Establishment of a Clinical Pharmacy Operating Room Rotation

Abstract

Purpose: An innovative pharmacy operating room rotation provides the clinical training necessary to deliver high-level care to patients in the perioperative setting. Summary: With the relative prevalence of operating room (OR) pharmacies in the nation and only a handful of pharmacy operating room rotations offered, the need to increase perioperative pharmacy education within our practice is essential. Our academic institution developed an operating room rotation designed to educate pharmacy students on intraoperative medication utilization and procedural terminology while offering direct patient care experience. The rotation addresses the pharmacy education gap in perioperative medication management thereby improving patient safety and quality measures. To date three pharmacy students have completed our institution’s OR pharmacy rotation. Subjectively speaking each student provided positive feedback regarding the rotation, its impact, and the education gained from the experience. Conclusion: The unique, fast-paced, medication-intensive setting of the OR allows students the opportunity to engage in numerous stages of the medication utilization process. The need for further clinical pharmacy involvement in our operating rooms teamed with the positive feedback received from students reinforces the necessity to develop more clinical OR pharmacy rotations. By sharing our methodology in developing an OR pharmacy rotation we are optimistic other institutions will recognize the value and realize the opportunity for a more comprehensive student experience specifically focusing a rotation on the operating room medications and procedures. This knowledge will further our profession and validate our ever growing need for direct pharmacist involvement on multidisciplinary teams in the operating rooms across the country.