Hi, I'm Jenny Rother; I'm one of the inpatient pharmacists here at the Omaha
VA. I am also one of the inpatient
preceptors for your inpatient operations training when you first start your
residency. I actually did my residency here back in
2013, so it's been quite a nice transition
from being a resident to now being a preceptor for many years.
Our overall goal for you is to become an independent practitioner that is
successful and feels as though they can do things on both the inpatient and
outpatient side going forward in their careers.
One of the things i really like about this residency is its size. I looked at
programs that had either one position or two positions, and this one has four. I'm
really glad I did end up coming to the Omaha VA, because I feel like it's a
great number of residents to have. There are people to bounce ideas off of,
go to if you've got any questions or concerns,
but it's small enough where we're not fighting for rotations and there's great
flexibility in the number of rotations we're able to get.
I'm currently undecided as to what area of practice I'd like to go into after
residency, but here i'm able to choose from a wide variety of rotations in both
ambulatory and acute care; and as I progress through the residency it's very
flexible, so if I do spark an interest in a particular area there's no issue that
I will get enough experience in that area before the completion of the
residency.
Hi, my name is Pam Foral. I'm a clinical pharmacy specialist in Infectious
Diseases and a professor at Creighton University School of Pharmacy and Health
Professions. I'm going to talk with you a little bit about the different academic
affiliations that we have at our institution.
We are affiliated with Creighton University and the University of
Nebraska Medical Center. What that means to you is you will have the opportunity
to practice with physicians, medical residents, medical
fellows, medical students, pharmacy students and
other health professions at this institution.
I work with the Infectious Diseases team on the inpatient side.
I also run the antimicrobial stewardship program.
So what that means is any veteran that is receiving IV antimicrobials on the
inpatient side we monitor for
effectiveness and look for opportunities for pharmacy intervention.
Hi, I'm Rebecca Metcalf. I'm one of the PGY1 Pharmacy Residents here at the
Omaha VA this year. My interests include caring for patients
with diabetes and geriatric patients. So far i have enjoyed working with
these patient populations, and I have grown a budding interest in acute care.
So I really enjoy that the program allows some flexibility in our rotations,
and that we get a wide variety of options
in different settings caring for patients.
The Omaha VA was my top choice, because of the
in-depth care that the pharmacist can provide to their patients. With the scope
of practice that the pharmacists have here, it allows them to practice at the
top of their license and provide quality care to their patients.
Hi, I'm Mandy Herdzina, and I'm the preceptor for the inpatient mental
health rotation here at the Omaha VA, which is an elective rotation.
I'm also responsible for the Veterans in our residential treatment program. This
is a long-term program where Veterans stay here to get help with substance use
and also psychosocial development. We also have two mental health
pharmacists in our outpatient mental health clinic that are a pleasure to
work with and also take residents for rotation.
No matter what area you're working with in the VA, even if it's in primary care,
you're going to always see Veterans that are struggling with depression or
anxiety or ptsd. Also, with inpatient mental health
rotation, you'll see patients that have more severe mental illness like
schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. One thing that I really enjoy about having
residents is all of the discussions that we have
and things that maybe i haven't thought about in a while. It keeps me on my toes
and we learn a lot just by talking. If you have an interest in mental health,
I would love to work with you!
I've really enjoyed working with my other co-residents. We actually share an
office, so we get to see each other quite a bit and just their support and their
encouraging words are probably one of the best things about
doing a residency here at the VA. One thing that is a little bit new here
at the Omaha VA is the mentor program. I actually meet with my mentor regularly,
usually about once a month, and we kind of just go through anything that I need
to talk about or if i have any issues. She's always there to listen.
She's actually been one of the reasons that transitioning from
student to resident has been a little bit smoother.
Hi. my name is Heather Wehner. I am a clinical pharmacist and primary
preceptor in the PACT rotation. PACT is our patient aligned care team.
As a clinical pharmacist in this area, you get to work with many different
patients. Help manage their chronic disease states such as diabetes,
hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and sometimes other areas like chf
management, gout, or hypothyroid. This is a required rotation during the year, so
you'll spend at least four weeks in one of the PACT clinics and then you do
have the option to repeat the rotation if it's something that you really enjoy
doing. We do have the ability to independently
manage these patients, so we can adjust their medications or help make dietary
recommendations to help them meet their patient specific goals like
achieving their a1c goals. We are a part of the team, so we're
integrated with the physicians, nursing, staff social workers,
and others to help as a part of that entire team. It's a really great work
environment. Depending on the clinic you're in, you may interact with medical
residents as well from either of our two schools that are nearby, either UNMC
or Creighton University.
I think what really drew me to wanting to complete my PGY1 Pharmacy Residency
at the VA or within the VA Healthcare System was really just having the
opportunity to serve our Veterans. I think that that is
a huge benefit and just a really,
i guess, great way to give back to people who
have put their lives on the line for our
freedom. My youngest brother is
a Corporal in the United States Marine Corp,
and my uncle, who was like a father figure to me, was also a
United States Marine Corp Veteran. He
saught a lot of his care at different VAs around the country.
I think from those experiences that
kind of helped drive me to this program, because I feel like I can
give back and really make an impact, especially you know with a historically
underserved community.
Hi, my name is Joseph Sodoro, and I am a former Nebraska-Western Iowa
PGY1 Resident. I completed my residency in
2016 to 2017. The biggest reason why I wanted to do a
residency at the VA was to help the Veterans. It's a very unique population
to serve and very rewarding at that. This program specifically offers you
what you'll need to be a very successful pharmacist. This program offers you a lot
of different opportunities to get to talk to Veterans one-on-one, get to know
them and their experiences, and optimize their care as much as possible.
Additionally, it makes you feel very appreciative for the sacrifices that
they have gone through and served our country.