Student Exchange: UK (2010), US (2010), US (2012), USC (2014)
International Student Clinical Exchange Programme 2012
School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California
by Ms. Wong Yu Yeung
Introduction
Being a clinical pharmacist has long been my career dream to be. I believe this proactive role to offer bedside support to patients and initiate interactions between health care professionals is one of the beauties of the pharmacy profession. Knowing the fact that United States of America is one of the countries adopting advanced clinical pharmacy practices, I endeavor to broaden my horizons with first hand exposures there. This Pharmacy Exchange Programme provides the precious opportunity for me to compare on the practices between Hong Kong and the United States and exchange ideas with the locals there. Furthermore, the University of Southern California Pharmacy School is one of the forerunners in the establishment of a comprehensive clinical curriculum. Having an exchange programme enables me to have a chance to get an exposure to their clinical practices in their community and hospital settings.
In June this year, 7 of us (Alex, Elmo, Andy, Carlos, Tracy, Winki and I) took part in the programme and it turns out to be a fruitful andmemorable experience for us. The two weeks programme included lectures, campus tours, hospital and clinic visits, safety net clinic rotations and social activities organized by the pharmacy students in the USC.
Lectures
Prof. Wincor gave two lectures to prepare us for the safety net clinic rotations in the second week of our programme. The first topic was on writing SOAP notes – “Subjective, Objective, Assessment and Plan”. We only merely touched on SOAP note in our year 2 programmes so the lecture gave us a brief idea on formulating a writing note for a patient. The second topic was on counseling skill. Not only had we gone through crucial aspects of a counseling session, but the sequence of putting forward the relevant information. A very important bring home message is to tell the goodness of drug before stating the bad things of it. After all, it is hard for a patient to believe the medication can help him/her when his/her mind is full of side effects of the drugs.
How’s School Life? – Presentation
PharmD students from USC and we exchanged bits and bites of our school lives. My favourite part of their programme is that they practise in pharmacies throughout their four-year programme. So by the end of their study, they have already gained a lot of on hand experience. The same practice is hard to be done in Hong Kong due to our packed learning schedule and that we can only work as volunteer or part-time workers in hospital, community pharmacies or pharmaceutical companies during summer vacation. USC members seemed to be very interested in the college system of CUHK and we had a long chat on this topic. It is very nice to know how pharmacists are trainned in the other side of the world.
One Week Rotation – Safety Net Clinics
At first, we only expected we would be interacting with American pharmacy students or pharmacists. It turned out to be a much more “international” combination that allowed even more extensive exchange of ideas.
There were two postgraduate students from Taiwan having their 6 weeks clinical exchange programme in USC. From them we picture that Taiwan is also on their way towards clinical pharmacy practice other than merely dispensing. The awareness of the importance of pharmacist in the healthcare system has been raised. I am impressed to know that this is somewhat similar with what is happening in Hong Kong.
Two French girls, in their research programme carried out in USC joined some of our lectures and campus tours. From them we know that pharmacy students in France mostly choose research and industry as their career path. This surprised me as this is very different with the situation we have in Hong Kong which most of us want to work in a hospital after our graduation.
Much more “International” than expected
In the second week of the programme, we rotated in different safety net clinics. We were divided into small groups and showed up in assigned clinics. We shadowed the pharmacist there to see their routine job. For the previous exchange programmes, student went to hospitals as their rotations but this year we get a chance to see the practice of safety net clinics. Knowing that we are the first batch of students having rotations in safety net clinics, I felt really exciting and eager to learn as much as I could in the actual sites. We saw pharmacists performing regular follow-up counseling on patients with chronic diseases such as diabetics, hypertension and cholesterol. Moreover, during my rotations, I always witness physicians approached pharmacists once they encountered any medication related problem. This tight relationship between physicians and pharmacists amazed me.
What is Safety Net Clinics?
The term Safety Net Clinic started to gain publicity since 2005 as the primer clinic set up in California. In the States, almost all people have their medical fee paid by insurance. However, there are still some low-income groups which fall out of the insurance net. In these cases, safety net clinics offer medical service regardless of patients’ ability to pay. Patients normally walk out the clinic with their medications with a very low price or even free of charge. These clinics are also sponsored by some drug manufacturers that drugs are provided at a non-profit making price.
Language Barrier – ¡no hablo español!
Many patients in the safety net clinics were Spanish speakers. Most of the counseling sessions were done in Spanish and that was a huge challenge for us. Fortunately, pharmacists there were very nice that they translated key counseling points. My shallow background on Spanish courses in CUHK also helped me through the hurdle. One unforgettable moment was me with the two Taiwanese pharmacists learning basic Spanish counseling words inside the dispensary room of the clinic. We role played to practise phrases like “para la presion. (This is for your pressure.) ”; “una capsula. (One capsule).”; “Dos veces al dia. (Two time daily.)”
My Very First Dispensing
Pharmacists there were very friendly and willing to teach us. They taught us how to present a patient. I even got the chance to dispense medications to patients under a pharmacist’s supervision. The fact that my first real dispensing occurred in the United States is an exciting and unforgettable experience for me!
Social Activities with PharmD Students
PharmD students also brought us to experience the America! We took part in a LA Art Walk which buildings in Los Angeles lend out their places once a month for artists to display their art works. It is a really good way to support art. Another exciting one was the Dodger’s Game. I thought roughly a million people clamped into the stadium to watch the baseball game! Knowing very little about the game rules, I initially thought it might be boring for me but the atmosphere was so intense that I enjoyed the game so much eventually. Other highlights were boogie boarding in Santa Monica, mouth watering meal in an Italian restaurant and an exciting afternoon in Science Museum to explore advanced technology and admire the nature.
Conclusion
This exchange programme was an unforgettable experience for me. I am sure that what I saw and learnt in this trip prepares me as a professional pharmacist after graduation from CUHK.
