Blogs

One participant in the ASHP Foundation Critical Care Traineeship shares what she’s learning

Today is my last day at UC Health. What a challenging and fulfilling experience! I truly did not know what I was in for when I enrolled. Although the program was intense, it taught me the value of examining the evidence critically and the importance of comprehending the pathophysiology of disease states and their management.

The program has been extremely rewarding, allowing opportunities to establish collaborative working relationships with the interdisciplinary team. The experiential component of the traineeship program allowed me to enhance my skills and provide meaningful recommendations and interventions for critically ill patients. Working with trained clinicians, I felt that I could better manage, make decisions and communicate patient care therapy utilizing current guidelines. Along with the exposure to many complex patient care disease states, it gave me the opportunity to apply my knowledge to critically assess and solve problems.

I look forward to my return to NorthBay HealthCare in Fairfield, California, and practicing new approaches to managing the critically ill in the following areas: considerations of an algorithmic approach to sedation protocols, delirium management, updated aminoglycoside protocols, antibiotic choices in MDR pathogens, fluid and pharmacologic management in traumatic brain injury patients.

My training in this course will enable me to become a more vocal member and help build collaborative relationships with our interdisciplinary critical care team. I feel very fortunate to have been educated by such experienced and fantastic clinicians. They have helped me realize the importance of keeping abreast of the literature and current guidelines to best serve my hospital and the patients. I am extremely grateful to my director, Dr. Jerry Gonzales, for giving me such a tremendous opportunity. I would highly recommend this program to other clinical pharmacists.

See all of my previous posts, too: “Day One,” “Day Four,” “Day Six,” “Day Eight,” and “Day Eleven.”

For more information about the Critical Care Traineeship, visit www.ashpfoundation.org/criticalcare. The ASHP Foundation is accepting applications now for the 2014 traineeship.