Pharmacy Experiences

Required Experience & Preceptor(s)	Description
Administration & Medication Safety Preceptors: Tom Bauer & Carla Lamson	This experience is designed to introduce the residents to the important role pharmacists play in medication safety, medication use systems, and administration. The resident will spend time reviewing and evaluating medication errors and safety events as well as reviewing practice standards. The residents will also work closely with the Director of Pharmacy to develop skills to be an effective leader. Included in this will be a general understanding of inventory and purchasing philosophies, diversion prevention, billing and reimbursement, scheduling and staff development, safety and quality and the ability to lead staff meetings.
Anticoagulation Clinic Preceptor: Courtney Hochman	The Anticoagulation Clinic rotation provides residents with hands-on experience managing patients receiving warfarin therapy in a pharmacist-led ambulatory care setting. Residents participate in comprehensive patient assessments, medication management, dose adjustments, laboratory monitoring, and patient education to promote safe and effective therapy. Through direct patient care, residents develop skills in optimizing anticoagulation outcomes, preventing thromboembolic and bleeding complications, and applying evidence-based guidelines to individualized patient care.
Critical Care Preceptor: Courtney Hochman	The Critical Care experience is a required rotation where the pharmacy resident is integrated into the multidisciplinary team in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The resident has the opportunity to round with the medical team and also participate in multidisciplinary rounds focused on liberating patients from the ICU. The focus of this rotation is providing guidance on optimizing medications for all conditions of the critically ill patient. The resident is available for any medication therapy related questions, optimizing therapy, and evaluating patients that are positive for delirium. The resident will have the opportunity to participate in code situations and observe a variety of bedside procedures.
Community Pharmacy Preceptor: Dan Stratton	The community experience is completed through New Choice Pharmacy. The resident will assume responsibility for medication use processes and provide direct medication related patient care. This includes but is not limited to medication counseling, administering immunizations, compounding, processing medication orders, and final verification of prescriptions. The resident will also have exposure to financial aspects of running a pharmacy business that include inventory management, reimbursement, pricing, and use of discounts and patient assistance programs for high dollar prescriptions. The resident will work closely with medical staff and nursing to provide patient centered pharmacy services. This experience will also allow the resident to see patients in our smoking cessation clinic and participate in our medication therapy management process.
Education Preceptor: Raquel Guertal	Patient, provider, pharmacy, and staff education is vital to being able to care for patients using evidence-based practices. This experience will focus on providing education to a multitude of audiences in the healthcare setting, including patients. Skills practiced during this experience will help the resident perfect counseling, creating objectives, crafting continuing education, and working with other health professionals. For patient counseling, a focus on helping patients identify why they are taking medications and learning about possible side effects will be expected. An overall improvement in communication skills and assessment of education will be expected.
Infectious Disease Preceptor: Erin Onder	During the infectious disease / stewardship experience, the resident will participate in the hospital’s antimicrobial stewardship program. We look at regulations and standards that surround stewardship as well as rounding on patients. The resident will get to work alongside the infectious disease team and gain a better understanding of the treatments that surround bacterial, viral, and fungal infections as well as spend time in the microbiology lab.
Internal Medicine 1 Preceptor: Raquel Guertal	The Internal Medicine (IM) 1 rotation provides pharmacy residents with advanced training in managing complex pharmacotherapy for acutely ill, hospitalized adult patients. Working closely with a multidisciplinary medical team, the resident performs comprehensive daily patient workups and delivers evidence-based therapeutic recommendations during clinical rounds. Key focus areas include mastering guideline-directed therapy for multi-system disease states, performing pharmacokinetic drug monitoring, and managing transitions of care through medication reconciliation. During this rotation you will be responsible for identifying and resolving medication therapy issues and maximizing medication-related outcomes. This may include but is not limited to: • Therapeutic drug monitoring • Education of patients/caregivers, physicians, nursing, ancillary staff and students • Drug information requests • Multidisciplinary rounding • Medication reconciliation upon admission and discharge • Drug therapy optimization • Development, refinement and/or provide feedback on clinical algorithms • Medication affordability issues and prior authorizations
Internal Medicine 2 Preceptor: Raquel Guertal	The Internal Medicine (IM) 2 rotation focuses on transitioning the resident toward autonomous clinical practice by assuming full ownership of a medical team's pharmaceutical care. Building upon the foundational skills gained on the IM 1 rotation, the resident operates with minimal preceptor oversight to independently manage complex pharmacotherapy plans for acutely ill patients. Responsibilities expand to include leading clinical interventions during multidisciplinary rounds, providing pharmacotherapy education, and directing complex transitions of care workflows. Ultimately, this rotation serves as a capstone experience that polishes clinical efficiency, decision-making, and professional confidence for independent practice as an acute care specialist.
Orientation Preceptor: Erin Onder	This experience is designed to introduce the pharmacy resident to the organization, pharmacy department operations, and program expectations. During this rotation, the resident will become familiar with the hospital’s overall mission, electronic medical record, safety practices, and regulatory requirements. The resident will complete required onboarding activities, training modules, and competency assessments as well as establish relationships with pharmacy staff, GME staff, and other healthcare professionals. The resident will attend orientation with the other medical and surgical residents to establish camaraderie and build solid relationships that will continue throughout the year.
Pharmacy Services Orientation Preceptor: Jayme Jones	During this experience, the residents will learn the inpatient pharmacy’s workflow and layout, hospital’s policies and procedures as well as how to utilize the electronic medical record. The residents will enhance key patient care skills involving the preparation and dispensing of medications as well as managing patients' drug therapy by communicating with nurses and providers regarding orders entered via CPOE.
Longitudinal Experience & Preceptor	Description
Education and Projects Preceptors: Courtney Hochman	The Education and Projects experience is a required longitudinal experience extending throughout the entire residency year. This rotation encompasses many different areas of teaching and learning. This rotation evaluates the resident’s experience in precepting pharmacy students (APPE and IPPE), Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) presentations and projects, the teaching certificate through ASHP, and much more. The resident is required to provide lectures to internal medicine residents through our graduate medical education department as part of the teaching certificate. There are opportunities to educate other healthcare providers including nursing staff. The goal of this experience is to have the resident leave proficient and confident in all aspects of teaching.
Research Preceptor: Erin Onder	This is a longitudinal and month long required experience focused on the resident’s chosen research project. Throughout the year the resident will meet with the research team to develop a project, progress through the research process, and see the project through to completion. Assistance from the Western Reserve Hospital research committee and a biostatistician will be available to the resident.
Pharmacy Services Preceptor: Jayme Jones	The pharmacy services longitudinal rotation is a continuation of the pharmacy services orientation rotation. The goal of the pharmacy resident will be gaining comfort, confidence and independence as the year progresses. The resident will continue to enhance skills critical to functioning as a staff pharmacist. The resident will work autonomously within the department of pharmacy, preparing and dispensing medications in addition to managing patient’s drug therapy via communication with other healthcare providers. The resident will participate in staffing responsibilities, acting as a full time pharmacist – with the addition of consulted medication reconciliations and patient educations. By the completion of the longitudinal pharmacy services rotation, the resident is required to carry out pharmacy staffing duties with little assistance from other pharmacists.
Elective Experiences & Preceptor	Description
Advanced Critical Care Preceptor: Courtney Hochman	The Advanced Critical Care rotation builds upon foundational critical care experience and provides the resident with increased autonomy as an integral member of the multidisciplinary Intensive Care Unit team. Residents actively participate in daily patient care rounds, multidisciplinary ICU liberation rounds, and collaborative decision-making to optimize pharmacotherapy for critically ill patients. Emphasis is placed on advanced medication management, including hemodynamic support, sedation and analgesia, antimicrobial stewardship, delirium management, and evidence-based treatment of critical illness. Residents serve as a medication therapy resource for the healthcare team, independently identify and resolve medication-related problems, and provide pharmacotherapeutic recommendations to optimize patient outcomes.
Advanced Infectious Disease Preceptor: Erin Onder	The Advanced Infectious Diseases Rotation is designed to further develop the resident's knowledge and clinical skills in the management of complex infectious diseases. Working more closely with the infectious disease team, antimicrobial stewardship pharmacist, microbiology laboratory personnel, and interdisciplinary healthcare teams, the resident will provide evidence-based recommendations for antimicrobial therapy, evaluate complex patient cases, interpret microbiologic and diagnostic data, and actively participate in antimicrobial stewardship initiatives. The rotation emphasizes advanced clinical decision-making, optimization of antimicrobial use, prevention of healthcare-associated infections, and application of current infectious diseases guidelines to improve patient outcomes.