Recent OSU College of Pharmacy graduate and current PGY-1 Pharmacy Resident at the Children’s Hospital & Medical Center of Omaha, NE, Guadalupe Ortiz (’15), was invited to Mexico with the head CT Surgeon, Dr. Hammel. During their time there, they planned to establish a pediatric ICU pharmacy for his foundation “Abriendo Corazones.” As part of her residency project, Ortiz blogged about her experiences in Mexico:
Miram preparing chemo. She hand writes the drug, dose, and volume she will be drawing up for each chemo needed for the day.
“Brief Notes on Day Two:
1. There is no central pharmacy and the nurses draw up and calculate everything. It’s a rather scary thought coming from the US.
2. Their chemotherapy verification process is less than adequate – they have already had one reported chemo overdose since opening (EEK!!).
3. Their HEPA filers have never been changed since the hospital has been open (that’s four years now).”
Stand located on the PICU floor where the nurses mix the medications
The work bench is where the oncology pharmacist prepares all of her supplies necessary for the chemo preparation. Once the chemo is made, it will be put in brown bags, labeled and sent to the patient.
There will be a series of 10 posts from Guadalupe. Part 3 in the series will be in the next newsletter.