Pharmacy resident takes care to new height

Abstract

Through a collaboration between Carilion Clinic’s pharmacy and emergency medicine residency programs, pharmacist Jessica Schad spent a day in August getting a bird’s-eye view of patient care. Schad, a postgraduate year 2 critical care pharmacy resident, flew with the Roanoake, Virginia-based health system’s Life-Guard air ambulance service. The fleet is operated through a partnership with Med-Trans Corporation of Dallas and consists of three helicopters that provide 24-hour transport for patients in Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Schad said her work with the flight team included restocking the helicopter with medications and supplies, mixing medication doses, recording and tracking drug use, and providing general help during patient transport. She was with the flight team from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on what turned out to be a slow day, transporting one patient from the emergency department of one hospital to the intensive care unit of another facility, and then...