Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPE)

Introductory pharmacy practice experiences (IPPE) at Saint Luke's are entry-level experiences that introduces students to basic applications of the knowledge and skills they have been learning in class. The student generally spends two to four weeks on site.

IPPE students are not required to attend orientation before their rotational experience. 

View IPPE opportunities:

Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City (IPPE)

Preceptors

Location

Rotation Description

Saint Luke’s Hospital is a 400+ bed not-for-profit tertiary teaching hospital located in the historic Country Club Plaza. The rotation provides students with the opportunity to explore the roles of pharmacists, technicians and interns in a clinical hospital setting. Students will experience various operational and clinical activities. Each student will have a primary preceptor who will complete midpoint and final evaluations but may work with other pharmacists, technicians and interns who will provide feedback both to the student and primary preceptor. 

Potential Topics/Activities

  • Medication verification and preparation/dispensing/distribution under pharmacist supervision
  • Communicate with nurses and physicians to optimize medication use
  • Selected topic discussions and/or readings
  • Respond to drug information requests (verbally and/or through documentation in chart)
  • Targeted drug therapy monitoring including vancomycin, aminoglycosides, and others
  • Antibiotic surveillance including review of microbial culture and sensitivity data
  • Medication profile review and identification of drug-related problems
  • Medication reconciliation
  • Adverse drug reaction and medication error reporting
  • Targeted medication teachings as necessary (e.g. antiarrhythmics or anticoagulants)
  • Documentation of clinical activities in the medical record
  • Required school of pharmacy workbook or other activities (if applicable) are the responsibility of the student to complete as primary patient care responsibilities allow or after hours.  Preceptor review/discussion of materials as patient care allows.

Goals/Outcomes

  • Introduce students to the medication use process and patient care activities (operational and clinical) that occur in health-system pharmacy
  • Provide a learning environment for students to apply classroom knowledge and skills to patient care on a variety of practice teams
  • Foster students’ ability to effectively communicate with patients and members of the healthcare team
  • Improve students’ proficiency in using available resources to ensure the safe and effective use of medications
  • Cultivate self-directed learning skills through self-assessment, independent study and student led topic discussions

Saint Luke's North Hospital (IPPE)

Preceptors

  • Della Bahmandar, PharmD, MBA, BCPS (Operations Manager)
  • Jonathan Kountz, PharmD
  • Blake Miller, PharmD, BCPS
  • Cassie Jo Mitchell, PharmD, BCPS
  • Brett Nelson, PharmD, BCPP
  • Felicia Seiler, PharmD, BCPS
  • Lisa Williams, PharmD, BCPS
  • Curtiss Lane, PharmD

Location

Rotation Description

Saint Luke’s North Hospital is a two-campus hospital serving Kansas City’s Northland region. Between our Barry Road and Smithville campuses, Saint Luke’s North offers 160 patient beds and more than 20 specialized services. The inpatient pharmacy is decentralized for best coordination of care. This rotation experience emphasizes patient care involvement, to include: patient data collection, organization, and assessment; development of plans that respond to desired therapeutic objectives; patient monitoring to include physical and laboratory assessment; communication with patients and caregivers to acquire patient data, assess treatment outcomes, and drug therapy management. Under the supervision of a preceptor provide education to patients; communicate with and make recommendations to prescribers, and engage other health care providers in delivery of patient care.

Potential Topics/Activities

  • Observe critical care rounds with the multi-disciplinary team
  • Attend and participate in Rehabilitation rounds on a long term rehab unit
  • Interact with hospitalists, cardiology, pulmonary, infectious disease, and other specialists on a daily basis
  • Selected lectures and topic discussions
  • Targeted drug therapy monitoring including vancomycin, aminoglycosides and TPN
  • Antibiotic surveillance including review of culture and sensitivity data daily
  • Medication profile review and identification of drug-related problems
  • Obtaining a patient’s medication history
  • Adverse drug reaction and medication error reporting
  • Patient education and targeted medication teaching (i.e. enoxaparin, oral anticoagulants)
  • Drug information searches and responses (verbal and/or written)
  • Present required presentations (one or two per preceptor discretion) to pharmacy staff
  • Other activities as agreed upon by student and preceptor

Goals/Outcomes

  • Improve students’ proficiency to use available resources to ensure the safe and effective use of medications to maximize patient safety
  • Introduce students to the innovative patient care services that are provided in an inpatient community hospital pharmacy department
  • Provide a learning environment in which students have the opportunity to apply and improve upon their knowledge base
  • Teach students to effectively communicate, both verbal and written forms, with patients and all members of the healthcare team
  • Gain an appreciation of the interactions between departments of a hospital and how pharmacists can be involved with the creation, design, education, and implementation of hospital-wide protocols, procedures, and policies
  • Conduct patient counseling where appropriate to ensure the safe and appropriate use of medications

Saint Luke's South Hospital (IPPE)

Preceptors

  • Jenifer Clausen, PharmD, BCPS (Pharmacy Director)
  • Chris Bens, RPh
  • JoAnn Hadel, RPh
  • Matt Harting, PharmD
  • Tamara Kemplay, PharmD, BCPS 
  • Erin King, PharmD
  • Barb Swartz,RPh

Location

Rotation Description

Saint Luke’s South Hospital is a 125 bed acute care hospital in Overland Park, Kansas and is part of the Saint Luke’s Health System serving the metropolitan and surrounding Kansas City area. Saint Luke’s South Hospital provides a variety of care practices including cardiac, oncology and onsite chemotherapy infusion center and has earned Center of Excellence designations for Orthopedic/Joint surgery, Bariatric surgery and Stroke/AMI. This rotation experience will expose the student pharmacist to the roles and duties of the pharmacist in a community hospital setting. Students will work in both the operational and clinical settings of hospital pharmacy as well as interact with multiple disciplines to learn about the integrated practices of health systems. The inpatient pharmacy is decentralized with a pharmacist assigned to each floor.

Potential Topics/Activities

Pharmacy students will participate in:

  • Attend critical care rounding with the multi-disciplinary team in the ICU
  • Daily patient clinical monitoring
  • Dosing and monitoring of Warfarin, Vancomycin and aminoglycosides
  • Utilize various CDTM agreements for standardization of care
  • Introduction to IV preparation and sterility testing
  • Management and processes involving medication inventory
  • Hospital management and committee meetings
  • Various shadowing opportunities
  • Provide anticoagulation education to patients
  • Act as a drug information resource for the health care team
  • Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) reporting
  • Various daily learning activities and projects as they arise
  • Present required presentations to pharmacy staff- one or two per preceptor discretion

Goals/Outcomes

  • Introduce students to inpatient pharmacy operations and patient care activities
  • Provide a learning environment for students to apply their classroom knowledge and expand their knowledge base
  • Teach students to effectively communicate with patients and other members of the healthcare team
  • Improve students’ proficiency in utilizing the available resources to provide safe and effective use of medications

Saint Luke's East Hospital (IPPE)

Preceptors

  • Lauren Aversman PharmD.
  • Rachel Doering PharmD. BCPS
  • Annie Hayes, PharmD.
  • Tom Johnson PharmD. BCPS
  • Theresa Lockwood, PharmD. BCAP
  • Kunal Patel, PharmD. BCPS
  • Alex Pope RPh.
  • Joe Truong PharmD.

Location

Rotation Description

The Saint Luke’s East IPPE Rotation is designed to provide the student with a well rounded overall experience in inpatient hospital medicine.  Students will participate in various facets of the daily drug distribution process, and have opportunities to spend time with various pharmacists on a daily basis. The student will gain a full grasp of all the technical aspects on how the pharmacy provides medications to the patient, and get a hands on experience with drug distribution and sterile and non-sterile compounding.  On the floor, students will work closely with pharmacists to provide education to patients, trouble shoot problems, and identify interventions that will optimize patient care. 

Potential Topics/Activities

  • Drug therapy monitoring with a pharmacist on the floor
  • Reviewing and completing consults on the floor with a pharmacist supervision
  • Medication profile review with pharmacist
  • Monitoring and assessment of laboratory data, microbiology, and test results
  • Patient education for discharges with new anticoagulation therapy
  • Drug info queries from medical and pharmacy staff
  • Pharmacy based calculations and IV drug compatibility questions
  • Responding to Code Blues
  • Adverse drug reaction reporting

Other Activities

  • Inservice –  usually presented at midpoint of rotation (can be replaced with a school required presentation if necessary)
  • Potential for local or system project to work on (given availability)
  • Potential for a day spent in at Crittenton Children’s Center 

Goals/Outcomes

  • Students will be expected to participate and learn about the drug distribution process
  • Use tertiary and primary sources to find answers to drug related questions
  • Learn about hospital policies and protocols for various disease states
  • Work and interact with other members of the health care team, including nurses, physicians, and other interdisciplinary staff members
  • Communicate professionally with all staff and our patient population

Hedrick Medical Center (IPPE)

Preceptors

  • Katie O’Dell, Pharm.D., BCPS, kodell@saint-lukes.org
  • Cassandra Peters, Pharm.D., BCPS
  • Andrew Bottorff, Pharm.D.

Location

  • Hedrick Medical Center

Rotation Description

Hedrick Medical Center is a 25-bed acute care critical access hospital located in Chillicothe, Missouri, and is part of the Saint Luke’s Health System. Hedrick Medical Center provides comprehensive care including 24-hour emergency services, a spacious maternity unit, Intensive Care Unit featuring eICU, a specialty clinic, an onsite chemotherapy infusion center, and inpatient and outpatient surgery. Students will participate under the supervision of a preceptor in the daily drug distribution process, clinically monitor patients, and experience the unique challenges a critical access hospital encompasses. Students will apply their acquired knowledge and skills to a wide range of professional services and activities that the pharmacy department provides.

Potential Topics/Activities

  • Medication dispensing/distribution under pharmacist supervision
  • Communicate with nurses and physicians to optimize medication use
  • Respond to drug information requests (verbally and/or through documentation in chart)
  • Targeted drug therapy monitoring including vancomycin, aminoglycosides, and others
  • Antibiotic surveillance including review of microbial culture and sensitivity data
  • Medication profile review and identification of drug-related problems
  • Adverse drug reaction and medication error reporting
  • Medication counseling on discharging patients
  • Documentation of clinical activities in the medical record
  • Various shadowing opportunities
  • Introduction to IV preparation and sterility testing
  • Required school of pharmacy workbook or other activities are the responsibility of the student to complete as primary patient care responsibilities allow or after hours.

Goals/Objectives

  • Introduce students to the medication use process and patient care activities that occur in the critical access hospital pharmacy setting  
  • Provide a learning environment for students to apply classroom knowledge and skills to patient care
  • Foster students’ ability to effectively communicate with other members of the healthcare team
  • Improve students’ proficiency in using available resources to ensure the safe and effective use of medications

Overnight Rotation

Preceptors

Location

Rotation Description

Saint Luke’s Hospital is a 400+ bed not-for-profit tertiary teaching hospital located in the historic Country Club Plaza. The overnight rotation is a 7-on/7-off four week rotation that provides students with the opportunity to explore the roles of pharmacists in an overnight hospital setting. Students will be exposed to various operational and clinical activities that overnight clinical pharmacists engage in on a nightly basis. Students will apply their acquired knowledge and skills to a wide range of professional services and activities that the inpatient pharmacy department provides. The goal of this rotation is to allow the student to develop the ability to assess patient profiles to identify drug-related issues and effectively initiate, adjusted, and monitor patients on various therapies under protocol.

Potential Topics/Activities

  • Medication verification and dispensing/distribution under pharmacist supervision
  • Communicate with nurses and physicians to optimize medication use
  • Selected topic discussions
  • Respond to drug information requests (verbally and/or through documentation in chart)
  • Targeted drug therapy monitoring including vancomycin, aminoglycosides, and others
  • Antibiotic surveillance including review of microbial culture and sensitivity data
  • Medication profile review and identification of drug-related problems
  • Medication reconciliation
  • Adverse drug reaction and medication error reporting
  • Targeted medication teachings as necessary (e.g. antiarrhythmics or anticoagulants)
  • Documentation of clinical activities in the medical record

Goals/Objectives

  • Introduce students to the medication use process and patient care activities that occur in the overnight inpatient pharmacy setting
  • Provide a learning environment for students to apply classroom knowledge and skills to patient care
  • Foster students’ ability to effectively communicate with other members of the healthcare team
  • Improve students’ proficiency in using available resources to ensure the safe and effective use of medications