New Practitioner Experience News Fall 2022
OPA New Practitioner Experience (NPX) Committee LaunchpadFall 2022 |
Welcome to the NPX Launchpad
Welcome to the Fall 2022 edition of the NPX Launchpad, the quarterly newsletter intends to help you, a new practitioner, excel personally and professionally!
Check out our featured articles:
- New Practitioner Profile
- Harm Reduction: The Newest Kid on the Block
- Can I Get My COVID-19 Booster Now?
- A Taste of Our Kitchen
- Pharmacy Trivia
- News & Upcoming Events
We hope you enjoy the NPX Launchpad and we invite each of you to take the next step in your professional growth by getting involved with NPX today!
Sincerely, your NPX Advisory Team,
Chair: Nira Kadakia, R.Ph., PharmD, BCACP
Vice-Chair: Megan (Stephan) Hull, R.Ph., PharmD, BCACP
Member-at-Large: Morgan Behan, R.Ph., PharmD, BCACP
Member-at-Large: Kay Hoopes, R.Ph., PharmD
Member-at-Large: Korie Maryo, R.Ph., PharmD
Launchpad Coordinator: Rebecca Lahrman, R.Ph., PharmD, MS, BCACP
New Practitioner Profile
Jace Swingle, R.Ph., PharmD
What is your current position and where do you work?
Currently, I am a Clinical Packaging and Supplies Specialist at Medpace in Cincinnati, as well as a part-time Community Pharmacist at Ruwe Family Pharmacy in Northern Kentucky.
In my position at Medpace, I work with a team of pharmacists and colleagues from other various backgrounds to manage the investigational drug supply chain. My team works globally with clinical supply vendors on almost all steps to get investigational drugs from the manufacturer to clinical study sites. The main goal of our team is to prevent clinical supply chain and patient dosing interruptions, leading to continuity of care and a seamless clinical trial.
Ruwe Family Pharmacy is a small family owned community pharmacy consisting of three locations in Northern Kentucky. Our focus is complex community pharmacy, providing patient adherence packaging and services for assisted living and group home patients.
Harm Reduction: The Newest Kid on the Block
By Erin Garrison, PharmD Candidate, OSU 2023
While on rotation back in September, I saw an adolescent patient seeking medication-assisted treatment for her opioid addiction. She elucidated that she may not hang around positive influences to support her recovery, as some of these people still actively use drugs. After having this conversation with her, I encouraged her to take some fentanyl test strips and introduced her to the SOAR Initiative’s app - just one of the free services allowing her direct access to harm reduction strategies. Recovery is not linear, and she was agreeable that harm reduction is important for keeping her friends safe.
The opioid epidemic has been a long battle for Ohio and has only been exacerbated since the eruption of COVID-19. The presence of fentanyl in our community is concerning. Two Ohio State University students passed earlier this year after buying what they believed were study drugs, but were in fact pressed pills made with fentanyl. However, this is not just an issue plaguing students. Overdoses can happen at any age and in all corners of Ohio. Harm reduction tools, such as fentanyl test strips, are crucial to improving awareness and safety as fentanyl becomes increasingly prevalent.
Can I Get My COVID-19 Booster Now?
By Brandon Christen, PharmD Candidate, Cedarville University 2023, September OPA APPE Student
As pharmacists, it is important for us to remember that the effort we put into each patient interaction can sometimes mean just as much, if not more, than the end result. The following patient care scenario occurred in August of this year at a vaccine clinic in an assisted-living facility. An older adult patient had come in for her fifth dose of COVID-19 vaccine, but did not have her vaccine card with her, and we did not have immediate access to a computer to view her vaccination history on the statewide immunization registry. To make matters worse, we did not have the information from her pre-registration paperwork. In lieu of any sources verifying her vaccine history, the pharmacist overseeing the clinic called several pharmacies where she had gotten her previous doses, which took nearly half an hour. It was evident that the patient was getting more and more exasperated with each phone call, claiming that the system was incredibly broken. While the pharmacist urged her to stay, the patient said that she would contact her pharmacy herself. She thanked the pharmacist for going “above and beyond” to help her get her vaccine, even if she was not able to actually administer it.
A Taste of Our Kitchen
Crockpot White Chicken Chili Recipe
By Kay Hoopes, R.Ph., PharmD
Ingredients:
- 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken
- 1 can (15 oz) great northern beans
- 1 can (15 oz) kidney beans
- 1 can (15 oz) corn
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 1 can (4.5 oz) rotel – tomatoes & chilies
- 1 can (~10 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup
- 14 oz chicken broth
- ½ cup heavy cream or whole milk (could also use sour cream)
- Salt and pepper PRN
- Shredded cheese, sour cream and chives for serving (optional)
Directions:
- Place chicken in crockpot
- Top with beans, corn and rotel
- In a medium bowl, mix taco seasoning, condensed soup, and chicken broth
- Pour over ingredients in the crockpot
- Season with salt and pepper as desired
- Cover and cook on low ~6-8 hours pending how chicken is cut
- Pull out chicken, shred and return to pot
- Add in ½ cup cream or milk and allow to cook an additional 30 minutes
- Serve topped with shredded cheese, sour cream, chives, etc., if desired
Pharmacy Trivia
True or False?
By T’Bony Jewell, R.Ph., PharmD
From 2008-2019, the vaccination rate for measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) in adolescents aged 13-17 was higher in those who identified as “at or above the poverty level” as compared to those who identified as “below the poverty level”.
Answer: False
Something I found interesting was the fact that those who identify as above the poverty level had lower vaccination rates. There are likely several confounders to this statistic,such that Medicaid may cover MMR vaccination for those below the poverty level, whereas other plans may not cover this vaccine.
Source: CDC Table 32. Vaccination coverage for selected diseases among adolescents aged 13–17 years, by selected characteristics: United States, selected years 2008–2018
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/2019/032-508.pdf
News & Upcoming Events
On-demand February 13 thru April 30,layout_interior_details,_blank
Professionals never stop learning. That’s especially true in pharmacy compounding, where laws, regs and standards are constantly changing. Your reputation—and your patients’ safety—depends on your keeping current, on knowing the right thing to do and doing it consistently. And that’s true for pharmacists and technicians alike.
That’s the focus of EduCon 2023: Best Practices in Compounding—helping you and your team polish your expertise so you can practice with high competence and integrity.
Get Involved with the Launchpad Newsletter
Help contribute to the next Launchpad newsletter! Articles may be submitted for Pharmacy Trivia, Rx Impact, Financial Future, A Taste of Our Kitchen, and Ohio Days. Have an idea for another article relevant to students and new practitioners? You can submit that as well!
Sign up for upcoming articles HERE.
Articles should be submitted in a Word document to Rebecca Lahrman at lahrman.6@osu.edu. Photographs for articles should be submitted as attachments for higher quality reproduction. Thank you!