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Student Interns 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.
One of the more unique opportunities available to students at Iverson Corner Drug is the chance to participate in a telepharmacy program. Our pharmacists are contracted out to Clearwater County Memorial Hospital, a local hospital about a half hour away from Bemidji. Due to a special waver granted by the Board of Pharmacy, our pharmacists check prescriptions and offer their input to the physicians at this small rural facility. Duties the pharmacist is responsible for include daily medication reviews, checking prescriptions, and monitoring drug therapy. Lab values and patient information are available over the secured link between the two institutions. Additionally, the pharmacist is responsible for offering alternatives to many prescribed medications. Because CCMH is a small rural institution, is has limited resources and does not keep a fully stocked pharmacy. The pharmacist is responsible for offering alternative therapies for medications ordered by the physician that are not available. This provides the constant challenge of medication management for a diverse patient population.
Due to the close collaboration of Iverson Corner Drug and Progressive HealthCare, 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 two Registered Nurses 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. Because of the many functions our pharmacy serves, and the variety of educational experiences found at our two pharmacies, we do require that students stay for 10 weeks versus the usual 5. Students are given computer access and their own workspace, and we will also help procure housing arrangements if needed.