STUDENT INTERN INFORMATION
Iverson Corner Drug is a center, or 'hub', for 4th year students
from the University of Minnesota. These students are in the final
year of school, and come to Iverson corner Drug to get hands-on
experience before graduating and taking their Boards. The following
sections outline the goals and opportunities Iverson Corner Drug
and it's affiliate, Progressive HealthCare, provide to these
students.
Student Opportunities
Counseling is one of the most important functions pharmacists
at Iverson Corner Drug fulfill. We have a dedicated counseling
room, and an additional semi-private counseling station to aid
in assisting our patients in their medication management in a
private, confidential setting. It is mandatory that all patients
speak with our pharmacists about any new medications, and we
make it a policy to follow up with our patients routinely. Our
pharmacists keep electronic charts on every patient to assist
us in follow-up inquiries, our fourth year interns are expected
to maintain and update these charts after every consultation
with a patient.
Aside from our regular consultations, the pharmacists at Iverson
Corner Drug currently are involved with the Minnesota Area Agency
for Aging and the Minnesota Pharmacist Association to provide
free medication counseling services for our elderly population.
This program is sponsored by a grant from the Federal government,
and pays pharmacists for providing our most important service,
our medication expertise.
Taking advantage of the many new CLIA-waived products on the
market, it is now possible for patients to monitor various lab
values on their own. At Iverson Corner Drug we can screen for
blood pressure, hemoglobin A1C, ALT/AST liver enzymes, full panel
cholesterol screening, and blood glucose. These services go hand
in hand with our charting program, as we can enter the patient's
values directly into our system, and note changes over time.
Of course we always provide these numbers to the patient's physician,
and work directly with local doctors to provide appropriate medication
management.
In addition to meeting the varied needs of our patients, the
pharmacists at Iverson Corner Drug work closely with the local
HomeCare and Hospice Program. One of our pharmacists regularly
attends weekly Hospice meetings, working in a team approach with
both doctors and nurses to manage patient's chronic pain. Fourth
year Interns will find an excellent opportunity to get experience
in pain control and end-of-life medicine.
Due to the close collaboration of Iverson Corner Drug and Progressive
Health Care, a local infusion pharmacy, students have ample opportunity
to experience work in a closed pharmacy. Progressive makes a
range of infusion products, from TPN's to morphine infusions
for patients with chronic pain. They also have a new intrathecal
Baclofen pump program that has recently started up. Progressive
has a Registered Nurse to administer the product to our patients,
as well. Students will get plenty of experience with aseptic
technique and infusion pharmacy at this site.
Because we are a community-based pharmacy, we feel it's important
that our pharmacists and interns are aware and knowledgeable
about all of our OTC products. To this end we require all students
to recommend OTC medications for various ailments with one of
our pharmacists, and review their choices. It is our hope that
our interns leave our store comfortable with the myriad of OTC
products, and confident in their ability to answer their future
patients' questions.
Other Benefits
In addition to the varied opportunities listed above, Iverson
Corner Drug has an excellent support staff, high speed internet
including Micromedex access, and excellent resources for various
student projects. We have collaborative agreements with various
local physicians, and have experienced pharmacists to assist
students in their education. Students are given computer access
and their own workspace, and we will also help procure housing
arrangements if needed.
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