How to evaluate references of residency candidates: the meta reference. A practice that I have been developing over the past few months has been to wait 24 hours before responding to certain emails, questions, or inquiries. By doing so, it has been intended to help be become less reactive and more thoughtful when encountering these events. While it is a bit of an exercise itself to learn what can wait for 24 hours, you’d be [...]

Capsaicin for cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome - It’s is one hot therapy. As a result of cannabis liberalization policies in many states, interest in methods to manage cyclic vomiting syndromes are heating up. By now, many ED providers are aware of the common complaint of patients with excessive vomiting with reported histories of marijuana consumption.[1,2] These cases, patients describe vomiting that was once resolved by hot showers, is no longer controlled. For a more in-depth review, [...]

How PGY2 interviews differ from PGY1 You’re in it for another year. Congratulations. The time spent now will pay dividends in the future. Since you’re in the market for a PGY2, it likely means you’ve also been successful in landing a PGY1. From your experience in the interview process, you can take much of what made you an attractive candidate the first time around and apply it again this time. But there are some key [...]

Pharmacy Residency Interview Tips: the onsite edition. Although ASHP Midyear is over, the interview season is just getting started. The deadline for most residency applications is around the corner and many programs will start sending out onsite invitations sometime in January. While the anticipation and stress can start to get to you, this is no time to lose focus. So let’s begin to prepare how to nail your onsite interview. While the sites and personnel [...]

PillPack by Amazon Pharmacy: The healthcare disruptor we’ve been waiting for.  This post was co-authored by Timothy Dy Aungst, PharmD, a digital health expert who blogs regularly at the The Digital Apothecary. Alexa, what’s my last blood sugar reading?  Your last blood sugar reading form 38 minutes ago was 145 mg/dL. Your pharmacist has adjusted your next pre-meal insulin dose to 8 units based on the diet ordered through Whole Foods. I also noticed you’ve [...]

Let's go on a trip with Ayahuasca. What does Ayahuasca have to do with Parkinsonism? History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes. Concocting a synthetic derivative of a desirable drug, created to evade regulation or the law, sounds like a story out of a 2019 headline. But it would be naive to think this is a unique point in drug abuse history. In fact, it’s happened before (and will likely happen again).  Beginning in the [...]

Anavip: is the juice worth the squeeze Authors: Scott Dietrich, PharmD, BCCCP, @PCC_PharmD Ryan Rogoszewski, PharmD, BCCCP, @RyanRogoPharmD Craig Cocchio, PharmD, BCPS, DABAT, @iEMPharmD Background  Over 5,000 snakebites are reported to US poison centers each year.[1] The vast majority of snakebites in the US result from the Viperidae (aka “pit viper”) family of snakes. The sub-family most commonly found in the US includes the Crotalids which are made up of rattlesnakes, Cottonmouths (water moccasins), and [...]

The Argument for BPS Certification of EM Pharmacists: Looking forward, not back.  EM Pharmacists are indispensable assets to modern healthcare. This petition for EM recognition by BPS is an anthology of the amazing efforts of EM pharmacists that have transformed emergency care. Each pharmacist innovating practice in EDs has established high levels of care, earned recognition on merit, and has been regarded in the medical community as experts. They have accomplished these feats despite board [...]