The Pfizer Guide to Careers in - College of Pharmacy

Did you know?
Pharmacy
services
expanded into
various ICU
settings in the
1970s, and specialized
critical
care pharmacy
training programs
emerged
a decade later.
Between the
early 1980s and
late 1990s, the
number of
critical care
residencies and
fellowships
doubled.
After her residencies and fellowships, Dr. Rhoney moved on to become a
clinical instructor and professor at various other universities. Today she is
both Assistant Professor of Pharmacy and Medicine in the Departments of
Pharmacy Practice and Neurology at Wayne State University and works as
well at Detroit Receiving Hospital.
Profiling the job
Dr. Rhoney is currently a neuro-trauma pharmacist in a 340-bed, all adult,
Level One Trauma Center, meaning this hospital offers the highest level of
care to trauma patients. Detroit Receiving Hospital includes a 92-bed
emergency unit; ninety-eight percent of its admissions come through the
emergency room.
The hospital is also a comprehensive stroke facility which takes referrals
from other hospitals. Dr. Rhoney mentions there have been several significant
advances in the field of stroke within the last five years. For example,
a new agent that breaks up blood clots is now available for stroke patients
(it used to be used strictly for heart patients). Dr. Rhoney explains that
when a stroke patient arrives at the hospital, she and her team, which also
includes a neurology and pharmacy resident, are summoned. She evaluates
the patient to see if he or she is an
“There's no by-the-book
approach to care here,” says
Dr. Rhoney. “Each patient is
different and they’re all so ill
that the job requires a lot of
thinking and creativity.”
appropriate candidate to receive
the treatment. If so, she determines
the dosage based on the patient’s
weight. A dispensing pharmacist
prepares it and a nurse sets up an
IV to administer it.
There are only a small number of
neuro-trauma pharmacists in the
country who work in both an intensive care unit and stroke pavilion. Other
critical care pharmacists specialize in areas such as pediatrics, cardiacthoracic,
cardiology, general surgery, trauma, burns, and respiratory ailments.
Detroit Receiving Hospital has seven pharmacists in critical care and three
dispensing pharmacists available on a daily basis. Ninety percent of the
patient population is indigent.
40 the pfizer guide > critical care pharmacist