Success!

Today I finally presented the drug monograph I created for Vimovo (naproxen and esomeprazole). A drug monograph is a lengthy document containing all the major information you want to know on a medication- FDA indications, mechanism of action, side effects, contraindications, warnings/precautions, dosing, background of disease state being treated and clinical studies pertaining to the drug. Information is obtained through the package insert, dossier, practice guidelines...I even used the DiPiro textbook as a reference!

(Interesting side note- one of the authors in the DiPiro textbook is a member of the P&T committee at Prime)

This morning I practiced my presentation one on one with my preceptor and was really nervous! My voice was shaking and I had no idea why I was nervous. I am familiar with all the pharmacists I was going to present to, and they are all nice. I was shocked that I was nervous!

So I practiced few more times before the real thing in one of the meeting rooms to get over my jitters...

During the actual presentation, I was speaking with confidence and was hardly looking at my cheat sheet. I was really relieved it went well and received compliments from my preceptor and other pharmacists on a job well done. I'll admit-- I am feeling pretty cool right now...I created the drug monograph from the beginning, and saw it through by presenting it at the Clinical Review Committee meeting. These tasks are exactly what the senior clinical pharmacists in Formulary Development do! My monograph will be included as one of the company's confidential files, so I like how I was given real responsibilities of a pharmacist, and not just technician duties which is typical in many internships.

I really wish I could attend a P&T meeting, but I missed the May meeting and will be missing the August meeting since I'll be back in Michigan doing P-4 rotations. All these meetings I've been attending are geared towards polishing material for P&T, so it would have been a nice experience to witness the final decisions regarding formulary decisions.