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Long-Term Care Pharmacy Mentorship Rena Leong Walking up the seemingly never-ending stairs to Laguna Honda Hospital, I started to get increasingly nervous. Though I have been to this senior nursing home numerous times before, it would be my first time meeting my RAMPS mentor. She seemed nice via email, but I was still a little worried about meeting such a distinguished pharmacist. Once I met my mentor, Dr. Michelle Fouts, my qualms were quickly eased. She was very amiable and easy to talk to. After basic “getting to know you” conversation, she explained her position as a long-term care pharmacist. Her daily activities include reviewing charts, rounding the floors and providing discharge patient education. She usually covers six units with approximately 20 residents each. Rounds include visits to the skilled nursing units twice a week and long-term care units every other week. One aspect of Dr. Fouts’ career that especially surprised me was that she monitors short-term-stay patients at Laguna Honda. My previous experiences with this long-term care facility led me to believe that only terminal patients stayed there. However, during my visit, I had the opportunity to accompany Dr. Fouts as she counseled one of her discharged patients. The consultation was short, but the patient was appreciative and happy to go home. Dr. Fouts is passionate about caring for the geriatric population and loves working with her patients. Furthermore, she emphasizes that this specialty provides a very personalized therapy. In addition to efficacy of medication, one must also tailor treatment to fit the patients’ ages, other disease states and most importantly, their quality of life. Therefore, her job entails a lot of close monitoring and dosage adjusting. Laguna Honda hospital is also a rotation site for fourth-year pharmacy students. As a preceptor, Dr. Fouts requires the students to review charts, counsel discharge patients, monitor adverse reactions, participate in quality assurance projects and assess formularies. The rotation has a lot of diverse opportunities to offer as well as flexible hours. However, effective time management is a must. Through this mentorship, I have learned a lot about the long term care specialty and was able to network with great people. Dr. Fouts continues to be an excellent resource and I am looking forward to meeting with her again. Rena Leong is a second-year pharmacy student. | ||
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