Advanced Practice Pharmacy Clerkships: Leadership Clerkships

The University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics encompasses an academic medical center, multiple specialty and primary care clinics, 12 ambulatory pharmacies, and a wide array of innovative pharmacy services. We are a pharmacy department nationally recognized in the areas of clinical pharmacy practice, pharmacy leadership and residency training.

Ambulatory Administration

• Student role: This is primarily a project-based rotation where students will participate as an integral component of the pharmacy leadership team and assist in the decision making processes in the ambulatory care setting. This involves attending various interdisciplinary and administrative meetings. Projects result in pharmacy service expansion or extending the influence of pharmacy within the health system.
• Expected outcomes: Gain a thorough understanding of the role of an ambulatory pharmacy management team within an integrated health system; learn strategies for advancing pharmacy services; demonstrate understanding of financial management; gain exposure to regulatory compliance and performance management processes; develop basic supervisory skills and management training; improve leadership skills; improve project management skills.
• Unique student opportunities: Attendance at a variety of meetings as developed during a weekly calendar review; shadow in ambulatory care clinics; observe personnel management including hiring and performance appraisals.
• Typical hours: 8:30am–5pm; 45 hours per week

Clinical Practice Management

• Student role: This is primarily a project based rotation where the student will actively participate in the decision making processes that support continuity of pharmacy care across the system with a focus on the inpatient care setting and assist in the coordination of management resources within the department to accomplish tasks. This also involves attending various interdisciplinary and administrative meetings. Projects could include development of policies and procedures, staffing plans, staff development programs and performance improvement/quality assurance projects.
• Expected outcomes: Gain a thorough understanding of the role of clinical pharmacy managers in an academic medical center; understanding the importance of coordinating multidisciplinary patient care; gaining exposure to regulatory compliance issues and quality improvement processes within the institution; developing basic supervisory skills and management training; improving leadership skills; developing communication skills (taking meeting minutes, creating workload reports for existing clinical staffing or business plans new clinical programs) and improving project management skills
• Unique student opportunities: Attendance at a variety of meetings as developed during a weekly calendar review; gain an understanding of do’s and don’ts of committee participation and e-mail communication; observe personnel management including hiring and performance appraisals
• Typical hours: 8am–5pm (approximately); 45 hours per week

Pharmacy Administration

• Student role: The student will participate as an integral component of the pharmacy leadership team during this rotation. This rotation primarily involves project work that advances pharmacist patient care services, meeting attendance, and discussions on contemporary pharmacy and health care leadership topics with the Director of Pharmacy and other members of the pharmacy management team. Meeting attendance provides exposure to clinical pharmacy practice management and program development, pharmacy personnel management and leadership, strategic planning, financial management, and technology/automation planning. In addition, scheduled meetings with pharmacy managers are arranged to discuss their roles, responsibilities, practice philosophies, and career path. Every student completes at least one project resulting in pharmacy service expansion or extending the influence of pharmacy within the health system.
• Expected outcomes: Gain understanding of the scope and functions of a Director of Pharmacy and pharmacy management team within an integrated health care system including: effective pharmacy leadership, strategies for advancing pharmacy services to improve care of patients and achieve goals, importance of pharmacy professional organizations and elements of a high performance pharmacy department; demonstrate understanding of financial management (department budge structure, revenue augmentation and cost reduction strategies, application of financial trend reports; gain understanding of personnel management (hiring and interviewing techniques, performance management, disciplinary procedures and systems for advancing the work of clinical staff); explain performance improvement and compliance (role of The Joint Commission and other regulatory standards, concepts of continuous improvement); gain skills in project management; demonstrate and understanding of pharmacy operations (dispensing system management, supply chain management, productivity monitoring and benchmarking).
• Unique student opportunities: Gain mentorship from the Director of Pharmacy of UW Hospital and Clinics; close collaboration and joint preceptorship by administrative pharmacy residents; shadow pharmacists throughout the hospital (Emergency Department, Rehab, Central Pharmacy, Outpatient and Oncology Pharmacy); access to C-suite level meetings and insight, approximately five scheduled didactic topic discussions
• Typical hours: 8am–5pm (approximately); 45 hours per week

Transitional Leadership

• Student role: This is primarily a project based rotation where the student will actively participate in the decision making processes that support continuity of pharmacy care across the system with a focus on the ambulatory care setting and assist in the coordination of management resources within the department to accomplish tasks. This also involves attending various interdisciplinary and administrative meetings. Projects could include development of policies and procedures, staffing plans, staff development programs and performance improvement/quality assurance projects.
• Expected outcomes: Gain a thorough understanding of the role of clinical pharmacy managers in an academic medical center; understanding the importance of coordinating multidisciplinary patient care; gaining exposure to regulatory compliance issues and quality improvement processes within the institution; developing basic supervisory skills and management training, improving leadership skills, developing communication skills (taking meeting minutes, creating workload reports for existing clinical staffing or business plans new clinical programs) and improving project management skills
• Unique student opportunities: Attendance at a variety of meetings  as developed during a weekly calendar review; gain an understanding of do’s and don’ts of committee participation and e-mail communication; assist with management of the Ambulatory Clinical Practice Committee and the Pharmacy Performance Improvement and Regulatory Compliance Committee; review quality improvement data (ADRs, non-formulary requests, PA and write-off reports, Patient Safety Net reports and MUE audit results); shadowing in ambulatory care clinics; approximately six scheduled didactic topic discussions
• Typical hours: 8am–5pm (approximately); 45 hours per week