone tried do their rotations in another state besides where they attend school? I know there are special ones like FDA, Indian Health, etc, but I was wondering about the required ones...SO basically do pharmacy schools share their sites?

Mine does allow you to do rotations out of state. Students do it all the time. Usually you just need to meet the requirements to work as an intern or technician in the state you want to be in. The only thing is, you must find your own housing with the exception of the IHS.

 

[njac]

I wanted to go out of state for my rotation this summer. I contacted the pharmacy school in that state to get names and numbers from hospitals and they would not oblige. So I went above their head and called the Clinical Director at the school's hospital. And have a sweet rotation later in the summer. Apparently I'll be the first pharmacy student that hospital has had down in the ER.

so yes. you can go elsewhere. don't be afraid to make your own arrangements.

 

[Leah27]

I am on my first 4 week rotation. I feel like slave labor. It is really unfair. I am performing tasks that make money for the rotation site, yet I am paying the school tuition for it.. and more than they compensate the preceptor btw.....

Have any of you heard any movements or initiatives to overhaul the "intern/rotation" system for health care professions?

It seems like one of the last bastions of slave labor.

 

[Trancelucent1]

I am on my first 4 week rotation. I feel like slave labor. It is really unfair. I am performing tasks that make money for the rotation site, yet I am paying the school tuition for it.. and more than they compensate the preceptor btw.....

Have any of you heard any movements or initiatives to overhaul the "intern/rotation" system for health care professions?

It seems like one of the last bastions of slave labor.

It really depends on your sites. So far I'm into my 3rd rotation and I haven't experienced this and don't expect to as I've spoken to students who've done rotations at the sites where I'm going. I've also heard some horror stories about other sites. Unfortunately I just don't think it's possible for all of them to be great. Luckily we get to evaluate each rotation. Good luck with your other ones.

 

[Tessalon]

I wanted to go out of state for my rotation this summer. I contacted the pharmacy school in that state to get names and numbers from hospitals and they would not oblige. So I went above their head and called the Clinical Director at the school's hospital. And have a sweet rotation later in the summer. Apparently I'll be the first pharmacy student that hospital has had down in the ER.

Not that this will be the case in your situation, but the rotations where I was the "first pharmacy student" they had ever had, it usually ended up that they didn't know what to do with me for a whole day. And they thought they HAD to keep me there 40 hours (even though I would politely tell them that wasn't always true ) So I had a lot of downtime staring at the wall counting the minutes until time to leave. For the first few days I would worry that I wasn't doing "enough" and would get a bad evaluation - NEVER happened; but heck, you can ask for more to do all day long, but there was honestly NOTHING else to do.
Then there were the retail and hospital pharmacy rotations (some pharmacies were nice, some not) where they work you a good 40 hours like a tech, and yes, you are paying tuition. I would think corporate retail sites should compensate us somehow, even for just a little gas money! I mean, honestly, we are free labor with a few more responsibilities than technicians when it comes to counseling and taking doctor calls, etc.
When I look back on my year of rotations, I really liked acute care the most, followed by hospital pharmacy, then home care pharmacy, then retail, and last I had an awful veterinary rotation where I was bored out of my mind.

 

[KARM12]

I am on my first 4 week rotation. I feel like slave labor. It is really unfair. I am performing tasks that make money for the rotation site, yet I am paying the school tuition for it.. and more than they compensate the preceptor btw.....

Have any of you heard any movements or initiatives to overhaul the "intern/rotation" system for health care professions?

It seems like one of the last bastions of slave labor.

The only time I felt like slave labor was when I was at Walgreens for my community rotation. That was horrible! The rest have been much much better.

 

[Leah27]

I think, what is most upsetting about the situation is that on my current rotation, I am specifically filling out "Outcomes " reports, which get submitted to the insurance company, wherin every time I complete one, the pharmacy receives $20. So, it is even more obvious how I am paying tuition, and making money for this pharmacy.
I just think fair labor laws are being twisted here under the guise of education.
I believe pharmacy schools should switch to more of an apprenticeship type program, where we can work as (gasp) paid interns! The current system is competly unfair, unjust, and teetering on the verge of illegal....

 

[12345]

I believe there are intern laws or something where you technically have to be taught something and can not replace a regular employee.

 

[twester]

I think, what is most upsetting about the situation is that on my current rotation, I am specifically filling out "Outcomes " reports, which get submitted to the insurance company, wherin every time I complete one, the pharmacy receives $20. So, it is even more obvious how I am paying tuition, and making money for this pharmacy.
I just think fair labor laws are being twisted here under the guise of education.
I believe pharmacy schools should switch to more of an apprenticeship type program, where we can work as (gasp) paid interns! The current system is competly unfair, unjust, and teetering on the verge of illegal....

Leah, you'll fill out an assessment at the end of your rotation, right? Be sure to politely and succinctly note your experience. Maybe your school will re-evaluate the validity of that site for rotations.