Pharmacy Students Intern in the Virgin Islands for the First Time

Pharmacy Students Intern in the Virgin Islands for the First Time

In the fall of 2015, Juan F. Luis Hospital (JFL) in Virgin Islands partnered with Chicago State University to provide field experience to students of Pharmacy. This summer, Juan F. Luis Hospital gave three fourth-year pharmacy students the opportunity to intern in the Virgin Islands. The six-week rotation allowed students hands-on experience in the clinical field in addition to working on the administrative side of pharmacy.

CSU pharmacy students Ali Shafran, Mey Saeteurn and Janelle Sulaiman are the first to participate in the rotation program. They assisted in rounding with clinical staff on patient care units, evaluating medication error reports, IV room compounding, along with other pharmacy-based initiatives. “For people who’ve never been exposed to hospital pharmacy and have only one idea of what a pharmacist does, gets to see that there’s more to it than just filling prescriptions,” says Saeteurn. 

Each student agreed that the program was helpful. Sulaiman stated that, “The rotation at JFL provided me with many opportunities to experience all aspects of institutional pharmacy to ensure a better understanding of how an inpatient pharmacy should function.” 

“We are elated that we began this partnership with Juan F. Luis Hospital and we’re excited about the opportunities that would come from it. We are always eager to offer new experiences to our students in the profession and we’ll have several more student groups visiting that hospital for further training.” (Dr. Carmita A. Coleman) 

The partnership with JFL Hospital is now an Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (A.P.P.E.) site for the university. The program hosts fourth year pharmacy students while implementing medication reconciliation, discharge education, outpatient anticoagulant clinics, and other pharmacy related strategies.

By: Fallon Brownlee, Class of 2017
       Hillary Martin, Class of 2016