Clinical Rotation/Clerkship For Pharmacy Students Pattern In Nigeria Pharmacy School

Clerkship manual

The practice of pharmacy has evolved over the years from the traditional method of drug dispensing to a more proactive approach to patient care.

This involves optimization of medication therapy and promoting health, wellness, and disease prevention through pharmaceutical care.

Since class lectures are theory based, it is proper for schools to impart this new trend on their students. The best way to achieve this is through clerkship/clinical rotation in an approved teaching hospital or any other big hospital.

The program normally takes place in the final phase of pharmacy studies such as year 5 for a B. Pharm or year 6 for Pharm. D. program. It takes about 6-credit unit. It runs for a period of 3 months to a year depending on several factors.

The timing varies for different schools when their students will attend. However, the pharmacy of individual schools will draft their own calendar for their students. However, if a teaching hospital can be shared between two pharmacy school is what I do not know. However, the way I see it, it is feasible.

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There are many pharmacy units in a teaching hospital. Students doing clerkship are expected to rotate around all the units learning valuable life skills that have not been taught in the school of pharmacy. Some of the units are:

• Ambulatory care
• Pediatrics
• Psychiatry
• Drug information
• Hospital Pharmacy
• Internal Medicine
• Surgery
• Gynaecology and Obstetrics
• Family planning
• etc

Functions Of Clerkship

Clerkship period is not a period of rest from the tedious pharmacy school. It is a time students learn to:

1. Identify and resolve drug-related problems through patient information retrieval and assessment
2. Patient care and ensure the optimal use of machines by the patients
3. Develop patient specific pharmacy therapy care plans
4. Provide patient education and training
5. Collaborate with other health care teams

Rotation develops student by Enhancing Student:

1. Preparation and dispensing education
2. Providing drug information to patient
3. Intervening with the physicians, medical residents etc.
4. Gaining insight into inventory control, economic aspect of an institutional pharmacy and supervision of staff
5. Medical education on site on a daily basis

The Start Of Clerkship

The first time in most clerkship program is the orientation of students. This is scheduled by the hospital and school some days or even weeks before the commencement of the program. This will enable students to prepare themselves for the tough task ahead. A clerkship manual is distributed containing some vital information pertaining to clinical rotation. It usually cost some money. The section of the manual contains a log book where daily activities will be recorded.

Manual with log book

Orientation For Clerkship Students

The orientation for students can be conducted from a day to days. Just as the name implies, it involves an introduction to staffs within the pharmacy including Pharmacy technicians if it is the one organised by the hospital. Orientation by the school normally involves the require professional characters expected of pharmacy students which failure to adhere to can lead to punishment. The reason for the program iemphasisely emphasis with emphasis on what is expected in the case of anything. The dos and don’ts of the program is explained here and the penalty for breaking such. Some of the rules I can remember are:

1. To resume early as possible: this may look difficult especially students that will be coming from a far location. That is why teaching hospital is supposed to be close to the school.
2. Dress pattern and code
3. Patient confidentiality, which includes not discussing patient data with a third party.
4. The use of white ward coat
5. The use of student tags which aids identity
6. Obey break and closing hours, which is most, time 01:00 P.M for break and 4 P.M for closing.
7. Obey other rules guiding the hospital

The program proper

On the first day, students are grouped into several factions of manageable size. Each group will be sent to the various units. The pharmacist in charge of each unit will introduce the students to the nature of the unit. This information includes:

1. The nature of case that comes there
2. The kind of treatment they receive
3. The type of drugs use and stock
4. In addition, some likely drug related problems to encounter

Every student will have to choose an in-patient, which he will study for the period he or she will be there using the patient card. His duty will be to check for the drug related problem for that patient, intervene in the case of error or a better alternative. In the case of any of such, he will communicate to the pharmacist who will channel such suggestion to the doctor in charge.

For some university, a student is entitled to one patient throughout the program. In situations whereby the patient dies early, the student will have to pick up another case. In other cases, a student work on a patient in each unit. The student must ask their supervisors from their school what is expected of them.

Depends on the program supervisor, students’ rotate every week or two weeks. This will enable cover every unit.

Other Activities During Clerkship

However, students’ activities are not just limited to a case study. Other activities include:

1. Creating therapeutic plans
2. Making recommendations to providers
3. Going onward rounding with the health care team on inpatient rotation
4. Documenting medications outcomes
5. Providing answers to formal and informal pharmacotherapy questions
6. Educating patients to improve transition of care
7. Completing or assisting in ongoing site quality improvement or research projects

At the end of the program, each student will go to the boardroom where they will have to give a mini presentation on what they did as well as learn during the period of the clerkship. Well, that is not all, as questions from the pharmacist will be thrown at them.

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After the clerkship period, students will have to prepare for two things; viva and presentation. The viva is like a form of oral question and answer segment. The student will go into a board room with pharmacy lecturers from Pharmacy administration and Clinical pharmacy department. The questions are usually based on what you have learned in the program and your case. Before the viva, students must have submitted their own case presentation to the faculty. That is why they will get to know the case more.

Students are expected to prepare a report on their case study and any noted error minor or major. The report is projected as a slide on the day of clerkship defense in the presence of the lecturers from the school as well as the pharmacist supervisor on a later date. Dressing and presentation are graded.

Note: This write-up is a combination of personal experience with other stories from friends and around the web. There may some I believe slight difference which will not be much with other universities.

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