Pharmacy students get hands-on ambulatory care experiences

Students studying at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Asheville Campus are participating in hands-on activities that model real-world ambulatory care practice with pharmacists working in a variety of professional settings.

The classroom-based Ambulatory Care Scholars Program is designed to give students a deeper understanding of what ambulatory care pharmacists do and the various ways they improve patient care.

Students explore topics like pharmacy billing, transitions of care, chronic disease state management and the development of innovative ambulatory care services for individual patients.

Each student participates in simulations at the MAHEC Simulation Center and practices leading patient encounters and performing basic physical assessment skills.

“The most fun thing about this type of practice is when you work in a team with physicians, nurses, nutritionists and care managers all contributing to the care of the patient and bringing in your unique skill set,” said Mollie Scott, regional associate dean of the Asheville Campus. “Then you also get to know patients longitudinally over time; you may take care of patients for years or even decades. You’re able to walk alongside patients during the ups and downs of life.”

The two-year program helps second- and third-year pharmacy students learn new skills and develop clinical pharmacy services, particularly in physician practices.

Students network with ambulatory care leaders across North Carolina and the country through the program. They are each assigned a pharmacy resident as a mentor whom they meet with regularly.

“You have a whole different skill set than the traditional student, which is exciting,” said Scott. “We wanted people to recognize that this program can differentiate them in a way where they can jump into their PY4 advanced pharmacy practice experiences and see patients face to face immediately since they’ve done that for two years.”

Their last semester, students work on a capstone project pairing them with a primary care practice in western North Carolina that already has a pharmacist and wants to develop a new clinical pharmacy service. Students spend the semester assessing needs, looking at workflow, determining how to market services and creating patient education materials.

80% of projects resulted in new services being developed within a pharmacy practice, helping pharmacists serve more patients – including development of new services for patients with diabetes, substance use disorder, osteoporosis and hypertension.

Current fourth-year student Kyleigh Johnson and a fellow classmate worked on a project called TIDEWISE, which focused on remote diabetes management through continuous glucose monitoring using the Tide Pool platform.

“The program has given me hands-on experience applying clinical knowledge in realistic patient-care scenarios while strengthening my communication, critical thinking and problem-solving skills,” said Johnson. “Combined with Eshelman’s strong experiential curriculum and emphasis on interprofessional collaboration, I feel so prepared to pursue a residency and begin my career.”

Johnson reviewed patients’ glucose monitoring data and called them regularly to discuss factors such as diet, exercise, missed insulin doses and other changes affecting their glucose control. She also provided individualized insulin dosing recommendations

“One of the most rewarding aspects of the program has been seeing how pharmacists can improve patient outcomes beyond the traditional clinic visit,” said Johnson. “I’ve had opportunities to participate in innovative projects, collaborate with healthcare professionals and develop solutions that directly impact patients. That work has reinforced my passion for ambulatory care.”