Orthopedic Surgery RJH

This rotation will involve the direct care of patients admitted to an Orthopedic Surgery unit for management of both surgical and non-surgical orthopedic diagnoses. This rotation is based in Victoria at the Royal Jubilee Hospital (RJH). This rotation will allow the resident to expand their knowledge in many areas of orthopedics, including, but not limited to, post-operative pain management, the management of chronic pain in non-surgical patients, VTE prophylaxis in a variety of surgical and non-surgical situations, treatment of related infections (osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, etc.), and the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis. If time and resources allow, the resident will also be given the opportunity to directly observe an orthopedic surgery.

The resident will be provided with the opportunity to learn about the role of the pharmacist within the patient care team, which serves a variety of orthopedic patients. They will also have the opportunity to make initial assessments and recommendations and then provide follow-up and monitoring for commonly encountered orthopedic conditions. The resident will work to identify and resolve each of their patient’s drug therapy problems (DTPs), make suggestions to the interdisciplinary team, monitor therapy, and provide education and feedback regarding evidence-based approaches to treatment. The level of involvement may differ for each patient depending on patient-specific factors; however, every effort will be made to identify and assign patients to the resident for whom complex disease processes, complex medication regimens, or the presence of multiple actual or potential DTPs provide an opportunity for the most beneficial pharmacist involvement as well as an optimal experience for learning and skills development.

General Surgery VGH

This rotation will involve the direct care of patients admitted to a General Surgery unit for management following a general surgical procedure. This rotation is based in Victoria at the Victoria General Hospital. This rotation will allow the resident to expand their knowledge in many areas of general surgery, including, but not limited to, post-operative pain management, VTE prophylaxis in a variety of surgical situations, treatment of related post-surgical infections or other complications surrounding a general surgical admission. If time and resources allow, the resident will also be given the opportunity to directly observe a general surgery procedure.

Orthopedic and General Surgery Rotations

The resident will be provided with the opportunity to learn about the role of the pharmacist within the patient care team, which serves a variety of orthopedic patients. They will also have the opportunity to make initial assessments and recommendations and then provide follow-up and monitoring for commonly encountered orthopedic conditions. The resident will work to identify and resolve each of their patient’s drug therapy problems (DTPs), make suggestions to the interdisciplinary team, monitor therapy, and provide education and feedback regarding evidence-based approaches to treatment. The level of involvement may differ for each patient depending on patient-specific factors; however, every effort will be made to identify and assign patients to the resident for whom complex disease processes, complex medication regimens, or the presence of multiple actual or potential DTPs provide an opportunity for the most beneficial pharmacist involvement as well as an optimal experience for learning and skills development.

Each day, the resident will take on the care of at least one patient admitted to the unit. It is therefore expected that the resident will comprehensively work up and follow a minimum of 20 patients during their four week rotation. The number of patients a resident will be responsible for at one time will vary depending on the acuity and intensity of the patients admitted to the unit. Generally, this will be limited to 10-15 patients at one time. It is the responsibility of the resident to discuss workload with the preceptor if it becomes overwhelming. The preceptor will make every effort to ensure that workload is appropriate and applicable to the goals of the residency.

As new therapeutic topics arise that are relevant to each patient case, they will be covered daily via a combination of self-directed and preceptor-assisted learning. Scheduled therapeutic discussions on select topics will be confirmed at the start of the rotation, and other items may be discussed informally according to the resident’s area(s) of interest/need for learning, as well as the types of patients encountered during the rotation. These topics will generally be preceded by assigned readings.