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Pediatric Pharmacy

Dr. Gabi Schneiderman

  • Pediatric Clinical Pharmacist at American Family Children’s Hospital UW Health

  • Undergrad: UW La Crosse; Pharmacy School: UW-Madison; Residency (2-year): Memphis, Tennessee

  • Why Pediatrics? : Wanted to work with kids, Challenging (Not as much data on pediatrics because people don’t always want their kids in studies ), Gratifying (Kids are extremely resilient )

Pediatric Pharmacist Training

  • Undergraduate (2-4 years of prerequisites)

    • Pharmacy School (4 years for PharmD - 3 years didactic, 1 year rotations)

    • Residency (PGY1 and PGY2)

    • Board Certification (BCPPS - requirement for all UW pharmacists)

  • A lot of support in pharmacy school; not a competition; they want everyone to do well

  • 1 to 8 pharmacists working at a time in AFCH

  • Pediatric Populations: general pediatrics, complex care, PICU, NICU, hematology/oncology


Unique Pediatric Pharmacy Dispensing Considerations

  • Weight-based dosing (prepackaging of many medications)

  • More medication errors happen in pediatric patients (more harmful)

  • 17 to 50% decrease in medication errors by increased pharmacist participation in drug therapy

Unique Pediatric Pharmacy Clinical Considerations

  • Differences in pharmacokinetic principles

  • Certain medications should be avoided in pediatrics

  • Personal favorite: PICU


Day in the life

  • Morning: work up patients, go on interdisciplinary rounds

  • Afternoon: follow-up on patient care items, topic discussions, work on projects

  • Variable times: attend/give presentations, attend meetings

  • Rotate between clinical and central pharmacist roles

Tips

  • Undergrad and Pharmacy School: study hard (alone and in groups), get involved (leadership, teaching, research), work experience, get to know upperclassmen and professors, network (attend pharmacy events, conferences, meetings)

  • Going into pediatric pharmacy: can be competitive (plan on doing a residency), try to get as much exposure to pediatrics as possible (work, rotations, projects), take the pediatrics elective during the 3rd year of pharmacy school if able, don’t be afraid to get away from home for residency/jobs

How did you get matched with your residency program?

  • Residency showcase in December of 4th year

  • Apply and interview for residencies

  • The Match: candidates and programs rank each other numerically

How many pediatric pharmacists are there in total at the American Family Children’s Hospital?

  • 10

  • 5 come in at the beginning of the day for each station, a few stagger in during the day, evening shift (2 pharmacists), overnight (1)

What are some things that you did in PGY2 that you didn’t do in the more general PGY1 program?

  • More freedom in choosing rotations

  • Had more responsibilities (teaching experience with PGY1 residents)

  • Different expectations

  • Got to cover the emergency department alone (paid pharmacist salary)

  • Cardiac Kids Camp

How often do you rotate between the different pediatric units? Do you get a say in what unit you are in?

  • At UW, pharmacists indicate their primary and secondary area of interest

  • Try to get 50% of your shifts to be one of your top two units


Are hospitals the only work environments that pediatric pharmacists work in? If not, what are some other work environments?

  • At AFCH, there is one pharmacist at their retail pharmacy

  • Ambulatory care pharmacy (growing field)


Feel free to contact Dr. Schneiderman with any questions!


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