Pharmacy Student Rotations

The Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford (LPCH) Pharmacy Department serves as a resource for practicing pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, students, residents and other health professionals. As an academic medical center, pharmacy students have the unique opportunity to complete specialty rotations in the areas of general pediatrics, neonatal/pediatric intensive care, hospital operations, home infusion, specialty pharmacy and outpatient pharmacy. The goal of clerkship rotation is to advance the student's ability and reinforce didactic learning through clinical services and patient care activities. Students will work collaboratively with other heal care professionals to provide optimal pharmaceutical care for patients.

Learning objectives

Pharmacy students completing Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) rotation at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford will spend 4-6 weeks on rotation and will gain an understanding of the role of a pharmacist in the inpatient, ambulatory, and/or outpatient pharmacy setting. Our acute care experiences include rotations in cardiology, nephrology, gastroenterology, general pediatrics, pediatric intensive care, and neonatal intensive care. The clerkships in specialty pharmacy, home infusion, and outpatient pharmacy allow students to provide pharmaceutical care in a retail-based environment and gain experience working closely with providers in ambulatory clinics and the inpatient hospital. The clerkship in hospital operations is designed to provide experience in drug preparation, distribution, formulary and process management, leadership and administration, and medication use policy.

Specific activities include but are not limited to:

• Attending multidisciplinary patient care rounds
• Identifying those patients at greatest risk for medication therapy problems
• Building a patient-specific data base via chart review and interdisciplinary rounds
• Designing or modifying therapeutic regimens
• Designing monitoring plans and identifying therapeutic goals
• Recommending or communicating a therapeutic plan to team members
• Following up on the effects of a therapeutic plan or regimen
• Providing drug information and in-service education to team members
• Providing pharmacokinetic consults
• Coordinating discharge medications
• Completing medication reconciliation and facilitating transitions of care
• Presenting a minimum of two formal presentations (one journal club and one case presentation)
• Completing a formal pharmacy drug information question
• Attend and may present a formal drug monograph to the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee Meeting
• Understanding and developing the unique pharmacy skills that are necessary in a pediatric setting

Rotation structure

Pharmacy students on Acute Care Pediatrics or Critical Care rotations are expected to pre-round on patients before interdisciplinary rounds. In addition, students are required to contact the appropriate staffing pharmacists before and after rounds to provide updates on medication issues and therapeutic plans.

Students on Hospital Operations/Systems rotation will have an opportunity to shadow various pharmacist, residents, and pharmacy technicians to gain a deeper understanding of inpatient pharmacy operations. Student are expected to participate in administrative meetings, complete quality improvement or administrative projects, and attend multidisciplinary patient care rounds as required.

In the afternoons, students meet with preceptors and pharmacy residents for topic discussions, assignments, projects, patient case discussions, and/or presentations. Students must device efficient strategies to manage time and complete all required tasks and patient care activities.

Students will be evaluated twice during the rotation (midpoint and final evaluation). The midpoint evaluation should occur between the preceptor and student even if not required by the student’s institution. Students are evaluated on their formal presentations and performance in patient care services and/or inpatient pharmacy operations.

Pharmacy locations

Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford
725 Welch Road
Palo Alto, CA 94304

Lucile Packard Children’s Home Pharmacy
4600 Bohannon Drive, Suite 105
Menlo Park, CA 94025

Parking

Please see the Stanford University Parking & Transportation Services website at http://transportation.stanford.edu/ for more information about parking/transportation options at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford.

Dress code

The pharmacy dress code is professional/business casual. Closed-toed shoes are mandatory. Students may wear a white coat but are not required.

Attendance policy

Attendance is mandatory Monday through Friday. All absences must be approved by the student program coordinators. Make up work may be assigned at the discretion of the preceptor.

What to bring / How to prepare

Please arrive at 8:30 a.m. at the main hospital lobby for the first day or as instructed by your preceptor or student coordinator. Students must provide a valid driver's license on the first day to obtain a hospital security badge. In order to prepare for this rotation, it is highly recommended that students familiarize themselves with the pediatrics chapter in the Applied Therapeutics textbook, Koda Kimble et al.

For further instructions and for prospective students who are interested in completing a rotation at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, please contact the student program coordinator.