Advanced Practice Pharmacy Clerkships: Specialty 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.

Patient Care | Go to Non-patient Care

Abdominal Transplant (Transplant-1/2)

• Patient population: Kidney, liver, pancreas transplant patients (new, readmissions for complications, donors)
• Student role: Multidisciplinary rounds (attendings, fellows, residents, medical students, midlevels, RNs, nutrition, case management) and bedside rounds with attendings (approximately three to four hours per day rounding); extensive opportunities for medication regimen review; recommendations on additional or alternative therapies to providers; admission and discharge medication reconciliation and consultation; first dose teaching; therapeutic drug monitoring
• Unique student opportunities: Opportunity to go on work rounds (an advanced student would round with team three times a day, approximately five hours per day); teach medication class weekly; opportunity to shadow in transplant clinic; gain understanding of daily evaluation of appropriate immunosuppressant therapy; utilize a protocol to manage and dose prophylactic antiviral therapy; attend patient selection meetings; attend weekly Transplant Grand Rounds; one planned didactic discussion per week; bedside delivery of discharge medications to aid discharge counseling; opportunity to see a kidney biopsy; spend time with PGY-2 Transplant resident
• Typical hours: 7am 4pm, 40-45 hours per week
• Night or weekend flexibility: Limited nights available to accommodate student need; weekend flexibility to replace weekday time if patient care needs dictate and student interested.
• Minimum rotation requirements: Desire to work with complex medication regimens; interact with patients and providers; take on additional projects to improve patient care

Adult Intensive Care (Trauma and Life Support)

• Patient population: Diverse – mixed medical/surgical intensive care unit (liver transplant, trauma, pulmonary or multi-system organ failure)
• Student role: Teaching rounds (three to four hours) with attendings and multidisciplinary team (respiratory therapy, midlevels and nutrition); extensive opportunities for medication regimen review; recommendations on additional or alternative therapies to providers; admission medication reconciliation; therapeutic drug monitoring
• Unique student opportunities: Daily opportunity to watch procedures (intubation, line placement, ECG, chest tube, ultrasound, endoscopy, dialysis); opportunity to see advanced organ replacement systems (CVVH); experience with drug dosing in a unique patient population; dynamic environment with a rapid pace of change; approximately 10 scheduled discussions; preceptor is part of code response team for the hospital – students can shadow any code called; spend time with PGY-2 Critical Care resident
• Typical hours: 7am-3:30pm, 40 – 45 hours per week
• Night or weekend flexibility: Students are encouraged to complete one weekend replacing weekday time; limited nights and weekends available

Cardiac Rehab

• Patient population: CABG, valve repairs/replacements, heart and lung transplant, left ventricular assist device patients
• Student role: Rotation is co-precepted by School of Pharmacy faculty and involves a combination of inpatient acute care and frequent visits to a cardiac rehabilitation center to do one-on-one and group medication teaching sessions; inpatient experience includes multidisciplinary rounds with physicians, PAs, NPs, RNs and social work, extensive opportunities for medication regimen review, recommendations on additional or alternative therapies to providers, admission and discharge medication reconciliation and consultation, first dose teaching, therapeutic drug monitoring
• Unique student opportunities: Daily opportunities to manage warfarin; complete patient call backs after discharge; opportunity to see a cardiac cath; teach weekly transplant medication class; attend weekly MD educational conference; approximately 10 scheduled didactic discussions; preceptor is part of code response team for the hospital – students can shadow any code called
• Typical hours: 6:30am-3pm, 40-45 hours per week based on patient care needs
• Night or weekend flexibility: Limited nights and weekends available to accommodate student needs

Cardiovascular Surgery (CVS)

• Patient population: CABG, valve repairs/replacements, heart and lung transplant, left ventricular assist device patients
• Student role: Multidisciplinary rounds with physicians, midlevel providers, nurses and social workers; extensive opportunities for medication regimen review; recommendations on additional or alternative therapies to providers; admission and discharge medication reconciliation and consultation; first dose teaching; therapeutic drug monitoring
• Unique student opportunities: Daily opportunities to manage warfarin; opportunity see a cardiac cath; teach weekly transplant medication class; attend weekly MD educational conference; approximately 10 scheduled didactic discussions; preceptor is part of code response team for the hospital; students can shadow any code called
• Typical hours: 6:30am-3pm, 40-45 hours per week based on patient care needs
• Night or weekend flexibility: Limited nights and weekends available

Central Pharmacy/Sterile Products Area

• Patient population: All patients that receive medications within the UW Hospital and Clinics system including the American Family Children’s Hospital, UW Hospital and Clinics inpatients, specialty clinics and outpatient pharmacy
• Student role: This rotation provides students the opportunity to apply skills learned in school to compound and verify a number of unique drug products at an academic medical center. Students will be evaluated for competency at the beginning of the rotation to be allowed to perform sterile compounding. Until verified, students will shadow pharmacists and technicians to gain an understanding of USP <797> standards, QA processes for sterile products and how hazardous medications are handled. Projects will involve the design of new compounding formulas, participation in ongoing improvement projects and medication safety initiatives.
• Unique student opportunities: Approximately seven didactic student discussions; shadow in OR; shadow clinic technician to understand medication distribution systems; work closely with PGY-2 medication systems and operations resident; wear scrubs daily.
• Typical hours: Flexible scheduling, eight-hour days, mostly between 6:30am and 6pm but hours are available until 11pm
• Night or weekend flexibility: Nights and weekends are available to accommodate student needs
• Minimum clerkship requirements: Complete 60-minute sterility testing one week prior to rotation start

Emergency Department

• Patient population: Diverse, fast-paced population including ACLS, acute coronary syndrome, stroke, trauma, DKA, infectious disease, seizures, DVT/PE, asthma, migraine, toxicology and spinal cord injury
• Student role: Intense environment in which students get involved in the emergent care of patients through extensive opportunities for medication regimen review; recommendations on additional or alternative therapies to providers; admission and discharge medication reconciliation and consultation; first dose teaching; participation in code responses; multiple opportunities to answer drug information questions; didactic learning based on cases seen in the ED during the rotation
• Unique student opportunities: Approximately 12 pre-planned didactic discussions in addition to interesting topics as they arise in the ED; opportunity to practice preparation of medications used emergently; attendance at ED Quality Improvement Committee meetings; weekly emergency medicine conference; weekly trauma conference
• Typical hours: 10am-6:30pm, 40-45 hours per week
• Night or weekend flexibility: Nights are available to 11pm; weekends available

General Surgery

• Patient population: Thyroid cancer, colorectal cancer, biliary cancer, pancreatic cancer, gastric bypass, ulcerative colitis/Crohns disease; TPN dependent patients; patients requiring alternative enteral access; patients presenting with an acute or chronic abdominal symptomatology/pathology requiring an abdominal procedure
• Student role: Participate in daily rounds; complete a daily review of assigned patients (problem list, pharmacotherapy, procedures, labs, vitals, enteral/parenteral access); monitor medications daily for indication, dosing, efficacy, safety/adverse effects, potential drug interactions, drug administration/compliance issues, procurement/cost considerations; communicate therapeutic recommendations to the prescriber; demonstrate ability to complete thorough admission medication histories; admission and discharge medication reconciliation; discharge patient counseling for surgery patients; coordinate efforts with social workers, discharge planners, home care agencies, pharmacies, clinics to ensure successful outpatient drug therapy and continuity of care; provide first dose counseling
• Unique student opportunities: Interact with the interdisciplinary team (including physicians, nurses, therapists, social worker and nurse case manager) several times per day; shadow experiences are available by request: pain team, diabetes management service, surgical nutrition (TPN team) and discharge medication specialist
• Typical hours/night or weekend flexibility: 6am-2:30pm or 7am-3:30pm (depending on the surgical service), with opportunities to pick up hours in the evening and/or weekends
• Minimum rotation requirements: Pharmacotherapy pearl presented to clinical rounding service; project presentation at pharmacist team meeting

Hematology/Oncology/BMT (Heme)

• Patient population: Blood cancer patients (lymphoma, leukemia and multiple myeloma), allogeneic or autologous stem cell transplant recipients, and solid tumor patients admitted for complications (student spends time in each area based on interest)
• Student role: During hematology: rounding with attending, fellow, residents, interns, medical students and nurse practitioners then interdisciplinary rounds with MDs, RN, case management, nutrition (total of approximately four hours per day rounding); during oncology: rounding with attendings often with medical fellows and residents then interdisciplinary rounds (MDs, nursing, case management, nutrition) approximately two to three hours per day; during bone marrow transplant: rounding with attendings, nurse practioners and often the hematology fellow then interdisciplinary rounds (MDs, nursing, case management, nutrition) approximately four hours per day; extensive opportunities for medication regimen review; recommendations on additional or alternative therapies to providers; admission and discharge medication reconciliation and consultation; first dose teaching; therapeutic drug monitoring
• Unique student opportunities: More than 15 scheduled topic discussions; opportunity to visit Hospice Care, Inc.; opportunity to spend time with palliative care service; will complete a journal club; opportunities to work with the pharmacy oncology coordinator attending a Chemotherapy Council Meeting; Oncology Service Line Meeting and a chemotherapy protocol review; attend Oncology Grand Rounds; opportunity to see procedures (lumbar punctures, stem cell infusions, bone marrow biopsies); opportunity to shadow in oncology clinic; spend time with PGY-2 oncology resident; student projects often are guideline development or revision; attend weekly BMT conference; attend weekly hematology conference; opportunity to attend investigational new drug conference
• Typical hours: Either 7am-3:30pm or 8am-4:30pm based on rotation, 40-45 hours per week
• Night or weekend flexibility: Limited nights and weekends available to accommodate student needs

Hospice

• Patient population: Patients with a prognosis of six months or less with a mixture of terminal diagnoses (cancer, dementia, COPD, CHF)
• Student role: Rounding with multidisciplinary team (MDs, social worker, RNs and grief counselor) daily, then seeing targeted patients with attending (one hour per day); extensive opportunities for medication regimen review; recommendations on additional or alternative therapies to providers; medication reconciliation on transfer to hospice; frequent drug information questions
• Unique student opportunities: Mix of inpatient and outpatient care; three afternoons per week are spent reviewing outpatient hospice patient care; opportunity to see patients in their homes with a nurse or physician; approximately 15 scheduled didactic discussions; opportunity to attend a mixture of administrative and clinical meetings with preceptor; assist with nursing orientation/teaching; excellent low-cost local food from an on-site chef
• Typical hours: 7:30am-4pm, 40-45 hours per week
• Night or weekend flexibility: None

Infectious Disease

• Patient population: Diverse (any inpatient treated for a multitude of infectious diseases and infectious disease complications)
• Student role: Round with ID consult team daily (three to four hours per day); team includes ID attending, fellow, residents and medical students; responsibilities include monitoring (adjusting for organ dysfunction), lab and culture follow-up, detecting Rx interactions; participate in HIV-ID clinic; present approximately one to two patient cases to preceptor daily with follow-up didactic discussion of the underlying pathology of the specific infectious disease process; present a minimum of one journal club dealing with a therapeutic controversy; perform therapeutic drug monitoring and pharmacokinetic calculations including but not limited to aminoglycosides and vancomcyin; work closely with the antimicrobial monitoring efforts and perform a review of antimicrobial use as it pertains to institutional guidelines
• Unique student opportunities: Plate rounds weekly; weekly ID conference (one-hour patient case presentation and one-hour discussion) with ID fellows and faculty; pharmacokinetic calculations and monitoring
• Typical hours: Generally 7am-4:30pm, 45-50 hrs per week
• Night or weekend flexibility: Limited, but some rounding may go until late evening

Inpatient Psychiatry (Psych)

• Patient population: Voluntary and involuntary admissions for psychiatric conditions (depression, suicidal ideation or attempt, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia); electroconvulsive therapy patients
• Student role: Multidisciplinary rounds (one to four hours per day) where patient is present with physicians, psychologist, RNs, social work, occupational therapy; extensive opportunities for medication regimen review; recommendations on additional or alternative therapies to providers; admission and discharge medication reconciliation and consultation; first dose teaching; therapeutic drug monitoring
• Unique student opportunities: Teach weekly medication class; opportunity to observe electroconvulsive therapy treatment; approximately eight scheduled didactic discussions; opportunity for a one-week rotation experience with inpatient psychology consult service; monitoring clozapine and managing clozapine registry; gain understanding of consent for inpatient psychology patients
• Typical hours: 7:30am-4pm, 40-45 hours/week
• Night or weekend flexibility: Limited nights and weekends available

Neurosurgery/Neurology Intensive Care (Neurosurgery ICU)

• Patient population: Head bleed (trauma, aneurysm rupture), stroke, brain tumor patients
• Student role: Round twice daily (one to four hours per day), first on multidisciplinary rounds (nursing, nutrition, speech/swallow, case management) then medical student teaching rounds with a critical care physician; extensive opportunities for medication regimen review; recommendations on additional or alternative therapies to providers; admission and discharge medication reconciliation and consultation; first dose teaching; therapeutic drug monitoring
• Unique student opportunities: Opportunity to watch procedures (ventriculostomy placement, intubation, line placement, EEG); formal didactic teaching with neurology experts on ventilators (using a pig lung model), EEG and nutrition support; opportunity to watch brain autopsy; approximately eight scheduled didactic discussions; opportunity to attend Neurology Grand Rounds
• Typical hours: 7am-3:30pm except during weeks with neurosurgery resident rounds, for which hours will be 8:30am-5:30pm, 40-45 hours per week
• Night or weekend flexibility: Limited nights and weekends available

Nutritional Support

• Patient population: Diverse mixture of medical and surgery patients requiring short- or long-term IV nutrition support (short bowel syndrome, ileus, small bowel obstruction, trauma, fistulas)
• Student role: Pharmacist-run consult service that manages all parental nutrition prescribed at UW Hospital and Clinics; rotation has a medical model of instruction with an attending pharmacist; student receives training and is expected to see, evaluate and make therapeutic plans on their patients independently and present them to the attending pharmacist; student will care for four to six patients on a daily basis managing macronutrients, micronutrients, insulin and fluids/electrolytes after review by attending pharmacist; protocol allows attending pharmacist to order nutrition support, fluids, electrolytes, laboratory tests, radiographic tests and calorimetry; student completes all necessary chart documentation and care planning for their patients
• Unique student opportunities: Twice weekly interdisciplinary rounds with trauma surgeon, dieticians, pharmacists on nutrition support team; opportunity to go to weekly trauma and GI Grand Rounds; opportunity to shadow feeding tube placement team or wound care team; approximately four didactic topic discussions; opportunity to attend monthly nutrition committee meeting; opportunity to shadow sterile products area; opportunity to spend time with pediatric nutrition support team (four hours per day rounding with multidisciplinary team of MDs, RNs, pharmacists, case management, child life specialist, respiratory therapist, dietician)
• Typical hours: 7am-3:30pm, 40-45 hours per week
• Night or weekend flexibility: None
• Minimum rotation requirements: Desire to practice in a hospital setting, willingness to take responsibility for patient outcomes

Operating Room

• Patient population: All patients undergoing surgical procedures in the main adult inpatient OR, Outpatient Surgical Center, Ambulatory Procedure Center and American Family Children's Hospital OR
• Student role: Shadow OR pharmacists and participate in interdisciplinary perioperative decisions; shadow technicians in all OR areas; observe at least one procedure to understand the workflow of the anesthesia staff in relation to the surgical team and pharmacy team; assist with OR pharmacist projects; optimize pre-op antibiotic regimens following the SCIP (Surgical Care Improvement Project) guidelines
• Unique student opportunities: Dual learning experience of the two major aspects of the operating room – clinical pharmacy and management of medication distribution within OR operations; attend weekly anesthesia case conference, weekly anesthesia Grand Rounds, and bimonthly Anesthesia Clinical Practice Committee; participate in the anesthesia controlled substance diversion avoidance program.
• Typical hours: 40 hours per week; flexible, either 6am-2:30pm or 11:30am-8pm; hours can vary to enable students to see the different pharmacy workflows by shift
• Night or weekend flexibility: Evenings available as above; no weekends

Pediatric Intensive Care

• Patient population: Diverse – neonates, infants, children, and adolescents admitted for a variety of conditions (DKA, congenital heart defects post-surgical correction, shock/sepsis, status asthmaticus, status epilepticus, and trauma)
• Student role: Attend team rounds with medical residents, students and attendings/fellows (two to five hours per day); extensive opportunities for medication regimen review; recommendations on additional or alternative therapies to providers; admission and discharge medication reconciliation and consultation; first dose teaching; therapeutic drug monitoring
• Unique student opportunities: Approximately three topic scheduled didactic discussions per week set up at the beginning of the rotation; weekly attendance at Pediatric Grand Rounds if applicable to pharmacy practice; students complete one journal club and one case presentation for presentation to the pharmacy team
• Typical hours: 7am-3:30pm, 40-45 hours per week
• Night or weekend flexibility: Limited nights and weekends available to accommodate student needs

Pediatric Oncology

• Patient population: Diverse – infants, children, and adolescents admitted for a variety of pediatric malignancies; students will also see patients after bone marrow transplant and with sickle cell disease; some exposure to neurology/neurosurgery patients
• Student role: Attend team rounds with medical residents, students and attendings/fellows (two to four hours per day); extensive opportunities for medication regimen review; recommendations on additional or alternative therapies to providers; admission and discharge medication reconciliation and consultation; first dose teaching; therapeutic drug monitoring
• Unique student opportunities: Approximately three topic scheduled didactic discussions per week set up at the beginning of the rotation; weekly attendance at Pediatric Grand Rounds if applicable to pharmacy practice; students complete one journal club and one case presentation for presentation to the pharmacy team or to the oncology service line
• Typical hours: 8am-4:30pm
• Night or weekend flexibility: Limited nights and weekends available to accommodate student needs

Pediatrics (Peds)

• Patient population: Diverse – neonates, infants, children, and adolescents admitted for a variety of conditions (spinal muscular atrophy, cystic fibrosis, infectious disease, pediatric surgery, diabetes, GI, hypertension, nephrology)
• Student role: Attend team rounds with medical residents, students and attendings/fellows (two to three hours per day); additional opportunities for advanced students to round with consult teams based on medical team availability; extensive opportunities for medication regimen review; recommendations on additional or alternative therapies to providers; admission and discharge medication reconciliation and consultation; first dose teaching; therapeutic drug monitoring
• Unique student opportunities: Approximately three topic scheduled didactic discussions per week set up at the beginning of the rotation; weekly attendance at Pediatric Grand Rounds if applicable to pharmacy practice; students complete one journal club and one case presentation for presentation to the pharmacy team
• Typical hours: 8am-4:30pm
• Night or weekend flexibility: Limited nights and weekends available to accommodate student needs

Radiopharmacy

• Site description: On-site radiopharmacy, providing compounded radiopharmacetuicals for use in diagnostic and therapeutic applications and in support of UW Hospital, oncology and research projects as well as out-of-hospital nuclear programs; an average of 50-70 doses/day are compounded
• Student role: Combines project-based activities with actively participating in pharmacy operations including quality control, radiopharmaceutical compounding and kit drawing; projects typically include coordinating nuclear medicine research protocols or other clinically related projects; meeting attendance with the nuclear pharmacy coordinator provides exposure to current issues surrounding the use of radiopharmaceuticals, radiation safety and drug development; meetings include UW Hospital and Clinics and VA Hospital Radiation Safety Committee, UW Radiopharmaceutical Production Taskforce, UW Radioactive Drug Research Committee, Radionucleotide Therapy Coordinating Committee, and other ad hoc task forces as they arise.
• Unique student opportunities: Observe the application in patient care of diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals; participate in weekly journal clubs with nuclear medicine physician residents; five to six field trips to GE Health, UW Hospital and Clinics Radiation Therapy, Cardinal Health, an independent nuclear pharmacy, and a commercial cyclotron to observe and appreciate different nuclear pharmacy practice sites; attend weekly nuclear medicine/radiology lectures with nuclear medicine physician residents; obtain 300 hours of credit toward the 4,000-hour experience requirement to sit for the Nuclear Pharmacy Specialty Certification Exam; gain competence in the basic mathematics of nuclear pharmacy including radioactive decay calculations, concentration and dose/volume calculations, and pediatric dose adjustment calculations; gain an understanding of radiation and its biological effects.
• Typical hours: 6:30am-3:30pm, 40-45 hours per week
• Night or weekend flexibility: None
• Minimum requirements: Must have completed Medical Imaging for Pharmacists 611 and Radiopharmaceuticals 612

Specialty Surgery (Gyn/Onc)

• Patient population: Breast cancer, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, head and neck cancer, prostate cancer, bladder cancer; any patients presenting with an acute or chronic symptomatology/pathology requiring procedures to meet the specialties of gynecology/oncology, otolaryngology, urology, and plastic surgery
• Student role: Participate in daily rounds; complete a daily review of assigned patients (problem list, pharmacotherapy, procedures, labs, vitals, enteral/parenteral access); monitor medications daily for indication, dosing, efficacy, safety/adverse effects, potential drug interactions, drug administration/compliance issues, procurement/cost considerations; communicate therapeutic recommendations to the prescriber; demonstrate ability to complete thorough admission medication histories; admission and discharge medication reconciliation; discharge patient counseling for specialty surgery patients; coordinate efforts with social workers, discharge planners, home care agencies, pharmacies, clinics to ensure successful outpatient drug therapy and continuity of care; provide first dose counseling
• Unique student opportunities: Interact with the interdisciplinary team (including physicians, nurses, therapists, social worker and nurse case manager) several times per day; shadow experiences are available by request: pain team, diabetes management, surgical nutrition (TPN team) and discharge medication specialist
• Typical hours/night or weekend flexibility: 7am-3:30pm, with opportunities to pick up hours in the evening and/or weekends
• Minimum rotation requirements: Pharmacotherapy pearl presented to clinical rounding service; project presentation at pharmacist team meeting 

Non-Patient Care

Drug Policy (Center for Medication Use Policy)

• Student role: This is primarily a project based rotation where students prepare one or more drug evaluations for Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee consideration, develop skills in evaluation of biomedical literature, attend P&T Committee, Drug Product Selection and Supply Committee, Technology Assessment Committee and Medication Use Evaluation Committee meetings, assist in the development of new clinical practice tools, process Adverse Drug Reaction reports to prescribing physicians and possibly MedWatch.
• Expected outcomes: Develop an understanding of the role of applied medication use policy in the health care environment; develop and demonstrate written and verbal communication skills; develop and demonstrate fundamental project management skills; develop a systematic approach for providing drug information services; gain an understanding of the role and management of a hospital formulary
• Unique student opportunities: Assist as teaching assistant for drug literature evaluation course at the school of pharmacy; attendance at a variety of meetings as developed during a weekly calendar review
• Typical hours: Monday through Friday, 7am to 5pm

Medication Safety

• Student role: This is a primarily a project-based rotation where students gain experience and understanding of the duties of a medication safety officer at an academic medical center. The student will participate in the review and follow-up of reported patient safety concerns to assist in the development of processes to prevent future medication errors. Twice weekly the student will review meetings to attend with the medication safety officer. Meetings typically include: Healthcare Event Evaluation Team, Medication Safety Committee, P&T Committee, Emergency Management Committee, Medication Safety Rounds, and Pharmacy Department Management.
• Expected outcomes: Gain a thorough understanding on the causes of medication errors, role of pharmacy management in managing medication safety events; develop and implement systems that identify, measure and manage the incidence of medication errors and adverse drug events (ADEs) and the clinical and economic implications; develop systems for improving the safety of the medication use process through identifying actual and potential system risks and implementing programs to prevent their recurrence
• Unique student opportunities: Rotation content is highly applicable to any future pharmacy career and is an evolving topic and growing area of need for trained pharmacists; work closely with the two-year Medication Systems and Operations resident; approximately five scheduled didactic discussions including one with the nursing project manager–IV technology coordinator on smart pumps; other topics include emergency preparedness and UW Hospital and Clinics patient safety programs; exposure to the management of smart infusion pumps and how drug libraries are managed by the pharmacy department
• Typical hours: Monday through Friday, eight hours per day; hours vary from 8am to 5pm

Pharmaceutical Research Center

• Student role: This rotation provides the student with experience in clinical study drug management through the following activities:
• Participation in research related meetings
• Participation in a minimum of six didactic teaching sessions with a primary preceptor
• Creation of investigational drug informational materials
• Observation of study drug preparation
• Preparation of a study procedures document
• Shadowing opportunities (research pharmacy staff and clinical research staff)
• Participation in research patient daily reports and other assigned tasks
• Expected outcomes:
• Develop an understanding of the operation of a pharmacy-based investigational drug service in a large academic medical center
• Gain exposure to the feasibility, regulatory and ethical issues surrounding clinical drug research and the expanding role of the clinical pharmacist in research protocol management
• Unique student opportunities:
• Attendance at multidisciplinary research committee meetings including the UW Health Sciences Institutional Review Board, UW Hospital and Clinics Research Safety Committee, Pharmaceutical Research Center, UW Hospital and Clinics Clinical Research Unit Protocol Review Committee, and University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center Meetings
• Exposure to pharmaceutical industry representatives with regard to auditing and monitoring functions
• Shadowing opportunities
• Writing opportunities (investigational drug monographs, preparation instructions and workflow procedure documents)
• Exposure to and participation in a non-traditional pharmacy practice
• Typical hours: Monday through Friday, eight hours per day; hours vary from 8am to 5pm

Pharmacy Informatics 

• Student role: This rotation is primarily a project based rotation. The projects often involve leading a medication safety or informatics related initiative with a multidisciplinary team. Students also attend meetings with UW Hospital and Clinics Information Technology Services and Pharmacy Department leadership, to gain an understanding of the principles of:
• Medication management
• Health information data-legal and ethical issues
• Pharmacy & other health care workflows
• Best practice and decision support
• Drug distribution and systems support
• Robotics/bar code technology
• Computerized prescriber order entry
• Smart technology
• System interfaces
• Medication use process
• Expected outcomes: Informatics is a growing area of pharmacy practice and the medication safety implications are tremendous. After this clerkship students should be able to:
• Define how use of an electronic medical record can be used to deliver optimal medication related care to a patient
• Review how clinical practice and information technology services are integrated
• Unique student opportunities: Attend off-site meetings, visits, and other integrated events as they arise. This rotation provides students the opportunity to understand:
• How clinical pharmacy practice is integrated into an IT department
• Team structure and management
• Vendor relationships and knowledge exchange
• Project planning
• Information technology regulatory requirements
• Typical hours: Monday through Friday business hours

Unity Health – Pharmacy Benefit Management/Managed Care

• Student role: This is primarily a project-based rotation where students gain experience and understanding of managed care and pharmacy benefit management concepts. Students will attend a variety of meetings with the Manager of Unity’s pharmacy services program whom oversees all managed care and PBM services and contracts as well as the UW Health Clinic Administered Medication Policy Committee.
• Expected outcomes: The student will obtain a thorough working knowledge of the concepts and processes behind managing a pharmacy benefit for a managed care organization.
• Unique student opportunities: Unique opportunity to participate in an area of pharmacy practice not open to many students; significant number of one-on-one discussions with preceptor and clinical staff
• Typical hours: Monday through Friday, eight hours per day, business hours