After completion of the Kenya rotation, I have been able to better evaluate the impact pharmacists can make to improve patient care. As my first experience with clinical pharmacy and also within any hospital setting, I had to quickly learn to adjust to following many patients with different disease states and following up on their care daily. I gained a lot of experience in multidisciplinary care rounds, which definitely influenced my interest in clinical pharmacy. MTRH was the first opportunity where I have had involvement in important (life or death) patient care decisions and in-depth discussions with physicians. I felt as though my opinion and knowledge were respected, and that confidence boost provided self motivation to continue my efforts.
I enjoyed this rotation for more than the obvious perks of weekend trips, new friendships, and cultural broadening. Reviewing charts may have felt tedious at times, but I learned to filter information for pertinent lab results. This skill is necessary at my new rotation site, where I am “rounding” in a different ward every day of the week and have many more patients.
I felt very intimidated in the beginning of the Kenya rotation because we were immediately thrown into the experience and had to learn to fend for ourselves. Looking back, I realize this was the only way it could be done. As for the rotation itself, I cannot recommend anything to be changed.
