Reflection #1: Erica Lee, PharmD Candidate 2019
Professor Klotz lectured about the history of pharmacy. He mentioned that everything we are learning in pharmacy school is nothing new. Physical assessment has always been used in pharmacy, but it depended on whether the pharmacists utilized the skills or not. In addition, pharmacists also were respected in the hospital environment. Professor Klotz also mentioned that everything is leaning towards accreditation because insurance companies do not want to be liable for issues health practitioners cause. One keeper idea that really stood out to me was to work at a hospital. The changes are the fastest because care from hospitals are pretty costly. In order to reduce the financial loss, hospitals implement changes as soon as possible. I have been applying to inpatient positions and I hope to be accepted at some point. I want to be able to apply the knowledge and skills from lecture in a clinical setting. I also feel that being able to retain the skills are important because these skills may be the new requirements for a pharmacist to be hired.
Reflection#2: Uyen Truong, PharmD Candidate 2019
Today Professor Klotz came in to talk to us about the history of pharmacy and his experiences throughout pharmacy. He told us many engaging stories. For example, when he was still in high school, he was working in the pharmacy when a woman came in looking for a laxative. Right when he was about to give it to her, the pharmacist stopped him and told him to observe her. So he did. When he came back, the pharmacist asked him if he noticed anything. It turned out the woman was pregnant and that the laxative he was about to give her was actually contraindicated for pregnant women. He told many more stories to enlighten us about the practice of pharmacy.
During his presentation he also gave us some pointers for our career. One that stuck to me the most was to watch and observe the patients. Professor Klotz was explaining to us how patient hasn’t been stressed as much lately. As a health professional, our main goal is to help people. In order to help someone, you need to be observant. Like his example, if we aren’t observant, someone can become seriously ill. That is why I want to observe anyone that I help before giving them a recommendations.