As I start my seventh of eight (yay!) APPE rotations, I am pondering the amazing (and wonderfully useful) human trait of adaptability. My current surgical ICU environment is a world different than the one I just left: investigational drugs. Yet, here I sit as functioning as well as any pharmacy student can in such a high acuity, fast paced unit.
The start of pharmacy school is a huge adjustment for many, but perhaps even more so for non-traditional students like myself. I transitioned from a role as a stay-at-home mom to a full time student in a demanding program. Anyone who has spent time with the toddler and preschool crowd knows that an average attention span is about a minute – on a good day – for the kids and, like it or not, the adults who are with them all day, every day. So the challenges of the first time I had to sit down to study for longer than five minutes are still clearly vivid in my memory. I wasn’t too successful at my first attempts of breaking into the academic mindset, but eventually I adjusted to the new pace of school life. And just when I thought I hit my stride, I entered the year of APPEs.
This year is full of challenges and forced adaptations. Each block is composed of new people and places. Sure there are similarities between rotations, but patient populations, disease states, drug therapies, pharmacists’ practice styles, and pharmacy practice models differ greatly. For example, the pharmacy practice in the investigational drug service through which I rotated is guided by protocols. Everything is well documented and the rules are explicitly followed; it is black and white. The ICU, in contrast, is a gray zone. In this setting, patients continuously fall out of defined categories, and more often than not, practice involves interpretation of guidelines and published drug information.
So far, I have thoroughly enjoyed both extremes and have been able to adapt to the different environments. This ability, however, pales in comparison to patients’ adaptation to their disease, illness or injury. I am constantly left amazed at humans' physical and mental resilience and coping. I can only hope that I continue to take the challenges in stride and find inspiration throughout the rest of this year and every one thereafter.
#APPERotations