PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Preceptors
Preceptors and Rotations
Ambulatory Care
Melanie Berry, PharmD, BCACP
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Ambulatory Care
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Training:
- Pharmacy School: University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO
- PGY1 Community Pharmacy Residency: Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH
- PGY2 Ambulatory Care Residency: Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA
Primary Area of Practice: Ambulatory Care-HIV and HIV prevention
Approach to providing feedback to learners:
I give feedback on-demand and scheduled intervals. On-demand feedback allows for development in specific areas in real time in order to develop skills in a specific area. Weekly scheduled feedback provides the resident a time for further self-evaluation and review of overall skills to develop week to week. I feel like this combination is essential to produce an independent resident during the rotation.
Sulgi Chae, PharmD
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Ambulatory Care
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Sulgi
Training:
- Pharmacy School: Northeastern University, Boston, MA
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: Providence Health, Olympia, QA
- PGY2 Pain/Palliative Care Residency: University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
Primary Area of Practice: Ambulatory Care-Chronic Pain, Palliative Care, Opioid Stewardship
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
As palliative/pain management may be a new area of pharmacy practice to most residents, the rotation will start with the first step, instruction. Prior to direct patient care, we will work through topic discussions with case questions to review opioid conversion, titration and philosophy of palliative/hospice care. Then, depending on the resident and preceptor's comfort level, the resident can shadow or independently work up assigned patients. The preceptor will coach to validate and/or correct their thought process. At the end of the rotation, the resident will be responsible for independent review, communication, conducting interdisciplinary visits under the facilitating preceptor.
How often do you meet with the learner while they are on rotation:
I meet with the resident daily meet in person and/or virtually in the morning to pre-round on patients for the clinic. I am additionally available throughout the day in person, via telephone, and emails to answer questions, discuss patients, and address any issues. I will also meet with the residency biweekly for evaluation and feedback. The resident and preceptor will schedule an independent time throughout the week for topic discussions and mentorship.
Vivian Cheng, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Ambulatory Care
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Vivian
Training:
- Pharmacy School: University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy, Chapel Hill, NC
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System, Aurora, CO
- PGY2 Ambulatory Care Residency: University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy, Aurora, CO
Primary Area of Practice: Ambulatory Care-Primary Care
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
- Instructing: Residents will participate in activities including but not limited to topic discussions, journal clubs, drug information questions, and case presentations. The resident will be expected to prepare and lead these activities, and I will instruct by filling in missing pieces. I adjust my expectations for the capacity for independent learning based on the individual resident's performance and where they are in their residency curriculum.
- Modeling: During the first few days of rotation, the resident will shadow me as I see patients, communicate with providers, and document notes. I adjust the duration of shadowing to the resident's learning style and comfort level, since some prefer a more hands-on approach whereas others may prefer a longer time shadowing. Once the resident feels more confident, I will challenge them to become more independent.
- Coaching: I tend to transition quickly from modeling to coaching to help fine-tune residents' skills and help them gain confidence by providing timely constructive feedback. I also use case-based discussions to practice higher-level critical thinking and thinking-on-the-spot. I place a heavy emphasis on creating safe learning environments, and this is especially important with coaching since the learner is moving towards independence but may still need guidance.
- Facilitating: By the end of a rotation, I expect residents to be able to function mostly independently and have my role transition to a facilitator. I adjust the expected degree of independence based on individual performances and the resident's own goals for the learning experience. Though the goal is for the resident to achieve autonomy and self-guided reflection, I will always be available for support throughout the rotation.
Approach to setting expectations and delivering feedback to learners:
I send an email before their rotation instructing them to come prepared for the first day with 2-3 goals for the rotation. Knowing their goals helps me reframe my expectations for them and better customize their learning experience. Additionally, I set aside time on day one of rotation to discuss roles and expectations. It is important to discuss expectations for both the resident and the preceptor. We review the residents' learning style to better adjust my teaching style to maximize their rotation experience. I also ask learners how often they like to receive feedback.
Anthony Ishak, PharmD, BCP
Clinical Pharmacist, Ambulatory Care
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Anthony
Training:
- Pharmacy School: University of Maryland, Baltimore, MA
Primary Area of Practice: Primary Care / Internal Medicine
Approach to providing feedback to your learners:
I meet with the resident daily when they are on rotation with me. At the beginning of the session, it is to review clinic schedule and follow-up that we have due that day, at the end of the day it is about identifying moments that were done well and how to improve on areas that did not. At the end of the week, we meet to give feedback on what topics/projects are being worked on, what went well that week and what didn’t. At the midpoint, we do a formal evaluation and identify what needs to be done to get “higher marks” along with self-evaluation. I would document mid-point, self-evaluation, key “a-ha” moments along with if there is a consistent trouble area.
Katelyn Smith, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Ambulatory Care
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Katelyn
Training:
- Pharmacy School: Northeastern University, Boston, MA
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL
Primary Area of Practice: Ambulatory Care-General Cardiology
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
- Instructing: Throughout the rotation, residents will participate in many learning activities including topic discussions, journal clubs and drug information inquiries. While the resident is expected to prepare for each of these instructional sessions, as a preceptor I will help to facilitate the discussion and add additional thoughts and points of information as needed.
- Modeling: A large part of this ambulatory care rotation is patient counseling. During the first week or two of the rotation, I like to model what a typical counseling session looks like for the resident, and will have the resident observe the first few sessions. We then discuss how to properly counsel a patient and, once the resident feels comfortable, I allow them to do these counseling sessions independently.
- Coaching: Providing feedback is a very important facet of the resident/preceptor relationship. Throughout the rotation, there will be constant coaching both formally and informally. I always provide feedback during a formal midpoint and final meeting, and also provide daily to weekly informal feedback as necessary.
- Facilitating: Throughout the rotation, I like to help the resident facilitate an independent relationship with the multidisciplinary care team. I encourage residents to reach out to providers, either verbally or over email, on their own and also encourage residents to take the lead in discussions with nursing staff, other pharmacists, and any students (if applicable).
How often do you meet with the learner while they are on rotation:
During our ambulatory care rotation, I meet with the resident daily. We will typically touch base early in the morning to review our scheduled patients for the day. During this meeting, we discuss the patients' pertinent past medical histories, current medications, any pertinent laboratory values or recent testing, and our care plan for the day. We then touch base periodically throughout the day as needed, and always do a final check-in at the end of the day to discuss any outstanding questions or issues.
Cardiology
Jennifer Bui, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Pharmacist II: Cardiology Medicine
Email Jennifer
Education: Doctor of Pharmacy from Northeastern University (2015); PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency, Boston Medical Center (2016)
Current Professional Memberships, Service & Leadership: American College of Cardiology (ACC); Massachusetts Society of Health System Pharmacists (MSHP)
Rotation/s Offered: Cardiology Medicine
Personal Interest: Traveling, avid foodie, visiting art museums, attending concerts
Sonia Kothari, PharmD, BCCP
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Cardiology/Advanced Heart Failure
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Sonia
Training:
- Pharmacy School: Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: Atlantic Health System, Morristown, NJ
- PGY2 Cardiology Residency: UMass Medical Center, Worcester, MA
Primary Area of Practice: Advanced Heart Failure
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
- Topic discussions will be utilized to provide direct instruction to residents throughout the rotation. These discussions will address various cardiology disease states, such as acute and chronic heart failure, acute coronary syndromes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, arrhythmias, venous thromboembolism and anticoagulation.
- Clinical skills will be modeled for residents particularly at the beginning of the rotation. These skills include, but are not limited to collecting pertinent data about cardiac patients, utilizing appropriate resources to develop patient-specific treatment plans, communicating with advanced heart failure providers and educating patients about their cardiac medications.
- Residents will perform various patient-care activities, such as medication reconciliation, medication counseling, therapeutic monitoring and ambulatory clinic visits with heart failure patients while receiving coaching to allow for fine-tuning of these skills.
- By the end of the rotation, residents will be able to independently develop treatment and monitoring plans for heart failure patients in collaboration with physicians, nurse practitioners, and nurses, and communicate these plans effectively to patients and caregivers.
Approach to defining roles and expectations for the learner:
I will meet with the resident on the very first day of the rotation and discuss not only my goals for the rotation, but also the resident's goals and what they want to get out of the rotation. My position is a hybrid of inpatient and ambulatory cardiology, so I try to focus the majority of the rotation on what the resident's primary interests are. We will discuss the expectations related to required topic discussions, journal clubs/presentations, nursing in-services, as well as the responsibilities pertaining to patient care. We will also discuss the resident's preferred learning style so that I, as a preceptor, can make sure I am teaching in a way in which the resident is learning the most effectively.
Kelly Nguyen, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Pharmacist
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Kelly
Training:
- Pharmacy School: Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston, MA
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA
- PGY2 Cardiology Residency Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA
Primary Area of Practice: General Cardiology, Heart Failure
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
- Instructing: Each learner has a different level of knowledge, skill, experience, and goals. Depending on the level of the learner, we may have specific discussions and required readings to help gain a baseline foundation in the practice area of general cardiology and advanced heart failure.
- Modeling: When I model, I like to "think aloud" to show the learner how I approach clinical scenarios. I also prefer to teach topics based on cases and patients that come in real-time so that the learner has topic that relates to someone they are caring for.
- Coaching: Furthermore, when we counsel patients, I give the learner the opportunity to watch me (and/or partner up with me) to counsel the post-MI or new HF patients at the start of their rotation, depending on their comfort level. Once this is done and they develop their own routine, I would act in the coaching role and have the learner counsel a future patient and then provide feedback and direction that allows the learner to refine their knowledge and skill.
- Facilitation: I would incorporate facilitating by including continual self-assessment opportunities, formally on Pharmacademic as well as in-person feedback sessions, to help learners develop a habit of critically examining their own behaviors and clinical decisions.
Approach to setting expectations and delivering feedback to learners:
Currently, I am a preceptor in training. Based off my experiences as a student and resident, I am a firm believer in defining roles and expectations prior to starting the rotation. As a PGY1 resident, it was my responsibility to set up a meeting (i.e. email, calendar invites) with my preceptor at least a week prior to starting rotation. I quickly discovered that it was helpful to have a one-on-one with the preceptor about any questions I had about the upcoming experience and syllabus, set up expectations, discuss what my goals were for the rotation and the year, and how my preceptor would support me in reaching those goals. This way, we are more likely to be on the same page when Day 1 of rotation starts. This was also a good "ice-breaker" if I never had the opportunity to get to know the preceptor prior to rotation. I carried this forth to my PGY2 residency where this was not a common practice and I found much success in doing so!
Critical Care / Emergency Medicine
I. Mary Eche, PharmD, BCCCP, CACP, FCCM
Clinical Pharmacy Manager: Critical Care/ED
PGY2 Critical Care Residency Program Director
Email I. Mary
Education: Doctor of Pharmacy from Northeastern University (2004); PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (2005); PGY2 Critical Care Pharmacy Residency, The Johns Hopkins Hospital (2006)
Professional Membership: Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP); American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP); Massachusetts Society of Health System Pharmacists (MSHP)
Personal Interests: Running, traveling, photography
Rotation/s Offered: Medical ICU, Cardiac Surgery ICU, Pharmacy Management/Leadership
George Abdallah, PharmD, BCCP, BCCCP
Clinical Pharmacist
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email George
Training:
- Pharmacy School: Western New England University College of Pharmacy, Springfield, MA
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, MA
- PGY2 Critical Care Residency: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, MA
Primary Area of Practice: Cardiac Intensive Care, Cardiothoracic Intensive Care
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
- Instructing: Topic discussions are incorporated into the rotation to provide a disease state management foundation
- Modeling: Rounding with the resident during the first week of their rotation to model behavior and expectations
- Coaching: During patient work up and afternoon presentations, open ended questions and case-based scenarios are often used to guide the resident and to help foster critical-thinking skills
- Facilitating: During afternoon presentations, different hypothetical and patient care scenarios are used to help the resident refine the skill of developing alternative pharmacotherapy plans supported by evidence
How often do you meet with the learner while they are on rotation:
I meet with the resident multiple times a day while on rotation. I will usually meet with the resident 1 hour before interdisciplinary rounds to discuss patients, provide guidance and help the resident develop evidence-based medication and monitoring plans, if needed. In the afternoon, I meet with the resident to discuss the most critically ill patients, review their disease state management and ensure any actionable items are implemented and/or followed up on.
Gabrielle Cozzi, PharmD, BCCCP
Clinical Pharmacist
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Gabrielle
Training:
- Pharmacy School: University of Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science, Buffalo, NY
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: Hackensack University Medical School, Hackensack, NJ
- PGY2 Critical Care Residency: West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
Primary Area of Practice: Medical Intensive Care
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
The first week of my rotation is typically where residents gain an insight into my role as a clinical pharmacist and how I interact with my multidisciplinary team of medical residents, nurses, respiratory therapists, etc. As the resident starts to feel more comfortable, I start to coach them to challenge their critical thinking skills and providing feedback for example. As the rotation progresses, I allow the resident to have more autonomy and facilitate their role.
Approach to providing feedback to your learners:
Feedback by self-reflection and discussion is an essential component of resident growth. Prior to rotation, I discuss with residents their goals and what steps they will take to achieve them. I incorporate "Feedback Fridays" into my rotation where I have the resident reflect on what they think they are doing well, what they think could improve on (and how), pros/cons about the rotation, as well as myself as a preceptor. Additionally, I like to give daily feedback on their performance, which may include delivery of recommendations during rounds and interactions with nursing.
Quynh N. Dang BS, PharmD, BCCP
Clinical Pharmacist
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Quynh
Training:
- Pharmacy School: Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston, MA
Primary Area of Practice: Medical Intensive Care
Approach to giving feedback to learners:
I give feedback to the residents while on providing patient care and/or right after patient care rounds (ex. how to approach the team with interventions, when to bring up important intervention during round, which interventions can be addressed after rounds, etc.). Additionally, I schedule time to meet with the resident weekly (ex. Feedback Friday) to give additional feedback.
Pansy Elsamadisi, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Clinical Pharmacist
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Pansy
Training:
- Pharmacy School: Long Island University: Arnold and Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy, Brooklyn, NY
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: The Brooklyn Hospital Center, Brooklyn, NY
- PGY2 Critical Care Residency: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, MA
Primary Area of Practice: Trauma and Surgical Intensive Care
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
I usually start with direct instruction and modeling for the resident. Once the resident demonstrates proficiency, I give them more autonomy and I take more of a coaching and eventually facilitating role. I believe that communication and continuous feedback are key when it comes to establishing an effective preceptor/resident dynamic.
Approach to setting expectations and delivering feedback to learners:
Prior to rotation, I set up a meeting with my resident to ensure we discuss my expectations of the resident as well as their expectations for the rotation. This allows me to tailor their rotation experience to their specific interests.
Eli Philips, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Pharmacist
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Eli
Training:
- Pharmacy School: Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston, MA
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME
- PGY2 Emergency Medicine Residency: University of Vermont Medical Center, Burlington, VT
Primary Area of Practice: Emergency Medicine
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
My philosophy of teaching is to encourage critical thinking via Socratic questioning; facilitate progression through the "see-one, do-one, teach-one" for procedural experiences; and provide meaningful constructive feedback. I believe early development of critical thinking skills allows for impactful, time-effective teaching that persist long after the experience is complete. The "see-one, do-one, teach-one" allows for learners to progress through the cycle of knowledge, gaining insight from both the initial teacher and subsequent learners.
Approach to providing feedback to your learners:
My feedback method mixes frequent informal with formalized ("Feedback-Fridays") feedback with the goal to highlight strengths and develop specific steps for improvement. I request learners self-evaluate and provide goals prior to my experience, during, and at the completion to ensure that each experience is tailored specifically to the learner. No feedback session is complete without learner input on the experience and my function as a preceptor.
Sandra Rumyantsev, PharmD, BCCCP
Clinical Pharmacist
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Sandra
Training:
- Pharmacy School: Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston, MA
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: Tower Health, Reading, PA
- PGY2 Critical Care Residency Residency: Roanoke Memorial Hospital, Roanoke, PA
Primary Area of Practice: Trauma and Surgical Intensive Care
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
When I precept a resident on my 4 week rotation, I initially like to give them instruction on my expectations. I also use the first week to model how I participate on rounds and my expectations as a critical care pharmacist. The next few weeks are dedicated to coaching the resident on how they can improve on rounds and patient care. During the last week, I step back and help facilitate but give my resident autonomy.
Approach to providing feedback to your learners:
During my rotation, I like establishing every Friday as feedback day, AKA "feedback Friday", so the resident knows and anticipates when feedback is coming. I also believe that if necessary, immediate feedback is also important. I give verbal feedback and document our conversations in PharmAcademic so the resident always has something to refer to in writing.
Mehrnaz Sadrolashrafi, PharmD, BCCCP
Clinical Pharmacist
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Mehrnaz
Training:
- Pharmacy School: Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston, MA
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA
- PGY2 Critical Care Residency: Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA
Primary Area of Practice: Medical Intensive Care
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
Depending on if I am precepting a 4 vs 5 weeks rotation block, the first two weeks of the rotation will be spent on intensive instructing and modeling to ensure my residents are familiarized with the fast moving environment in MICU. Week 3 will be spent on modeling and coaching and week 4/5 will be spent on coaching and facilitating my resident's learning experience.
How often do you meet with the learner while they are on rotation:
- Due to the complexity of patient care in MICU and depending on the resident's prior experience and previous rotations in training, I will be rounding with the residents in the first two weeks of the rotation to go over the workflow and foundations of taking care of critically-ill patients. The residents will gradually increase the number of patients they cover on a daily basis. By week 3 of the rotation, the residents are going to be fully responsible for taking care of the full unit.
- During weeks 3 and 4, the residents independently take on the role of being the primary clinical pharmacist for the team and I will be readily available on the unit if the residents need me for a second opinion.
- The residents will be the primary code blue responder while on rotation with me, which gives them the opportunity to learn and apply the critical care knowledge learned during rotation, to actual clinical scenarios.
Adrian Wong, PharmD, MPH, FCCM, BCCCP
Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice
MCPHS University, Boston, MA
Email Adrian
Training:
- Pharmacy School: Northeastern University, Boston, MA
- Master of Public Health: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD
- PGY2 Critical Care Residency: UPMC Presbyterian/University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
- Outcomes Research and Pharmacy Informatics Fellowship: Brigham and Women's Hospital/MCPHS University, Boston, MA
Primary Area of Practice: Medical Intensive Care, Academia
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
I tailor my preceptor role depending on the needs of the learner. For example, with the example of a research project, I would meet with the learner first to determine their experience and expectations and adjust my role to this. Some learners may need instructing or modeling if they have not completed the certain type of research project before. For those who have more experience, serving as a coach or mentor would be more helpful to develop their own knowledge, while also providing guidance as necessary.
Approach to setting expectations and delivering feedback to learners:
In my first meeting with a learner, I identify what they want to get out of a rotation and adapt the rotation to what they need to succeed. We also discuss the importance of self-reflection to begin the thought process of what feedback they anticipate but also to develop this critical life-long skill in medicine. Typically, I offer my learners at least daily feedback in a more informal setting but have scheduled #FeedbackFriday to reduce the potential anxiety from a learner asking for feedback. I also work with them on how to communicate feedback, including providing specific examples to support their feedback.
Hematology/Oncology
Emmeline C. Academia, PharmD, BCOP
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Hematology/Oncology
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Emmeline
Training:
- Pharmacy School: University of California, San Francisco
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: University of Colorado Hospital, Aurora, CO
- PGY2 Hematology/Oncology Residency: University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado Cancer Center, Aurora, CO
Primary Area of Practice: Ambulatory Care-Oncology (GI, Thoracic, Sarcoma)
Approach to providing feedback to learners:
After a baseline discussion of learning styles and experiential goals, residents on this service will receive daily feedback during patient reviews/discussion (either before or after clinic based on resident preference) and may include any combination of clinical, communication, drug information, or organizational observations. Depending on the format of the rotation, longer periodic discussions (e.g. weekly) about the resident's adjustment to, experience, and goals on service will ensure that personal learning objectives are met. The resident's responsibilities will gradually increase as the resident progresses, with the overall goal of triaging all patients seen in one disease state clinic for potential ambulatory pharmacy needs.
Lily Jia, PharmD, BCOP
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Hematology/Oncology
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Lily
Training:
- Pharmacy School: Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
- PGY2 Oncology Residency: Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
Primary Area of Practice: Ambulatory Care-Oncology (Breast, Gynecologic, and Head & Neck)
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
- Instructing: Before the learner does an activity (ex. round, talk to a patient), I talk the learner through what to expect and how to do the activity. This way, they have a general overview of what to expect, are prepared for the interaction, and are aware of what to look out for.
- Modeling: After talking the learner through the activity, I model for them what the pharmacist should do. For example, if we are rounding, I will have them shadow me on rounds and observe. In this way, they are able to see what the activity looks like and what they can expect when they are in the role.
- Coaching: After the learner has a chance to see a pharmacist in the role, the learners are expected to carry out the role on their own with back up or support from the preceptor. For example, at this point, the learner would take on the role as the pharmacist on rounds, but I would continue rounding with the learner to answer questions or jump in as needed.
- Facilitating: At this point, the learner is able to independently perform the duties of the role, and the preceptor is available for debriefing or feedback. For example, the learner would round alone without the preceptor. After rounds, the preceptor and learner can meet to discuss how rounds went, answer any questions, and debrief.
Approach to setting expectations with learners:
It is extremely important to discuss roles and expectations before any rotation, project, or assignment so that the preceptor and learner are on the same page and aware of any potential challenges or barriers. When discussing roles and expectations, I ask the learner what they wish to gain from their experience, what they believe their role in the experience is, and any challenges they anticipate. I also like to make clear my role in the rotation or project, hard and soft deadlines, and a general timeline of where I expect the project or rotation to be progressing. I believe that it is important to revisit this conversation on a regular basis in case things come up, deadlines change, or the learner has hit an unexpected roadblock.
Caroline M. Mejías-De Jesús, PharmD, BCOP
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Hematology/Oncology
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Caroline
Training:
- Pharmacy School: University of Puerto Rico – Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, PR
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
- PGY2 Oncology Residency: Duke University Hospital, Durham, NC
Primary Area of Practice: Ambulatory Hematologic Malignancies/Bone Marrow Transplant
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
In my ambulatory hematology/oncology rotation, instructing and modeling are the first preceptor roles utilized for this experience. This allows the resident to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for the medication management of hematology/oncology disease states. During the coaching role, I focus on strategies for patient education and how to navigate complex clinical cases. Finally, once the resident is ready to work independently, I am available for questions or for direction on more complex situations.
Approach to defining roles/expectations with your learners:
Before starting my rotation, I set up a meeting with the resident to determine areas of interest for topic discussions and projects. During this meeting we explore what skills the resident would like to work on (ex. patient education). On the first day of rotation, I share rotation expectations, provide an overview of the clinic and the medication access workflow, and describe how to communicate with healthcare providers and pharmacy staff. The rotation calendar is also discussed on the first day of the rotation. I meet with the resident every week to discuss their progress and determine which activities they can start to work on independently.
Julia S. Stevens, PharmD, BCOP
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Hematology/Oncology
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Julia
Training:
- Pharmacy School: Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: Indiana University Academic Medical Center, Indianapolis, IN
- PGY2 Oncology Pharmacy Residency: Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
Primary Area of Practice: Ambulatory Care-Oncology (Genitourinary and Immuno-Oncology clinics)
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
- Instructing: plays a limited role in my precepting style, although I occasionally will teach a resident about an unusual side effect, clinical scenario, or professional development topic.
- Modeling: I utilize modeling during the first few days as residents are learning the workflow of clinic and the basics of the disease state(s). Shadowing me provides valuable information to the resident about what kinds of interventions I make, how I interact with the team, and logistics of caring for my patient population.
- Coaching: I utilize this role most often throughout the rotation. I move residents to this style of precepting quickly so they can develop independence while also learning about the disease state.
- Facilitating: My goal for every resident is to move to the facilitator role by the end of the rotation within the core clinical skills/expectations of the rotation. I want residents to independently care for patients and grow through guided self-reflection.
Preceptor roles are fluid and change from one task to the next. While I might be instructing or modeling in one area, I will often be coaching or facilitating in other areas. I also seek to understand what strengths and weaknesses my resident brings into the rotation so that I can help them work towards the next step, whatever preceptor role that may require.
Approach to providing feedback to learners:
I am a firm believer in timely, genuine, and compassionate feedback paired with active self-reflection. I give residents an opportunity to reflect and receive feedback frequently throughout the day. For example, after I listen to a resident talk to a patient on oral chemotherapy, I might ask them "how do you think that went?" By hearing a resident's self-reflection first, I can help overconfident residents understand what they are missing and can help self-critical residents understand their strengths. I find that most residents underestimate their performance, so this provides a good opportunity to acknowledge the skills they are building and point out ways to continue to grow. I pair this daily self-reflection and feedback with weekly semi-formal feedback sessions so the resident has a venue to provide feedback to me and I can provide feedback on broader trends and performance to the resident.
Sarah Warack, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Pharmacist II
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Sarah
Training:
Pharmacy School: University of Connecticut
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Primary Area of Practice: Outpatient hematology/oncology infusion
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
- Instructing: I incorporate resident-led topic discussions and preceptor-led "chalk talks" throughout the rotation to reinforce rotation experiences by outlining the patient's journey through cancer care as well as current guidelines for treatment of specific malignancies and supportive care.
- Modeling: I start off the rotation by having the resident observe the pharmacist's role in the care team as they grow comfortable with the subject matter and practice setting. This provides the resident with the opportunity to learn and adopt communication strategies and intervention styles from me before beginning to operate independently.
- Coaching: Before and after residents make interventions or interact with providers and patients, we discuss their plan and how the interaction went so I can provide feedback to allow them to improve for next time.
- Facilitating: The goal for my rotation is to have the resident able to independently assess and triage clinical issues independently by the end of the rotation, utilizing the preceptor as a resource but functioning independently as a part of the care team.
How often do you meet with the resident/round with the resident?
On rotation, I rely on daily interactions with the resident to assess their progress and participate in teaching/topic discussions. For project work, I prefer to meet with the resident as often as they need to continue making progress and meeting milestones without interfering with their other responsibilities. I believe in tailoring the approach for both rotations and projects to allow residents to develop independence while still providing support and feedback as needed.
Hepatology
Katelyn Richards, PharmD, BCPS
PGY2 Solid Organ Transplant Residency Program Director
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Solid Organ Transplant
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Katelyn
Training:
- Pharmacy School: Northeastern University, Boston, MA
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL
- PGY2 Solid Organ Transplant Residency: University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Primary Area of Practice: Solid Organ Transplant
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
I incorporate all roles into my precepting style. Transplant is a highly specialized area that is often times not fully presented in pharmacy school. As a result, I focus primarily on instructing, modeling and coaching for PGY1s with some facilitating depending on the level of independence demonstrated by the resident.
Approach to providing feedback to your learners:
Feedback during the rotation is both informal and formal. I am in constant contact with residents on a transplant rotation. If we are having a conversation about patient care, I am giving you informal feedback. I also try to do a "Feedback Friday" along with a standard midpoint and final evaluation.
Kaitlyn Zheng, PharmD
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Solid Organ Transplant
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Kaitlyn
Training:
- Pharmacy School: Northeastern University, Boston, MA
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: Hahnemann University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA
- PGY2 Transplant Residency: University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH
Primary Area of Practice: Solid Organ Transplant
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
During the first few days of the transplant rotation, you will spend time meeting many of the friendly personalities across our transplant team. During this time, we spend time learning the transplant surgery and consult service structures and day-to-day work flow/responsibilities. With regards to clinical care during the initial days, we spend time structuring effective ways to work up transplant patients and identify opportunities to make valuable recommendations to optimize care. We pre-round on patient lists daily and practice presenting patients, so the learner feels comfortable and confident delivering recommendations to the clinical team on rounds.
Approach to increasing independence of the learner on rotation:
During the beginning of the rotation, I gather a baseline assessment of the learner's prior experiences and interests in transplant pharmacy. At the beginning of the rotation, I will observe the learner's confidence when interacting with providers. I also assess the learner's ability to formulate rational recommendations, and provide supporting literature and guidelines. As the resident becomes more comfortable with the team and familiarizes themselves with transplant literature and guidelines, I will encourage the learner to communicate recommendations to the team independently. We spend time practicing different methods for teaching transplant medication information to patients of varying health literacy, so the resident feels prepared when encountering tough discharge medication teaching scenarios. Depending on the resident's interest in transplant, we might further explore opportunities to work on QI/QA projects.
Infectious Diseases
Ryan Chapin, PharmD, BCIDP
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Antimicrobial Stewardship/Infectious Diseases
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Ryan
Training:
- Pharmacy School: University of Connecticut, Mansfield, CT
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: Concord Hospital, Concord, NH
- PGY2 Infectious Diseases Residency: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, MA
Primary Area of Practice: Antimicrobial Stewardship, Infectious Diseases Consult Service
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
The first week of the ID rotation you are introduced to the ID Consult team! The focus is on forming and delivering recommendations with a smaller list of patients to start. We will discuss opportunities for making recommendations and getting involved on rounds. The preceptor will be present answering questions on the other consulted patients to set the example. The resident is responsible for delivering recommendations to the team for their 1-2 new patients they workup each day in addition to follow-up patients from prior days. Discussion of patients occurs with the preceptor each morning. The preceptor guides the resident as they work toward independent rounding and at least one in-service to the consult team by the end of the rotation.
How often do you meet with the learner while they are on rotation:
On the Infectious Diseases rotation, the pharmacy resident and I meet multiple times throughout the day and round daily at 1:30 pm with either the medical/surgical or immunocompromised consult service (working toward rounding independently from the preceptor). The resident will work up ID consult patients prior to discussion at 10:30am. Those with a flair for ID and antimicrobial stewardship will also review a restricted antimicrobial and participate in 'handshake' stewardship rounds (figuratively, don't worry, no physical handshakes necessary). The resident will also attend a wide variety of educational conferences throughout the week with their preceptor including but not limited to: ID case conference, ID journal club, Harvard-wide disease and research conference, and antimicrobial stewardship fellow conference.
Christopher McCoy, PharmD, BCPS AQ-ID, BCIDP
PGY2 Infectious Diseases Residency Program Director
Clinical Pharmacy Manager, Antimicrobial Stewardship/Infectious Diseases
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Christopher
Training:
- Pharmacy School:
- Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy: St. John's University, New York, NY
- Doctor of Pharmacy: Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston, MA
Primary Area of Practice: Antimicrobial Stewardship, Infectious Diseases Consult Service
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
I instruct using didactic sessions and handouts, model by demonstrating medical record review/excision of critical data, problem list and recommendations. I also take trainees to floors to provide active feedback on interacting with providers, encourage residents to take the driver's seat and present data to providers and afterwards we debrief on what went well, what can be improved. When facilitating a resident learning experience, I forward drug information questions from providers and supply the name of the resident as the primary contact for addressing guidelines or patient specific questions.
Approach to providing feedback to learners:
Feedback is critical to the stewardship role as providers require direction and appropriate reflection for the rationale for antibiotic changes, I provide real time feedback right after the interaction. I ask residents to self-reflect on each day's interventions and provider interactions.
Monica Mahoney, PharmD, BCPS AQ-ID, BCIDP
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Infectious Diseases
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Monica
Training:
- Pharmacy School: Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston, MA
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA
- PGY2 Infectious Diseases Residency: Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA
Primary Area of Practice: Outpatient Infectious Diseases Clinic and OPAT (Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy) Clinic
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
I try to incorporate the models from the beginning, and progress through the stages as the rotation continues and the resident shows growth and confidence. On day one, I sit down with the resident and select a patient or two that I have not previously looked at. I verbalize the process of where in the medical record I am looking, why I am looking there, what I am looking for. As I see notes or medications or laboratory results, I talk through my thought process so the resident can get a sense of how I approach an outpatient. Outpatient is usually a new experience for an acute care resident, so I want to make sure they get a good foundation. Residents will shadow me on the first few patient interactions, so I can model for them how I conduct a patient visit. Residents present all their patients to me before making recommendations to the clinicians or speaking to the patient, so I am able to coach them through their treatment regimen or monitoring plan. Lastly, I try to facilitate additional learning opportunities for the resident, be it shadowing a home infusion company teaching session or co peer-reviewing a manuscript.
Approach to providing feedback to your learners:
I give feedback on a daily basis! In particular, I try to be cognizant to give positive feedback in addition to constructive feedback. Any time the resident presents a patient, interacts with a patient, or completes an activity, I like to reflect on something that went well and something that can improve upon. I also try to stay humble and will comment on things that I think I could improve upon as well! Learning doesn't end upon graduating residency! Trainees sometimes don't see the daily interactions as feedback, so I make sure to also schedule time for a midpoint and final evaluation. These words are written and scheduled on the rotation calendar. For these and the "major" activities (journal club, case presentation) I like to ask the resident their thoughts first, and then provide my opinion.
Internal Medicine
Alexa Carlson, PharmD, MEd, BCPS
Associate Clinical Faculty
Northeastern University, Boston, MA
Email Alexa
Training:
- Pharmacy School: Butler University, Indianapolis, IN
- Master's Degree in Education: Northeastern University, Boston, MA
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA
- PGY2 Internal Medicine Residency: Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Primary Area of Practice: Adult Internal Medicine
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
- My main interaction with residents is through my role as a medicine preceptor. I like to orient my residents the week before the start so we can discuss their background in medicine, what they have done in previous rotations, and role expectations for my APPE students, the resident and me as a preceptor. Usually with residents, we will focus on modeling and coaching up front. We will start with me rounding in a layered learning model with the students and resident, and I will have the resident attend some of my student "pharm rounds" so they can see my roles as a clinical pharmacist with the medical team, and as a preceptor with APPE students. I also use modeling/coaching in separate resident "pharm rounds" where we will discuss patient care before and/or after internal medicine rounds in the morning and I can hear their thought process and share mine as appropriate.
- As we touch base throughout the rotation experience, and the resident demonstrates appropriate growth, they will begin to round independently with my students as we move into facilitation where the resident will serve as the primary pharmacist for our medical team and I am the backup available to help respond to additional questions. Direct instruction comes through the required topic discussions for medicine residents with the preceptors, or more pointed instructions prior to a task the resident has not completed previously including updating a patients home medication list, or using an interpreter.
Approach to advancing a learner's independence/workload on rotation:
For regular tasks, I would like to see the resident complete at least one successfully and then I am happy to allow them to perform them independently. If there is area for growth identified in the task, like completing a medication reconciliation, I will provide feedback and watch them complete the task until such time as they demonstrate the ability to perform independently. We will talk about goals at our weekly feedback meetings. My residents normally start by following four medical patients, and ask they get used to the expectations of a medicine pharmacist, we can increase the number of patients they are following, and move to them rounding independently with me available to assist nearby, to me as a resource in my office. Similarly, I don't expect my resident to serve as the direct preceptor of my APPE students, but as their level of independence and clinical skills increases, I am happy to allow my residents to have more interaction and oversight with the students as appropriate.
Joshua Etheridge, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Pharmacist
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Joshua
Training:
- Pharmacy School: Northeastern University, Boston MA
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Primary Area of Practice: Adult Internal Medicine
How do you use the four preceptor roles in your precepting/mentoring (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating)?
- Instructing: Throughout the rotation, instruction will be provided through various learning activities including patient presentations, drug information questions topic discussions, and journal clubs.
- Modeling: Being a visual learner myself, a large part of my precepting style involves modeling up front to showcase to a learner how I would go about interacting with the members of the team, working up patients, and managing different clinical scenarios.
- Coaching: My coaching style builds upon the way that I model as a preceptor. When working with a resident and discussing clinical scenarios or various topics I tend to ask open-ended questions in order help residents verbalize their thought process and develop plans. Not only does this help the learner by reinforcing their knowledge and acknowledging current deficits/areas for growth, it aids me by signaling areas where I may help to supplement learning and focus on in order to improve our learning experience.
- Facilitating: Being an earlier rotation in what I think is a great environment for facilitation, I generally try to encourage residents to develop their own relationship with the multidisciplinary care team on Internal Medicine and become for themselves a face for pharmacy. I think this helps immerse the learner in an environment where the opportunities for learning are endless, confidence can flourish, and the learner can really develop themselves and their clinical practice.
How do you give feedback to the resident and how often do you include resident self-evaluation?
My main forms of resident feedback are more verbal, on-the-spot feedback and positive reinforcement. I also supplement in weekly reflections as well as Pharmacademic documentation which I find helpful for residents to use when retrospectively reviewing their performance and reflecting on their own progress and learning throughout residency.
Ilona Grigoryan, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Pharmacist
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Ilona
Training:
- Pharmacy School: Northeastern University, Boston MA
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: The University of Chicago Medicine
Primary Area of Practice: Adult Internal Medicine
How do you use the four preceptor roles in your precepting/mentoring (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating)?
I like to start the rotation by modeling so that the resident can observe my thought process when solving a problem or developing a drug regimen. During this time, I am able to gauge the resident’s background knowledge. I quickly transition into coaching so that the resident can build upon their skills, instructing when appropriate. As the rotation progresses, my ultimate goal is to have the resident work independently while remaining available when needed and for debriefing. I like to incorporate aspects of transitions of care to ensure the resident is able to perform a thorough medication history as well develop counseling skills.
How do you give deliver feedback to the resident?
I like to set expectations at the beginning of rotation. I provide feedback on a regular basis, informally throughout the day and at the end of each week to review the resident’s progress and address any concerns. This is in addition to a standard midpoint and final evaluation. I believe regular feedback lessens ambiguity and allows the resident to reflect on their own progress.
Kanizeh Hernandez, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Pharmacist
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Kanizeh
Training:
- Bachelors of Science, Biochemistry: Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA
- Pharmacy School: University of California, San Francisco, CA
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
Primary Area of Practice: Adult Internal Medicine
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
The initial part of the rotation is focused on direct instruction with the goal of setting a baseline upon which the residents can continue to build on. This includes providing the necessary resources (e.g. primary literature, guidelines, review articles, etc.) early on to assist the residents to work both efficiently and effectively. Concurrent with direct instruction, I teach by ‘modeling' and reviewing my thought process at each step. I provide residents with evidence based rationales for clinical decisions and encourage them to utilize this method in their rotations. Residents are also prepared to anticipate clinical questions when responding to providers so they are able to provide thorough and well-rounded recommendations. At the midpoint of the rotation, residents are coached to function independently and put into practice the knowledge they have gained so far. This takes place in an observed and guided setting allowing the resident to build confidence and rely on the preceptor in case of challenging issues or questions. Towards the end of the rotation, depending on the resident's level of experience and confidence, I facilitate the transition to where the resident is responsible for all patients and serves as the sole pharmacist for the team.
Approach to increasing independence of the learner on rotation:
I find it beneficial to provide real time feedback to the residents so that they have the opportunity to resolve issues as they occur. In addition to real time feedback, I also set up brief end of the day summaries and more in-depth weekly discussions to highlight positive learning experiences and opportunities for growth/improvement. From the start, I create an approachable environment so residents are comfortable reaching out in-person or via email/phone with questions or concerns. I encourage residents to provide feedback (both positive and constructive) on how the rotation, learning experiences and/or teaching styles can be modified to meet their expectations. I incorporate resident self-evaluations to create, add to or alter certain experiences so that the rotation is more individualized to each resident's learning style and knowledge base. Residents' well-being is vital to their success and we work closely together to find a healthy work/life balance.
Kristen Knoph, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Pharmacist
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Kristen
Training:
- Pharmacy School: University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: UPMC Presbyterian/University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
- PGY2 Pharmacotherapy Residency: Mayo Clinic Hospital, Rochester, MN
Primary Area of Practice: Adult Internal Medicine
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
The Internal Medicine rotation is a great opportunity for the resident to integrate themselves into the medical team and become independent. I incorporate the four precepting roles by starting out with modeling the pharmacist role on Internal Medicine team rounds. Depending on the resident's progress, my goal is to quickly transition to a coaching role in which the resident is the primary pharmacist on rounds but I am available to provide guidance and feedback. By the end of the rotation, I move into a facilitating role and the resident is independently responsible for covering the full service. I incorporate the instructing role by including core and elective topic discussions as well as drug information questions from patient cases.
Approach to setting expectations and delivering feedback to learners:
Before every new rotation, I meet with the resident to discuss their previous experience and specific goals for the rotation. Throughout the rotation, I provide continuous in-person feedback and guidance. At least once weekly, I also meet with the resident for more formal feedback to review the resident's self-evaluation about their performance and progress. During these meetings, I share my feedback on the resident's strengths as well as areas for improvement and together we can develop a plan for areas to focus on for the remainder of the rotation to meet their individualized goals.
Marissa McCann, PharmD
Clinical Pharmacist
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Marissa
Training:
- Pharmacy School: University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Primary Area of Practice: Adult Internal Medicine
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
As the Internal Medicine rotation is traditionally positioned in the beginning of the residency year, I hope to provide the resident with baseline knowledge that they’ll carry with them throughout the year. As the rotation progresses, we will transition from a modeling role, where I will round with the resident and provide recommendations to the team, to a coaching role in which the resident is the primary pharmacist on rounds but I am available to provide guidance and feedback. Ideally, by the end of the rotation, the resident is fully independent and covering the full service. There will be continuous ‘instruction’ in the form of topic discussions as well as drug information questions from patient cases. I believe that communication and continuous feedback are key when it comes to establishing an effective preceptor/resident dynamic.
How often do you meet with the resident/round with the resident?
Generally, I will be rounding with the resident on a daily basis, at least at the beginning, of their rotation. As the resident progresses and gains independence, I will slowly back away and the resident will fully run the service. That doesn’t mean that we won’t interact though. We will be meeting every day before rounds to briefly discuss new patients and resolve any issues from the day before. And we will be meeting after rounds to do more of a deep dive into the list as well as have topic discussions/education. While I try to foster independence, I am never more than a text away if assistance is needed.
Bhakti Patel, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Pharmacist
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Bhakti
Training:
- Pharmacy School: Northeastern University, Boston MA
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: Lahey Hospital and Medical Center, Boston, MA
Primary Area of Practice: Adult Internal Medicine
How do you use the four preceptor roles in your precepting/mentoring (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating)?
The rotation consists of direct instruction through core topic discussions that help build a foundation for taking care of a patient on a medicine floor. Residents will also have the opportunity to pick additional elective topic discussions based on interests. I usually start the rotation modeling and coaching the resident on the floor and during rounds. This helps to set expectations, build rapport with the team and familiarize the resident with the floor staff as well. We will discuss patients before and after rounds to go over plans and recommendations. Majority of the rotation will be spent facilitating these discussions and incorporating evidence-based medicine while allowing the resident autonomy to develop their own practice.
How do you give deliver feedback to the resident?
Generally, we will have verbal feedback as often as daily. This is usually very informal but allows for real-time feedback with examples of things that went well and things that have room for improvement. This is also an opportunity for the resident to reflect on how the day or week went and how I can help them improve moving forward. Formal, written feedback will be provided at midpoint and final evaluations through PharmAcademic. I like to discuss these with the resident in person before submitting. I am also always asking resident for feedback for myself on what I can do to help tailor the rotations to their interests and needs.
Medication Safety
May Adra, PharmD, BCPS
Assistant Pharmacy Director, Safety, Quality & Regulatory Affairs
Email May
Education: B.S. in Pharmacy (1992), PharmD (2000), MCPHS
Board Certification: BCPS
Post-Graduate Work Experience: Medication Safety Coordinator, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA (2005-09), BIDMC (2009-present)
Current Professional Memberships: ASHP, MSHP
Rotations Offered: Medication Safety
NICU
Nilam K. Patel, PharmD, BCPPS
Clinical Pharmacist
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Nilam
Training:
- Pharmacy School: Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston, MA
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: Elliot Health System, Manchester, NH
- PGY2 Pediatric Pharmacy Residency: Elliot Health System, Manchester, NH
Primary Area of Practice: Neonatal Intensive Care
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
- As a preceptor, my goal is to have the resident increase their knowledge base and become independent as the rotation progresses. In the beginning, I sit down with residents and go over the syllabus, expectations, and potential projects. I will also go over workflows specific to the NICU practice site. As part of the multi-disciplinary team, pharmacist participates in patient-care rounds on the NICU. In the beginning, I will pre-round with residents and attend rounds with residents. As the resident feels more comfortable, I will slowly start backing away.
- Topic discussions are a major part of the NICU rotation. There are core topics that we will discuss but if residents find any specific topics that are interesting, I will try to include them into the syllabus.
Approach to providing feedback to your learners:
I meet with residents to provide feedback weekly and ask the resident to do a self-reflection for the week. We will discuss what things went well during that particular week, things that can be improved upon, and progress with any projects that are being worked on. At this time, we will also set specific goals for the upcoming week.
Pharmacy Education and Training
Diane Soulliard, PharmD, BCPS
Pharmacy Clinical Coordinator
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Diane
Training:
- Pharmacy School: MCPHS University, Boston, MA
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Primary Area of Practice: Outpatient hematology/oncology infusion
How do you define roles/expectations with your resident?
My role in the residency program is to collaborate with team managers to create a training schedule and assess the resident's progress over the first four weeks while the resident completes central pharmacy training. The pharmacy resident is held to the same performance standard as a clinical pharmacist when working a central shift, therefore the training content and routine are almost the same for both. Essentially, we expect to prepare the resident so they will perform to the level of other pharmacists who trained them when the resident works in an area independently. To accomplish our goal, the resident is scheduled to train for 15 to 20 central operations-based shifts working with a variety of pharmacists who are experienced in checking and dispensing medications in the unit dose and sterile products areas. Residents complete a daily reflection during this training experience where they record the specific site trained and the pharmacist that trained them so that we can more effectively obtain and deliver feedback relative to the staffing.
experienceSolid Organ Transplant
Katelyn Richards, PharmD, BCPS
PGY2 Solid Organ Transplant Residency Program Director
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Solid Organ Transplant
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Katelyn
Training:
- Pharmacy School: Northeastern University, Boston, MA
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL
- PGY2 Solid Organ Transplant Residency: University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Primary Area of Practice: Solid Organ Transplant
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
I incorporate all roles into my precepting style. Transplant is a highly specialized area that is often times not fully presented in pharmacy school. As a result, I focus primarily on instructing, modeling and coaching for PGY1s with some facilitating depending on the level of independence demonstrated by the resident.
Approach to providing feedback to your learners:
Feedback during the rotation is both informal and formal. I am in constant contact with residents on a transplant rotation. If we are having a conversation about patient care, I am giving you informal feedback. I also try to do a "Feedback Friday" along with a standard midpoint and final evaluation.
Kaitlyn Zheng, PharmD
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Solid Organ Transplant
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Email Kaitlyn
Training:
- Pharmacy School: Northeastern University, Boston, MA
- PGY1 Pharmacy Residency: Hahnemann University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA
- PGY2 Transplant Residency: University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH
Primary Area of Practice: Solid Organ Transplant
Approach to utilizing ASHP Preceptor Roles (instructing, modeling, coaching, facilitating):
During the first few days of the transplant rotation, you will spend time meeting many of the friendly personalities across our transplant team. During this time, we spend time learning the transplant surgery and consult service structures and day-to-day work flow/responsibilities. With regards to clinical care during the initial days, we spend time structuring effective ways to work up transplant patients and identify opportunities to make valuable recommendations to optimize care. We pre-round on patient lists daily and practice presenting patients, so the learner feels comfortable and confident delivering recommendations to the clinical team on rounds.
Approach to increasing independence of the learner on rotation:
During the beginning of the rotation, I gather a baseline assessment of the learner's prior experiences and interests in transplant pharmacy. At the beginning of the rotation, I will observe the learner's confidence when interacting with providers. I also assess the learner's ability to formulate rational recommendations, and provide supporting literature and guidelines. As the resident becomes more comfortable with the team and familiarizes themselves with transplant literature and guidelines, I will encourage the learner to communicate recommendations to the team independently. We spend time practicing different methods for teaching transplant medication information to patients of varying health literacy, so the resident feels prepared when encountering tough discharge medication teaching scenarios. Depending on the resident's interest in transplant, we might further explore opportunities to work on QI/QA projects.