NUH experience day 1&2

Was feeling a little nervous about the start of preceptorship at NUH. Though I've been to NUH for a lunches and dinners when I was camping at Med library back then, I don't really know NUH that well apart from its 7/11, Kopitiam and Enclave. NUH was actually very huge and confusing at times. A lot of zig-zag turns and sitting of lifts before we reached cancer centre which is at the Kent Ridge wing of NUH. Kent Ridge wing is actually a newer building of NUH, it definitely looked posher to me, with an open air deck for Kopitiam(though not a very decent place for lunch under such hot sun) fully airconditioned wards, the building definitely looks really good. There are also various stores at the main lobby of the building, and wooden benches at the entrance for the taxi queue. It doesn't really feel or look like a hospital esp at its entrance. Many different clinics are located at different levels of the building, and the place we're posted to which is the cancer centre is located at the 4th level, which is the same level as the Aesthetic and Plastic Surgery clinic as well as the Digestive clinic.

First day at work was decent, a lot of reading was done till I got a little saturared. My preceptor Lay Mui asked us to read up on SOPs as well as a journal with regards to antiemetic uses. Thus, me and Wanxia spent a great deal of time mugging in the cancer centre pantry. Last minute teaching was done at the last hour of the day. She explained to us about prescriptions and the various drugs used in the pharmacy.

2nd day was better in a sense that more hands-on was done. We did a bit of packing. Packing is usually done by the Pharmacy Technicians. It's not a difficult task, but it's definitely my first time and we did encounter quite a few problems. One definitely has to be alert as during peak hours, it can get quite confusing. Doses, strength, quantity of the drugs must not be wrong. Well, errors are few as there will be 2 rounds of checking, one by another PT and a final round of check of interactions, strength, quantity and the right drug by the pharmacist herself. We observed a few counseling sessions as well.
At the end of the day, LayMui actually asked us to go for a counseling session for chemotherapy. It's a 44 y.o chinese man, who was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. And it's his first time undergoing chemotherapy, with oxaliplatin, 5FU and folinic acid. He looks a little fatigue and older than his age. His gf/wife was with him. The counseling started with the explaination of the drugs dispensed, the chemotherapy that he was going through, and the side effects that he might be experiencing throughout the cycles. He has to go through 12 cycles of chemo!!! That was really shocking to me. The counseling was done rather professionally. LayMui explained everything in Mandarine, and I was totally impressed. Now then I truly realise the importance of dialect and Mandarine in our profession. Half way through the side effects session, the wife walked away, and WX told me that she was actually tearing. I didn't even realise that. I guess this is still a very raw news to both of them as it's his first chemotherapy, and the side effects are so numerous that I think if I were in her shoes, I might not be able to handle it and break down as well. The man himself was very courageous and sat through the whole counseling which takes more than 20minutes!!
I feel that more can be done for patients like this. Pharmacist should always try to value add their profession. I can truly see the value adding aspects when I am working here at NUH. For instance, if a doctor is or prescribe a drug for the patient, and if the patient still have a lot of the drug at home, they can actually request to buy less of the drug. This actually avoid wastage and lessen the financial burden of the patient. Pharmacists are there to help the patients to make the optimal decision in the area of drugs. I really hope to see more of this as I'm working here in NUH. It's definitely very inspirational and encouraging.