San Jose Clinic Pharmacy #7

My time in the pharmacy this week was hectic. When I first stepped in the clinic, I was asked to help out with filling prescriptions. It was only 8:30am and there were close to 50 prescriptions piling up in the printer. So, immediately I went to do as many as I can to cut down the pile...the pharmacist I was working with seemed a bit agitated by something (I soon found out that this was due to the drug manufacturers not sending the medications for our patients on timely manner). To make matter worse, the pharmacy itself did not have enough medication in stocks to dispense out to our patients. This was a major obstacle for us and as a result slowed us down tremendously. On the other hand, the line in the front of the pharmacy was starting to form around the corner (NOT A GOOD SIGN). I definitely see the importance of being patient and calm as a pharmacist - because situations like this can be seen in any pharmacies across America. Working at San Jose Clinic, also allows for me to see how fortunate I am to work in a pharmacy with up to date technology. San Jose computer system is a bit old, many tasks seem to be repetitive and very inefficient. I often seen many errors that could have been avoided if they have a better system in place. In fact, I believe the role of the pharmacist at San Jose is more critical in order to maintain correct prescription production. I believe my role at San Jose is important, because it acts as a checkpoint to ensure that certain medications are being dispensed properly.

San Jose Clinic Pharmacy #6

Today was extremely busy! I arrived at San Jose and there were tons of packages from the Pharmacy Assistance Program waiting for me to check in the inventory sheets. For once, I think my mouth was glued shut! Only to look up to greet the incoming patients or saying hi to the pharmacy staffs. Checking these medications in are very important to maintain an efficient program to disburse medications for the patients in the pharmacy. As I continue to make my ways down the huge pile of medications, I began to notice a long line forming in front of the pharmacy. Suddenly, the pace of the pharmacy sped up quickly and the pharmacist asked for me to help her dispensed some medications for the waiting patients ASAP! It was in the "production" stage, a pharmacy term that describes a stage of counting the medications before it is verified by the pharmacist for drug interactions, that I realized San Jose pharmacy is running on an ancient system of dispensing medications! Moreover, I found the system to be quite repetitive and inefficient. For example: scripts are not scanned into the computer beforehand (so that the pharmacist can catch any mistake a technician might have made, thus revision can be made before the labels are printed) and there is no automated pills counter (very useful in case of dispensing over 100 pills). I found myself counting 240 - 360 pills by hand on a small pill counter platform! Thus, it is critical for the technicians and pharmacists to be 100% accurate in dispensing medication at San Jose since there are no "checkpoints" established like what you will find in retail or hospital pharmacies.

San Jose Clinic Pharmacy #5

Due to Fall Break, I switched my Wednesday volunteering day to Friday. So on Friday, I was able to work with Tony in the pharmacy and we worked together on the incoming inventory for the Pharmacy Assistance Program. Afterward, Tony was instructed to check on expired medications while I was filling prescriptions. While filling prescriptions, I was able to talk to another volunteer there - who actually finished her medical school and currently working on her residency. However, she has to request for a year off due to her father's health. I learned from her that working as a pharmacy technician has great benefits, in her situation, it helps her grew thick skin and the ability to deal with patients in tough situation. Moreover, she felt working in the pharmacy allowed her to learn more about medications that medical school often times rushed through. She highly recommends all pre-medical students or pre-pharmacy students to look toward this position in their undergraduate years to build up their characters for his or her future health profession.

San Jose Clinic Pharmacy # 4

I was able to squeeze in my volunteering hours at San Jose this week in between mid-terms. I continue to help the pharmacy staff out with the Pharmacy Assistance Program. I also learned that two other Cell classmates are also volunteering pharmacy: Truc Le and Tony Hetemi. Tony will start his volunteering next week with me, I'm excited because I will have to opportunity to have someone to talk to and of course share the load work with :) I learned that Tony has some pharmacy background in Kosovo, before he came to the United States. I'm very interested to learn from his experience and knowledge of pharmacy field.

I had a flashback moment while volunteering this week, I was helping counting this medication that I used to take for my arrhythmia for my heart problem. I realized how far I have come since my heart surgery and the amount of gratitude I had for the doctors and nurses that took care of me. I am also grateful for the financial support I received from the Texas CHIP program. I don't think my parents could have afforded the cost of my opened heart surgery without this important program. I think knowing this early in my childhood has helped me to have empathy for people that are uninsured or under-privileged. San Jose Clinic is definitely helping me to give back to the community and act as a stepping stone for my future in giving back.

San Jose Clinic Pharmacy #3

I continue to work on the Pharmacy Assistance Program again this week in the pharmacy. I checked in about 25 packages of medication (each package may have up to 5 different medications). After an hour of PAP work, Dominga (pharmacy tech) led me to an area where we store patient's medication (each patient have a bin) to show me the procedure of pull expired medications out of these bins. Next, she showed me another section for patient's medication except this area consists of hanging plastic bags with patient's name. I found out that Ryan Kahl (former UST student - 2010) was the one that came up with this system for the clinic. Actually that was an understatement, Ryan is an amazing worker here in the pharmacy. Although I have never met Ryan, I knew right away that he is someone I can look toward to as a role model. Ryan volunteers at San Jose Clinic - Pharmacy when he was doing the service-learning project for Cell Biology. Although the class is over, Ryan continues to volunteer in the clinic at least twice a week. According to the pharmacist in charge (Sandy), Ryan is a permanent member of the pharmacy and his work is very important in helping the pharmacy run smooth!

Near the end of my volunteer time, I was able to speak with Sandy about the field of pharmacy and the emerging role of the pharmacist in the health field. I was able to get a lot of information from her and of course her opinion and point of view as a pharmacist. I also found out she was a former UST student for a year before she transferred to Texas A&M. Overall, this week volunteering is very inspirational and I will strive to be more like Ryan!