Bethany Shoulders, PharmD, graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy in 2014. She completed a PGY1 pharmacy practice residency at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD in June 2015. She is currently a PGY2 Critical Care Pharmacy Resident at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center/University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy in Pittsburgh, PA. Her research comparing the rate of surgical site infections in coronary artery bypass grafting when using either continuous-infusion versus intermittent dosing of cefazolin was recently published in Pharmacotherapy. We asked her to answer a few questions to highlight her experiences as a UT student and alumna.
What are your future career goals?
Clinical faculty with an ICU practice site at an academic medical center
Is there anything from your UT education that helped you get where you are today?
Mentorship, research experience, strength of experiential rotations
Did your idea of where you wanted to practice change at any point in your academic/post academic career?
I thought about pursuing an infectious disease PGY2 but missed being a part of the primary care team on an ID consult service and knew the ICU would afford me with opportunities to treat numerous infectious complications.
Are there any unexpected obstacles you have had to overcome to be where you are today?
I think it takes some time to really get to know how you learn best on a clinical rotation amidst working with different preceptors and as you grow in your clinical knowledge. It was important for my PGY1 facilitator and I to discuss my learning style and determined which method was best. This experience also allowed me to avoid common communication mistakes and to become a more confident advocate for my own learning experience.
What advice would you give to your student self?
Don’t underestimate your capabilities. Remember that your enthusiasm does make an impact on your success.
What activities as a student pharmacist did you find most beneficial as you transitioned to practice?
Special topics – Participating in a research project from beginning to end allowed me to have repeated exposure to the process and the flexibility that is needed, especially when challenged to complete a residency project within a year.
Involvement in student organizations – I believe that these experiences allowed me to grow in communication skills which are exceedingly important regardless of the pharmacy niche that you choose to pursue.