Medically Speaking #12

Welcome to today's episode of Medically Speaking. Today we have a very interesting topic we're going to talk about. We're going to talk about our pharmacy residency program. Today I have two special guests with us. I have Kylie Latimer, one of our pharmacy residents, and I have Stephanie Smith, who's the program director for our self-regional health care pharmacy residency program. So maybe we'll just start with introductions a little bit. Stephanie, maybe tell us a little bit about your background and kind of how you came into this role and a little bit about the program in general. Yeah, so I have been at self-regional for nine years now, which seems crazy it's been that long. And so I started as an emergency medicine clinical pharmacist and then moved into the ICU, so went into critical care for several years, and then I've now transitioned into this role as residency program director. It's been just very rewarding to be able to to teach our residents and to grow the next generation of pharmacists. And so a little bit about the program. So this is a postgraduate, one-year residency program where our residents come in, so they've graduated pharmacy school, they come in and they do hands-on training for a year, and this is a general pharmacy residency. So they really get a well-rounded idea of what it is to be an inpatient clinical pharmacist. And this is Kylie. She's one of our residents this year. Good. Kylie, welcome. We're glad you're here too. So tell us a little bit, you know, it would seem like I think part of the public maybe have a perception like you go to pharmacy school, you just go be a pharmacist. But there are some big differences between somewhat someone may do that and someone may not. And so I think it's really important to know what you do if you work in a like a retail pharmacy like, you know, Walgreens or CVS versus like in a hospital setting. Maybe tell us a little bit about why did you choose to do a pharmacy residency and why did you choose Self Regional? Yes, sir. So I originally started as an intern here while I was in pharmacy school at Self, and I fell in love with not only the hospital, but the people around. Everyone truly just dedicated time and experience to me, learning. So I really enjoyed that. But overall, the reason why I chose to do a PGY1 pharmacy residency was to just expand my knowledge past the classroom and be able to, you know, step into a role of pharmacy that I feel like a lot of places don't get to experience. Most people, when they think of pharmacy, they think of, you know, just go in and picking up your medicines. But it's a lot more than that. We actually have a lot of, you know, we have a lot of, you know, we have a lot of impact in, you know, overall general like care with the patients and just being able to make a well, like being able to be a part of a well-rounded team within the healthcare system. Absolutely. You know, I can remember when I was working shifts a lot in the emergency department and Stephanie, like you just mentioned, we are, we're one of our pharmacists in the ER and having that clinical support is so important to the clinicians, the physicians. I know for sure I can speak for my self at the bedside. I'll just give a couple examples. You know, when you're in the heat of action, like say you have a small three-year-old child or something who's in cardiac arrest and like, you know, I want to make sure I'm given the right medications, not just the right medicines, but the right dosages of medicines based on weight and size and all those things. And, you know, in the heat of the action, boy, you know, sometimes things leave you and it's great having, it's invaluable to have that pharmacist there at the bedside helping with those decisions. And, you know, to me, I mean, that's the huge value. It's a, it's a huge value. I know the same thing happens in the intensive care units and throughout the hospital, you know, medication dosages and so many things, medications can interact with each other. And sometimes those things may not be at the top of mind and, and having, having that clinical resource and that pharma, the clinical pharmacist as part of that care team is, is so, so important in my opinion. Yeah. I think that you hit the nail right on the head there. I think that that is where we provide value as a pharmacist. You know, we are the experts in the medication. So how it interacts with the body and, you know, if you're sick and in the hospital and you have, you know, something going on with your kidneys and that's pretty common. And a lot of medications need to be adjusted based on renal function. So we're able to, to help with those things and provide therapeutic recommendations. And it allows, you know, everybody on the team to work collaboratively. That's kind of, you know, why I went into hospital pharmacy was to be able to work with that team. Of physicians, other providers and the nurses, and to be able to really directly impact patient care, which is great. Yeah. So, I mean, I can see a lot of benefits just to the community in general of having a pharmacy residency program. Maybe you guys can touch on a few of your thoughts on like, why is it important to our community to have a pharmacy residency? Yeah, this has been something that we've wanted for a long time. We're going on, Kylie's in our fifth class here. So we've had four preps. So we are a newer program, but something that we've really thought would be a huge benefit to our community. You know, we serve so many counties surrounding, we've got a great varied patient population. And so there's just so much opportunity for our residents to get some good learning in and, you know, plus we're bringing in, you know, more young professionals to the area. We are, you know, I think that's a huge impact to the community. And we've actually, you know, we've been able to, you know, we've been able to, you know, the 21 residents that we've graduated, we've retained 10 of those. So it brings in good, high quality pharmacists to our hospital. And, you know, and we're biased. We think we group them great training. And so then we get to keep them. And that's, that's just a benefit to our community and to our hospital as well. Yeah, absolutely. Well, Kylie, why did you choose Self Regional? I'm sure there's lots of choices out there and other programs. What made our program stand out to you? So, like I said, I did complete an internship here throughout pharmacy school, but I also had multiple opportunities to have rotations throughout my fourth year of pharmacy school here. And throughout my time, I was just, you know, just shown that dedication to my learning experience. Everyone truly wanted the best experience for me. So that's something that I really, really looked forward to. And I knew that completing a residency here would equip me with all the skills that I need post residency. So whether that be completing a PGY2 residency or entering in a pharmacy practice. So you mentioned the program here is one year. Are there different lengths of programs? There are. So there are a variety of different residency options for pharmacists. What we provide is a postgraduate year one, kind of a general residency. And then from there, our residents can go on to a PGY2 and they can be specialized. They could go into oncology, cardiology, critical care. And then really, truly specialize in that field. There are some residency programs that are a two year that have a focus on a certain clinical area. But we felt like at Self Regional, we had such a diverse patient population that this was really the type of residency that we could support. And it gives our residents such a good foundation of knowledge for whether they're going on to do PGY2 in another area or they're going into clinical practice. Whatever the next steps are, it really sets them up to… To see every type of patient that you'll see. Well, just to follow up on that, you mentioned a few of these already, but what are some of the unique characteristics of our residency program that you feel sets us apart? I think that Self Regional, you know, I've just, the reason I came here, stayed and have been here as long as I have is just pharmacy. We're so integrated into the team, integrated into quality improvement projects and committees and things like that. And you don't really get that at a much larger level. You don't really get that at a much larger level. You don't really get that at a much larger level. You don't really get that at a much larger level. You don't really get that at a much larger level. We're an organization or medical center, and that truly allows our residents to be involved in the decision-making process of policy revisions and protocols and order sets and all of those things that they may not get in another institution that they definitely get at Self Regional. And, you know, I always say it gives them a true real-world experience to go on to wherever their next step is. And so we have just a huge… We have a huge variety of rotations. We have a really great preceptor-to-resident ratio, which helps a lot with the decision-making on choosing a residency program, where, you know, we are a smaller program, and we allow, though, that individualized, you know, training for our residents to be able to really adapt and change their and tailor their residency to their career goals, whatever they may be. And we've got specialists. We've got specialists in kind of every area, so they're able to really tailor those experiences to what the resident wants to do. That's great. Thanks. Well, Kylie, why don't you just tell me a little bit… I'm just curious, like, what's your normal day look like, like, as a resident in pharmacy? So right now, I am on my internal med rotation with the Family Medicine Residency Program. So generally, I get there in the mornings, work up patients on the patient list that we're rounding with. With the family medicine residents, I'm working up those patients, kind of, like, having an idea of things that may need to be adjusted, looking to see where we can optimize their therapy, and then, before we actually round with family medicine, I pre-round with my preceptor. So I think, being able to do that, kind of, you know, it gives me the autonomy of, you know, making those decisions as one day I will be making those decisions on my own, but also having the feedback since they have, you know, experienced this in practice before, you know, kind of guiding me to therapy recommendations. So I really look forward to having that feedback from my preceptor every morning before I go into rounds. And then we round with the family medicine residents. And physicians, and it is, you know, I feel like, like Stephanie was saying, like, they really look forward to you being there. They look forward to your recommendations, and they're very appreciative of it. So that really, you know, just makes you, makes you feel appreciated and makes you feel wanted on the, a part of the treatment team. But then afterwards, you know, once recommendations are made, we kind of finish up our day doing different patient care activities. So that can range from doing discharge education. For patients all the way to completing medication reconciliation. Are your work hours crazy? I mean, do you work like all the time or is this more like a 40 hour work week or what's that look like? It really, honestly, it can vary depending on what rotation you're on, but it's all work life balance, you know, just prioritizing your time and prioritizing the patients. Good, good. Do you feel like you have the support from your, I guess your preceptors? Yes. I feel like I have the support from all of my preceptors and just overall pharmacy staff and everyone in the hospital. They definitely, you know, no matter if I'm looking for feedback or not, I feel like they, they provide that feedback anyway. And I think that's what's really important in helping us grow as residents is knowing when to provide feedback and, you know, allowing them, allowing us as residents to kind of evaluate ourselves first. But always looking for ways to improve throughout the year. That's great. I'm just curious, like, what are your career goals? Like, what do you want to do once you're finished up the residency program? And do you feel well prepared? So I am still undecided on if I would like to complete a PGY2 or not. That's still up in the air, but ultimately, you know, just entering clinical pharmacy practice, whether that's in a specialty or not, but I definitely so far feel prepared. And I know that this year definitely will prepare me even more for that. Good, good. I think one of the great things about having a residency program, whether it's family medicine or pharmacy, is getting like young professionals into the community just in general, right? And I think that's awesome. And I don't know if you guys want to comment on that at all, but Lord knows we, it's great to have young folks and with the energy and the passion and wanting to make things better, you know, coming to the community is awesome. Yeah, I think probably. Two years ago, our residents went in a joking way, voted me most likely to be Greenwood's next mayor. I take it very seriously that, you know, when I'm recruiting for a program, I just, I really love this community. You know, I grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, came here and never left. You know, I've been here and this is where I, you know, want to finish out my career for sure. And I think it's just such a great community and I really try to promote that when I'm recruiting. And it's just, I think most people come here and they're not really sure what to expect about Greenwood and the area, but they get here and also fall in love with it. And I think obviously the more young professionals that we can get to move into the community and to be in the area is just great for everything, for the economy, the community in general. And we've just got a lot to offer here in Greenwood. And I just, you know, I really try to promote that. I get really passionate about, you know, this is a great place to be. It's a great place to train. But it's also a great. It's a great place to stay and to have a career. There's so many opportunities here. Absolutely. Well, Kylie, where are you from? Are you from the area? So I'm actually from Donald's. So not too far down the road. So, yeah, I grew up in Donald's and I went to PC and Clinton for pharmacy school in undergrad. So I've been around this area my whole life. But truly, like Stephanie's saying, I mean, no matter where you go, whether you're in the hospital or, you know, walking down Main Street, you know, you're in the hospital. You know, if you're walking down Main Street, someone's going to ask how you are and how your day's been. It's truly just the matter of feeling like you're in the community when you're here. I think you just nailed it. That's some of my favorite parts about being in Greenwood, too. And, you know, one of the things I've loved over the years being at Self Regional is exactly what you guys are talking about. It's that kind of family environment and, you know, that passion to give high quality care close to home with the people that you see every day. Whether it's church or the grocery store or wherever it may be. And having that, it's almost like an intimate community that you can be a part of and really make a difference in people's lives. And I think you guys are doing that. Thank you. Yeah. Good. All right. Well, do you guys have anything else y'all want to touch on today? I think we've really touched on everything. Just, you know, so proud of these residents that come through. So excited for the rest of this year with Kylie and her co-residents. And just appreciate the time that we've spent today. Yeah. Well, great. Well, thank you, guys. That wraps up today's episode of Medically Speaking. And look forward to the next episode. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.