At St. Claire Regional Medical Center in Morehead, Kentucky, our residents do make a difference. A number of residency projects have been incorporated into our clinical and distributive services. Our residents have created new services as well as improved and expanded existing programs. Examples of on-going services that began as residency projects include the following:

• Nutritional support team.

• Pharmacy managed weight-based (UF) Heparin dosing.

• Implementation of Automated Dispensing System for the distribution of medications.

• Analysis of departmental productivity with use of a commercial computer program.

Pharmacy Department’s Vision

The basic philosophy of practice for pharmacists at St. Claire Regional Medical Center has always included an assumption of responsibility for all aspects of drug use; from procurement, through safe and effective prescribing, to drug administration. A basic tenet of practice is the provision of comprehensive pharmaceutical care in which the individual pharmacist impacts patient care outcomes through the appropriate use of medications. An implied, covenantal relationship between the pharmacist and patient is established in which the pharmacist has the ongoing obligation to care for the patient’s welfare as their ultimate professional responsibility.

Such pharmaceutical care is best provided through a system that effectively integrates pharmacist’s clinical skills with those of a trained technical staff, support staff, and advancing technology. In addition, the pharmacist works directly with the patient and other professionals in designing, implementing, and monitoring a therapeutic plan that will produce specific beneficial outcomes for the patient.