Blog 11: Mentorship 10 Hours Check

1. I am doing my mentorship at Merced Medical Pharmacy.

2. Toni Villanueva is my contact.

3. As of December 27th, 2012, I have done 36 hours and 15 minutes.

4. In the 36 hours, my duties have varied based on what needs to be done the days I come in. The main jobs that I have been doing are sorting prescription orders, putting pharmaceutical products back onto the shelf, stack medicine boxes, observe and help keep the pharmacy clean.  

Senior Project Update

(1) What are you currently doing in your independent component? 
          I am currently trying to get into a nutrition class for my independent component as well as trying to get into a laboratory to observe biology students.

(2) What is a recent piece of research (article, interview, or audio-visual) that have you reviewed you would say was significant in helping you understand where to go next in your senior project?  The piece of research should be something you reviewed in November.  Please explain what you learned and where are you going next because of this piece of research.
          A recent piece of research that has guided me towards what to do next for my independent component is an Op-Ed called, "Out of Control Compounding of Drugs." The article is about the recent outbreak of the steroid being contaminated by a fungus. Because of this, people are now skeptical of compounding pharmacies and new FDA standards for medicine. This has geared me to not only know what a pharmacist does but how important the current issues in pharmacy are. This article also pertains to my science fair project. Because of this research I will start looking up current events in the pharmacy world because the medicine and new restrictions are always coming out.

(3) Provide evidence from your independent component or the piece of research as something you recently did.  For example, a photo of something you working on for your independent component or your notes from the video you watched. 
          The evidence of new research that I have found are new issues such as the meningitis outbreak, what FDA inspections regulate, and more about compounding drugs.

More Trust in Mentorship

Now that I have been volunteering more and more with the pharmacy, they are trusting me more and more. My mentor has been giving me more important duties. One of the things that I have been working on for awhile are sorting prescription orders. These are extremely important so they can refer back to a prescription.

These are the prescription orders that I have been organizing. 

Halfway of Mentorship Pentagon

I have OFFICIALLY reached the halfway point of my mentorship hours with 31.5 hours!
Some positive statements about my mentorship so far:
-My mentor is extremely flexible with my schedule of when I want to volunteer.
-Everyone at the pharmacy is very friendly and willing to explain what they're doing.
-Even though they give me busy work a lot of the time, it's actually work that I enjoy doing.
-I am not just sitting there observing them most of the time.
-They always make sure that I'm not observing too long and helping out.
-I really get a view of EVERYTHING they are doing as a pharmacy.
How the mentorship has helped me answer my EQ:
-Given me a view of what a pharmacist does on a daily
-Shows me how much customer interaction and how much they really help the patient with whatever need they have by ordering them a taxi or finding the right cane tip
What worked regarding my mentorship:
-The amount of hands on experience I get to do rather than just sitting around and observing
-The real view I get to have with all aspects of the pharmacy from customer service to filling prescriptions
-Flexibility of schedule with my mentorship
What hasn't worked so far regarding my mentorship:
-Not being able to volunteer as much as I want to because of my busy schedule
-Not having a camera to take pictures of all the things I am doing
-Updating my blog independently
Finding value with my mentorship:
My mentorship so far has given me that view and hands on experience with a pharmacist that I would never get by just reading articles. I am truly appreciative of my mentorship because it gives me so many answers to my essential question just by being able to really see what a pharmacist does on a daily basis. It shows me how much they really do just to help a patient.
Because I am at my halfway point of my mentorship, I now have a view of what I can do better. Some of the things I will do differently for the rest of my mentorship is definitely pay more attention of my surroundings to take full advantage of this opportunity. Another thing I will do is go to my mentorship more often to keep the relationship between my mentors and me good so that they can be more trusting of me with duties. The most important thing I think I will do from now on is definitely ask more questions and try to take pictures of the things I am doing.

Above are a couple pictures of one of the things that I have done at my mentorship. These pictures show an inventory list that I took of diabetic products and durable medical equipment.

Science Fair Proposal

1. Pharmacy

2. Pharmacy Malpractice

QUOTE: "Perhaps pharmacist errors are the most chilling types of med mal cases, because when we get a prescription filled that the doctor gave us, we do not question the pharmacist. We grab the bag, go home, take the pills and wait to get better, hopefully," said Christopher Mellino. Mellino is a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer of the Mellino Law Firm LLC, in Ohio. 

CITE: "Pharmacist Malpractice can be more Dangerous than Physician Malpractice." Law Firm Newswire. Law Firm Newswire, 25 Feb. 2011. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. <http://www.lawfirmnewswire.com/2011/02/pharmacist-malpractice-can-be-more-dangerous-than-physician-malpractice/>.

3. If the economic status of the state is lower than the average, than the number of malpractice reports is higher.

4. I plan to use the data from the National Practitioner Data Bank to find out how many malpractice reports of pharmacists. They have statistical data gathered about how many reports are followed as well as their adverse action reports. I also plan to look up the states' GDP of 1990-2012. Through this data, I will graph their growth and see if the GDP has some sort of correlation with the states GDP. I am thinking of also including other information like the percentage of unemployment or poverty rate.

5. Pharmacology

Working EQ and Possible Answers

1. My working EQ that I used during my presentation was "How can a pharmacist best help a patient?"

2. I am not going to revise my EQ at this time.

3. My possible answers to my current working EQ is through giving consultations, giving preventative advice, going through the prescription to check for discrepancies as well as call insurance companies. I believe these are my answers because I have found these basic duties to be throughout all my research. 

Rough Draft of Presentation 1

10 Minute Presentation Lesson Plan

Independent Component 1 Plan Approval

1. Write a description of what you plan on doing for your independent study.

I plan to take a Biology class at Cal Poly Pomona. In this class, I would learn the basics of living organisms such as their structure, what they're purpose is and how they grow.

2. Describe in detail how you think your plan will meet the 30 hours work requirement?

By taking a biology class I will have about 3 hours a week of actually taking the class for a quarter (approximately 10-12 weeks). Just by taking the class itself, I will be fulfilling the 30 hours. I plan to exceed the 30 hours by also taking more hours to study and read to supplement whatever is necessary for me to succeed in the course.

3.  How does your independent study component relate to your working EQ?
This independent component relates to my EQ by giving me more knowledge about what a pharmacist has to know and what classes I would be taking in the future. One of my answers to my working EQ could possibly be the knowledge that a pharmacist has. 

Second Interview Questions

1. How did you get to the point you are at?
2. What was the academic pathway you took?
3. What was the hardest part of becoming a pharmacist?
4. How long did it take you to become a pharmacist?
5. What other classes did you have to take that you didn't expect to take to become a pharmacist?
6. What was the biggest obstacle you had to face when you were becoming a pharmacist?
7. Where did you work before?
8. What are things you think not a lot of people know you do as a pharmacist?

Working EQ

The Pentagon
1. Positive Statement. What positive thing has happened as  a result of what you have completed so far?

One positive thing that has happened to me as a result of what I have completed so far  is finding a better mentor. Over the summer, I worked with a mentor who was really busy and didn't really have a chance to actually talk to me. Because of this, I was on a search for a mentor who was hopefully a little bit more understandable and nearby home. Now that I have a better mentor, I have learned so much within only a couple of times volunteering with them.

2. EQ Content. How has your interview helped you improve your understanding of your topic?

My interview has helped me improve my understanding of my topic by finding out how much work goes into not only becoming a pharmacist but being one. I also learned the different aspects of a pharmacist and what it takes to maintain a pharmacy. My interviewee was extremely helpful and knowledgeable by not only giving me advice on what to do next but willing to tell me what is important in the field of pharmacy. It really improved my understanding of pharmacy by giving me an inside look of what happens in the pharmacy field that not a lot of people know what happens behind their prescription.

3. What has worked for you so far in the senior project?

What has really worked for me in the senior project is the mentorship. I am really enjoying it and learning so much from it. I also love how the senior project is broken up into small parts that will come together eventually so it's not so overwhelming.

4. What hasn't worked so far?

Although there isn't much that hasn't worked so far would be the scheduling of my mentorship. I think it's more of a personal issue with the fact that I don't really have much transportation to my mentorship but I believe once we get more into the school year I'll be able to find ways to them.

5. Finding Value.

What possible question or questions come to mind regarding what you would like to study this year?

What is the most important quality/trait a pharmacist has to have to succeed?

What is the most effective way to get a patient out effectively and happily in the pharmacy field?

What is your end goal this year with your senior project?

My end goal this year with my senior project is to decide if pharmacy is really what I want to do with my life. Being in the medical field is a huge commitment and I want to make sure that this is really the commitment I really want to take. I also hope to possibly gain my pharmacy technician's license if I really love the field at the end of the year.

Who would you like to talk to next? Why?

I would like to talk to a clinical pharmacist and a pharmacist that works for a bigger chain such as CVS, Rite Aid, etc. Clinical pharmacy is something I'm interested in based on my research so I believe it would be a good opportunity to really learn about their daily duties. I also think that by talking to a community pharmacist might be a different perspective from someone who works in an independent pharmacy. 

Problem Statement

1. What is your senior project topic? 

Pharmacy is my senior project topic.

2. What are two problems with your topic? What will you do when you solve each problem?

One problem with pharmacy is internet pharmacy. The problem with internet pharmacy is that some pharmacists sell prescription drugs without a prescription as well as patients going to these pharmacies to get drugs that doctors are not willing to prescribe to them. This type of pharmacy has been deemed "potentially dangerous" because of the fact that patients especially younger ones can obtain medication that is not prescribed to them.

I believe internet pharmacy can really be a major part of pharmacy because technology is so prevalent in our society. Therefore, when I solve the problem of internet pharmacy, I plan to introduce the concept to my present mentor and see if she can implement it into her pharmacy. If I ever own my own pharmacy or when I work in a pharmacy in the future, I will definitely present internet pharmacy as an option that can be convenient for patients and bring in more revenue.

Another problem is not enough integration of pharmacy care with patient care. One study showed that by a hospital integrating a "patient centered integrated model of pharmacy practice" they reduced readmission rates of patients with heart failure.

I really love the idea of being in clinical pharmacy. Clinical pharmacy mostly revolves anything to do with the patient. I really love helping people and what better way to help them by prescribing something that will make them feel better. I believe that by knowing why and how important it is to integrate more patient centered pharmacy care I will be able to decide where I would want to work for the pharmacy field and be able to help more people effectively. 

Interview Preparation

Content

1. Who do you plan to interview? Why?
I plan to interview Tony Villanueva for my first interview because she owns her own pharmacy and I believe that she would have a different perspective than just any pharmacist has.

2. What additional questions do you plan to ask?  

I also plan to ask: 

How did you get to the point you are at right now?

Was this what you originally wanted to do?

What is the most enjoyable part of the pharmacy field?

Are there any downfalls to becoming a pharmacist or getting into that field? 

Pharmacy

a. What is your topic and why? 

My topic is pharmacy. I chose this because it's something I'm interested in investing my future career in. Before I take the huge task of being in medical school for four years, I want to be sure that pharmacy is really what I want to do and study.

b.  What do you hope to accomplish this year with this topic? (Relating to ESLRs)

-iPoly Citizen: 

I plan to contribute more to the community in finding multiple connections with different pharmacists.  This relates to me improving as a iPoly citizen because it allows me to take responsibilities for myself and for my actions. By being able to build more connections, I will be able to learn  more about current issues and history regarding the field of pharmacy and an even more broader field, medical. Learning more about these things will allow me to develop an awareness and appreciation of how the field itself makes an impact.

-Effective Communicator:

This year, I plan to be able to observe and apply all the communicating and teamwork skills that a pharmacist has. As a pharmacist, they work with tons of people from patients with consultants to techs with communicating about prescriptions. This will make me more effective as a communicator because being in a pharmacy can be a stressful environment dealing with more crucial things such as giving the right prescription and other things like that. Observing how they deal with the certain situations can allow me to learn and apply them to any stressful situation and in the future career. By applying this, it will allow me to be a better contributor, collaborator and work better with people and in turn, make me a more effective communicator.

-Effective Learner:

This year, I plan to learn basic medical knowledge and to apply this to medical situations that come up. For example, if someone has sprained their leg or has the cold, be able to know what to do. (Seeing Brandon Zelaya know so much information about specific medicines in his senior presentation just amazed me.) This will make an effective learner  to me improving as a iPoly citizen because knowing basic knowledge can help me become a better problem solver with a topic I am not really familiar with. Having this knowledge also opens up to my mind to learning even more knowledge and being able to really help people out.

-Effective User of Technology:

I plan to improve my researching skills with not only researching my topic but also other things that I need research for in the future. This will make me more effective as a user of technology because I will be able to find ways to research more effectively and be able to integrate it into becoming a more effective learner.

Summer Mentorship Component

Literal (Know)
-Log: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkTrsAi92Qd1dGZRUmpTMUxWRjRZbUtNd1VFVEI2b2c#gid=0
-Contact Name & Number: Brian Garner: (909) 624-1611
I worked with only one contact for this whole summer.

Literal (Need to Know) 
What questions were raised because of the 10 hours of experience? 
-What characteristics does it take to be an efficient pharmacist?
-What other skills do you need besides just medical knowledge to become a pharmacist?
-How often does a pharmacist check the accuracy of the prescription?
-What did it take to get you to the position of a pharmacist?
-How many different jobs are there in a pharmacy?
-Are there different kinds of pharmacists?
-What is the academic path to get to be a pharmacist?
-What's the difference between a pharmacy technician and pharmacist regarding in what their skills entail?
-What degree do you need to become a pharmacist?
-Can the pharmacist enter the prescription, fill prescriptions, and check them?
-What is the difference between a privately owned pharmacy and a bigger corporation pharmacy?

Interpretive
What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?
I believe the most important thing I have gained from this experience is seeing firsthand what a pharmacist does. I have always had an idea as to what a pharmacist does but I have never realized what the extent of it is. I feel that this is the most important thing that I have gained and could have gained because if I do choose this as a future career it is important for me to know what I'll be doing.

Applied
How did what you did help you choose a topic? 
I feel that the experience helped me choose pharmacy as a topic because it showed me what pharmacy is really about and what pharmacists do. From what I have observed, they are more of an advice giver than anything. The consultations were my favorite part to observe because they seemed to know so much and know exactly know how to fix it. It made me realize how much more interested I am in what a pharmacist does and how I can get there.