Blogs

Welcoming Wellbeing Into Your Daily Routine

By Kendall Wick posted 17 days ago
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I am a student pharmacist, and recently I have learned the importance of mental health and personal wellbeing. In fact, the importance of maintaining my mental health and wellbeing has been reinforced throughout my summer internship with ASHP. ASHPs mission statement on wellbeing and resilience is; “ ASHP is committed to fostering and sustaining the well-being, resilience, and professional engagement of pharmacists, pharmacy residents, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians .” I believe in this mission whole heartedly.    There is a lot of stress that can naturally come with a job in the health care field. As pharmacists, this stress can be due ...
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Interviewing Tips and Tricks

By Kendall Wick posted 29 days ago
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Pharmacy has become a very competitive and saturated healthcare field. As a student pharmacist I understand that I will encounter many interviews while in school, applying for residencies, fellowships, and jobs. Interviews are inevitable, so it is something I want to try to master as soon as possible. I wanted to share some tips I have learned along my way with other students and pharmacists.   Preparing for the interview is key in how you will do on the day of your interview. Make sure that you do thorough research on the institution or program where you applied. This could include the mission statement of the health system, the size of the hospital (beds, ...
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Preceptor Roles: A Focus on Modeling

By Kristin Watson posted 30 days ago
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The ASHP residency accreditation standards require that at least one of six criteria be met for a person to be deemed a qualified preceptor.  One option is “Demonstrating the ability to precept residents’ learning experiences by use of clinical teaching roles (i.e., instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating) at the level required by residents”. 1-3   The time a preceptor spends in each of these roles can vary during the learning experience. It is also possible that a preceptor may not need to employ each of these on a given rotation based on the learner’s experience and/or rotation goals. The only exception, in my opinion, is   modeling . Modeling should ...
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Preceptor Roles: A Focus on Modeling

By Kristin Watson posted 30 days ago
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The ASHP residency accreditation standards require that at least one of six criteria be met for a person to be deemed a qualified preceptor.  One option is “Demonstrating the ability to precept residents’ learning experiences by use of clinical teaching roles (i.e., instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating) at the level required by residents”. 1-3 The time a preceptor spends in each of these roles can vary during the learning experience. It is also possible that a preceptor may not need to employ each of these on a given rotation based on the learner’s experience and/or rotation goals. The only exception, in my opinion, is modeling . Modeling should ...
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Overview of Cloud Electronic Health Record Systems

By Matthew Delisle posted 06-28-2021
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Cloud-based vs Server-based EHRs – Things to consider Is your institution in the market for a new EHR? Congratulations - there are now more options than ever before. While increased options allow a greater likelihood that you can find precisely the EHR that you need, it also means there are more decisions to make and details to consider. This can make this seem like a daunting task. Choosing an EHR is an incredibly complex decision. Dozens of variables need to be evaluated to determine which EHR works best for your situation. With this blog post, we wanted to focus on one particular variable – cloud-based versus server-based EHRs– and highlight some key ...
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ASHP’s Advocacy to Protect the 340B Drug Pricing Program Yields Important HRSA Ruling

By Paul Abramowitz posted 05-25-2021
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Dear Colleagues, ASHP has been leading patient-focused efforts to protect the 340B Drug Pricing Program, and I am pleased to share with you that our steadfast advocacy has paid off. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which manages the 340B program, recently announced that it has directed six drug manufacturers to comply with 340B pricing requirements or risk financial penalties.  The 340B program is essential to many hospitals’ ability to provide healthcare services to vulnerable patients and communities, including providing access to medications for uninsured and underinsured patients. The 340B program is designed to allow providers ...
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OIG report card on DSCSA

By Dennis Tribble posted 05-21-2021
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For those of you who may have missed this (like I did), over a year ago the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) performed a study on the ability of the current compliance mechanisms for the Drug Supply Chain Security Act by tracing the movement of 44 drug products they characterized as high-risk "billed to Medicare Part D by high-risk dispensers" by reviewing tracing documents to "determine whether the information necessary to trace drugs was present and accurate".  I recommend the document to your review. It is most enlightening. The observations were interesting: Ownership was traceable for 37 of the 44 selected drug products - the remaining 7 were ...
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Virtual Interviews: Reflective Tips and Tricks for Interviewers and Interviewees

By Lauren Pamulapati posted 05-17-2021
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This past year presented a new challenge and opportunity for conducting residency interviews in a virtual format. Due to this new experience, the Ambulatory Care Pharmacotherapy SAG felt it would be worth sharing tips and tricks that worked within our programs, should similar models be continued in the future.  We also surveyed our students and residents to determine what tips and tricks they had from their perspective. Feel free to share with your colleagues.   Program/Interviewer Tips To introduce candidates to the culture of your program and the surrounding area, consider putting together a video highlighting the area and the program (walking ...
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ASHP Broadens Vaccine Confidence Outreach

By Paul Abramowitz posted 05-14-2021
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Dear Colleagues, This week’s announcement that the Food and Drug Administration has expanded the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in adolescents 12 to 15 years of age, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s subsequent recommendation, is another encouraging step in our efforts to bring an end to this devastating pandemic. There are more opportunities than ever for pharmacists to lead vaccination programs, build community trust, and direct public education campaigns to protect our communities from COVID-19. Today, I want to share some important updates on the continued work that ASHP and our members are ...
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preparation of critical care infusions

By Kim Runge posted 05-09-2021
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When making critical care drips at our hospital, we remove volume from the IV bag that is equivalent to the volume of the medication to be added before adding the med to the bag.  For instance, when making an infusion of norepinephrine 8mg/500ml D5W, the techs first remove 8 ml of D5W before adding the 8 ml of norepinephrine. I have never seen this done before. At your institution, how do you prepare critical care drips? Do you remove volume from the IV bag like this?  If so, why?  If not, why not?
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Prioritizing Self-Care During a Pandemic...or Any Other Time

By Vanessa Elliott posted 05-04-2021
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I want you to picture a scenario most of us haven’t been able to experience much over the past year. Imagine that you’re on a plane. You’re flying to see family, going on an adventure, or just getting away from everything for a bit. You’re listening to the in-flight lecture on safety and how to take care of yourself in the case of an emergency. Now, think...what is the first thing the flight attendant says when talking about putting on your oxygen mask? It’s to put your own oxygen mask on first, before helping anyone else. This isn’t just good first aid advice, it’s good self-care advice, too. Because before you can provide quality patient care, you have to be ...
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Switching GLP-1 Receptor Agonists

By Cheyenne Frazier posted 04-23-2021
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Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus are commonly started on glucagon-like peptide -1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists due to their benefits in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease. While many patients tolerate these agents well, there may be circumstances when providers need to switch patients to a different GLP-1 receptor agonist. These reasons include gastrointestinal side effects, desire for greater glycemic or weight control, injection site reactions, difficulty with the injection device, better adherence with weekly instead of daily agents, or insurance formulary changes. Recently the Veterans Health Administration’s drug pricing ...
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Important Wins in Expanding Access to Pharmacist Care

By Paul Abramowitz posted 04-22-2021
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Dear Colleagues, The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact has been immense in our communities and across the world. The public health crisis has also shined a critical light on the essential role of pharmacy practitioners, and helped to give way to some strong advocacy momentum as we work at the state and federal level to increase recognition of pharmacists as patient care providers. Expanding Medicare Patients’ Access to Pharmacists Today, I’m pleased to announce that provider status legislation that ASHP has long supported, the Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Area Enhancement Act, was reintroduced in Congress. The legislation would give millions of Medicare ...
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PAI Week 2021 Blog -- MUSC SSHP Chapter

By Dorothy Gaddis posted 04-16-2021
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Medical University of South Carolina Charleston, SC Student Society of Health-System Pharmacists Chapter PAI Week Blog – Dorothy Gaddis, Drew Sauck, and Emily McTish Blog Subject: PAI Week Reflections from MUSC The Practice Advancement Initiative (PAI) was developed in 2010 to drive change of pharmacy practice at local levels. It started as a set of recommendations to improve and advance the pharmacy profession across the continuum of care, and evolved as healthcare and technology integrations changed with each decade. The most recent version of this initiative is PAI 2030, which aims to drive pharmacy practice sites on a local and state level (through ...
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GTMRx Establishes National Task Force to Build Vaccine Confidence

By Paul Abramowitz posted 04-06-2021
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Dear Colleagues, As we pass the one-year mark of the global COVID-19 pandemic, it is encouraging to see some very positive signs as the availability of vaccines and the number of people who are receiving them increases. As of today, at least a dozen states have made COVID-19 vaccinations available to everyone 16 and over, with all remaining states announcing their plans to do the same. To support this positive momentum, it is vital that we as a healthcare community continue to work together to build widespread public confidence in the vaccines, as they are the key to ending the harm caused by COVID-19 and getting our lives back to normal. Today I am extremely ...
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Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Practice Expansion during a Pandemic

By Rachel Steele posted 03-29-2021
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Over this last year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the questions and unknowns that arrived with the reality of practicing in a new context have prompted many practice advancements while perhaps pausing others – such as the expansion of disease states within one’s collaborative practice agreement for those in ambulatory care Within ambulatory pharmacy at my health system, our model of care quickly evolved to prioritize safety while optimizing patient care. Initially, face-to-face visits transitioned to telephonic visits. Shortly thereafter, virtual visits were added as another opportunity. Now a year later, we provide ambulatory pharmacy care utilizing a hybrid mix ...
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My experiences with the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program: COVID Vaccination of a Vulnerable Population

By Laura Traynor posted 03-26-2021
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In December of 2020, the weight of the COVID pandemic was taking its toll on my household. Because it was so cold in Minnesota, my family did not have the opportunity to socialize outdoors as we had in the summer. Therefore, we spent a lot of time as a family unit indoors. I felt the weight of this self-imposed quarantine, so I imagined that it must be particularly difficult for those in long-term care facilities. In many facilities, including those of my family members, residents were confined to their rooms during outbreaks, with little opportunity for social interaction.  I wanted to do my part to allow these residents to see their families again, so ...
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Women History Month and Breaking the Glass Ceiling

By Sara White posted 03-21-2021
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Per Women’s History Month check out Melissa Murer Corrigan’s https://pointshistory.com/2021/03/12/zada-gloria-and-the-sisters-whm/ Her MelisRxScripts podcasts are excellent. You will find a recorded Conversations With Health Systems Most Influential Leaders Tribute to Gloria Francke on the ASHP Foundation’s Web site under the Leadership Development Tab, It plays on You Tube   Breaking the “Glass Ceiling” Overcoming Invisible Barriers to Success from Mind Tools provides the following advice. Don't let who you are allow others to limit your horizons. Great strides have been made toward equality in the workplace but, even today, many people ...
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2021 Residency Match Day

By Paul Abramowitz posted 03-19-2021
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Dear Colleagues, The much-anticipated Match Day has arrived! On behalf of ASHP, congratulations to all who matched during Match Phase I of the 2021 ASHP Residency Matching Program! This year has been extraordinary as we all faced the continued challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. For residency training programs, it required adapting in new and unique ways, including moving for the first time to virtual interviews as part of the application process. For learners, you may have experienced new adjustments in clinical learning environments. For all, it required new skills and being resilient to change. ASHP continues to be inspired by the creativity, adaptability, ...
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Medication Security Of Emergency Medications During Patient Transfer

By Kathryn Schwartz posted 03-16-2021
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Hello, Wondering if someone could share their policy on securing emergency medications during the transfer of a patient?  Do you allow CRNAs or anesthesiologists to  carry labeled syringes in their pockets during patient transport? Thank you in advance for your help!
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