by Krista Jones and Nick Walsh
Krista Jones and Nick Walsh are fourth-year pharmacy students who completed their first patient care rotation at the Sault Area Hospital. Krista was supervised by preceptor Kaitlin Fleury, and Nick was supervised by preceptors Amy McMann and Alana Brescacin.
When we arrived at the Sault Area Hospital to begin our clinical rotations, the final stage of our journey to becoming fully fledged pharmacists, we could not have predicted what was in store. COVID-19 has thrown the world into disarray, and health care providers across the nation are working tirelessly to care for the ill and to protect their communities in this time of need. As future pharmacists, we are devoted to serving and benefitting our patients and the public. With priorities shifting to prepare for the virus’s arrival, our educational experience has become quite unique. Here are some of the ways that we, as pharmacy students, have been able to support our pharmacy department, hospital, and patients during these uncertain times:
- We have researched and appraised existing literature on experimental treatments for COVID-19. A summary of the evidence was compiled in a presentation to be given to pharmacy staff, and tables summarizing the dosing, adverse effects, and monitoring parameters of these medications were developed as a reference tool.
- We assisted in selecting medications to be supplied in the second Emergency Department and second Intensive Care Unit created in order to support the hospital’s division into “hot” and “cold” zones. This task required us to judge which medications were most necessary to support critically ill patients and balance increased demand with limited stock.
- We have performed medication reviews for patients expected to be transferred to a field hospital if the situation escalates, in accordance with the hospital’s emergency preparedness plan. Special attention was paid to switching patients to medications that would be supplied at the field hospital, as well as de-prescribing medications which may no longer have been necessary.
- We spent a day in the dispensary making crash cart kits for use in resuscitation. Components were individually packaged in plastic to allow unused medications to be sanitized and re-incorporated into future kits thereby helping to preserve our supply of critical medications. We made extra kits to prepare for the anticipated rise in Code Blue calls expected to accompany COVID-19.
- We reviewed reports of nebule usage in patients throughout the hospital, and encouraged discontinuation or replacement with metered dose inhalers in as many patients as possible. This measure enhanced the safety of patients and staff, as aerosols from nebulized medications promote the spread of the virus.
Our placements at Sault Area Hospital may be vastly different from what we expected, but the knowledge we have gained and the skills we have developed are no less valuable. It has been a privilege to assist the pharmacy team and continue to care for our patients during the pandemic. We appreciate the efforts of our preceptors, Sault Area Hospital, and the University of Waterloo which have enabled us to continue with our placements. This has been a once (hopefully) in a lifetime opportunity.