Clinical Practice

Clinical Practice FINAL REFLECTIVE STATEMENT ASSESSMENT SHEET

Subject Clinical Practice 4

Student Name: Karina Kim Minh Pham (11391341)

This Final Reflective Statement is a 3 page Maximum statement (format requirements

below) that is an overarching global reflection of what you have learnt over the semester
and over the time spent with this subject and on placement; eg: What has challenged
you; How you have changed; and How you have incorporated or attained the Graduate
Attributes. The full details of the assessment criteria for this reflective statement can be
found on UTS Online.

USED the template provided

Utilised a doc version only (NO PDF)
Did not reformat the layout of the template
Maximum of 3 page (A4) in length
Typed using Times New Roman font (size 12)
Double-spaced
Cover sheet provided

Clinical Practice 2 (MPharm) 2016 Page 1 of 4

I am now in my final semester of my Masters of Pharmacy degree and what a year and a half it has been.

It is with pure relief that as a cohort, that we have finished all the clinical hours this degree required in the

short time we had. Although the long hours of free labour have been tough, it has been one of the main

vehicles that has allowed myself to learn and develop my skills as a student pharmacist to prepare myself

for internship year. There have been many road bumps that has challenged and tested my ability to

prioritise tasks, effectively time manage and work both independently and as a team to succeed as far as I

have.

Reflecting on what I knew starting day one of this degree and thinking of how much I thought I will learn

once this degree finished has far exceeded my expectations both on a professional but personal sense. I

remember feeling overwhelmed when first introduced to the graduate attributes and what was expected of

me after two years however with all the teaching and clinical hours I believe I have successfully

understood and incorporated these 8 attributes and their features and reflected them in how I work and

study into becoming an intern pharmacist coming 2018.

Professional expertise is a big attribute that I was unsure of how I was going to be able to meet coming

the end of this degree. I have been able to meet this attribute and apply it in my clinical placement sites

with the exposure of problem based learning subjects such as Integrated Therapeutics 1 and 2 where as a

group we were required to apply broad knowledge of disease states and medications. These subjects were

also able to enhance my inquiry skills where we were also required to pose questions and carry out

appropriate investigations to complete each trigger for each given case and provide both pharmacological

and non-pharmacological recommendations to improve the patients overall care. Being all group work,

this subject required being able to work as a team where each team member was required to contribute on

a weekly basis to ensure the task was completed. In the beginning, this was a challenging task that I found

working with new group members each semester. It meant that we had a tough first couple of weeks

where we were unsure on what each others strengths and weaknesses were however over time, team

collaboration tasks worked in our favour and this was reflected by our marks that we achieved as the

weeks progressed. It was very daunting to start hospital placement at the beginning of this year and I

believe I was not clinically prepared for what hospital had to offer. However, although being very

Clinical Practice, MPharm 2016 Page 2 of 4

unprepared, I believe my time in Murwillumbah Hospital was something I enjoyed and has influenced

myself to apply for rural positions up in Northern NSW.

Lifelong learning focuses and reflects on our profession and has taught me that there is always going to be

something I do not know. With the constant change in drugs available to treat many conditions, it is on us

as pharmacist to adopt to these changes and ensure that we are always updated. This also brings in the

importance of CPD points and by having some exposure of recording and completing a minimum of 10

hours for CP4, these are things we must do to maintain our registration. During my clinical placement at

Westmead, it was nice to have a timetable where we had the opportunity to gain experience in each of the

wards of the hospital. It was incredible to see all the things that pharmacists do in a clinical as well as a

manufacturing setting. It was important for me to show initiative to get the most out of my clinical

experience and I believe that in 2 weeks, I was able to gain an extra couple of hours visiting the wards

that I was interested in. Westmead Hospital is unique in a way where they have their own drug

information pharmacist and a room dedicated to drug information. I spent some time with the pharmacist

there where I could be exposed to books that are not accessible through UTS library. I spent some time

asking the pharmacist for other resources other than the AMH, eTG and MIMS to look for specific

information and which resources would be the best, such as using Stockleys to address specific drug

interactions.

Professional services 3 was a subject that focused on information gathering of the patient, identifying the

problem as well as providing recommendations and simplifying medication regimen if possible and

overall improving a patients care and management of their condition. This subject helped develop my

problem-solving skills as well as my communication skills in order to gather appropriate information. As

a pharmacist, it is also important to understand the PSAs Code of Ethics and the expectations required to

keep the integrity of pharmacy. Coming to the end of the semester, it is important to understand that the

wellbeing of our patients is reliant to our understanding and ability to recommend the appropriate

medication and provide education and counselling for patients to ensure that they use their medications in

a safe and effective manner. I found that learning about OTC products and minor ailments very

challenging and overwhelming. Over the semester though, I have incorporated my learning into my work

environment and I have been more confident in information gathering and therefore recommending an
Clinical Practice, MPharm 2016 Page 3 of 4
appropriate product for their condition. Learning about pharmacist only products, I am more comfortable

in recognising the differences between vaginal thrush treatment options available in the pharmacy and

identifying the symptoms which require a referral to the doctor. Being confident in this has helped me

counsel and answer questions such as What is the difference between the one day, three days and six day

cream? confidently.

Clinical placement has played a huge role in my understanding and development as a future pharmacist.

By applying my skills, I learnt in a classroom environment, I have been able to relate this to a clinical

setting with real life situations. My placement at Westmead was rewarding and being a specialised tertiary

referral hospital in Western Sydney, I was given the opportunity to experience many different wards and

reflect on many cases that I found very interesting. One case that stood out to me was a patient who

presented with cold and flu symptoms and an acute onset of confusion. This patient underwent many

laboratory tests to determine the cause of illness and in the end, she was diagnosed with tuberculosis

meningitis. I found it very hard to keep up to date with the conditions that I was not familiar with such as

tuberculosis however by having an opportunity to present this case to the clinical lead pharmacists at

Westmead I was more comfortable and understood the roles each medication played and this extra

learning, whilst on hospital placement has contributed to my understanding of a condition that has not

been covered in class. It is reasons like this that I am very appreciative of my time spent on placement to

prepare us for our internship year.

As a student pharmacist, it is important to recognise other cultures and our profession in a global setting

and the opportunities we have in the future. Although I am only studying, my family members treat me as

a registered pharmacist asking about indications of drugs, dosages and if something they are taking is

appropriate. I believe that as a student it is important to know where to find information if I do not know.

Being at Westmead Hospital and spending time in drug information, I am more aware of other resources

that I am able to access to provide myself with a more in depth and concise answer to any clinical

questions that I might have. As I am completing my final semester of university, I believe I am equipped

with skills that ensure that I am confidently able to practice as a pharmacist meeting all requirements

detailed by the Pharmacy Board of Australia and confidently passing my intern board examinations when

the time comes.

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