Experiential education — including Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPEs) and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs) — is an essential aspect of earning a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree. During these hands-on, real-world experiences, preceptors provide invaluable support to aspiring pharmacists as expert guides.
Dr. Lan Vu is a pharmacist specialist at UCI Health and a preceptor for the UC Irvine School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences. She earned her PharmD degree from the University of Southern California (USC) and completed her PGY-1 pharmacy practice residency at UCI Health.
“I was offered a position at UCI Health after finishing the residency,” she shared. “When the opportunities for medical ICU and surgical ICU specialists were first available, I was selected to be the medical ICU specialist. Later on, I acquired cardiac ICU and burn ICU. My current role includes the medical ICU, cardiac care unit (CCU), and cardiovascular ICU.”
Student pharmacists on rotation with Dr. Vu begin their day by evaluating patients. They present their findings, ask questions, and offer recommendations. Then, they review patient profiles and read about assigned topics to inform a later discussion session.
In rotations led by Dr. Vu, student pharmacists can expect to learn about shock management, vasopressors, pain/sedation/agitation while on mechanical ventilation, antibiotic judicious usage and de-escalation, Code Blue participation, and hypertensive emergency management, as well as the use of medical devices such as chest tubes, Impella devices, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machines.
“Students will learn to assess the need for ICU stays and how to optimize medication therapy to facilitate downgrading to another floor or discharging to home,” Dr. Vu stated. “They will have the opportunity to integrate themselves to the medical team and work with attending, fellow, and resident physicians, as well as nursing staff, and learn how to critically evaluate medication needs and effectiveness.”
Preceptors like Dr. Vu also offer their students career advice and insight from their years as pharmacy experts.
“There will be challenges during the journey. The love for what you do will help you overcome hardship and become a better clinician,” said Dr. Vu. “Find out your goal early and pursue it.”
