Dear Future Dominican Rotation Student,

Congratulations! You have been given an amazing opportunity to grow not only as a student pharmacist, but also as a human being. This will be the rotation that has the greatest impact on who you are when you walk across that stage at graduation. You will push yourself physically, intellectually and emotionally in ways you have never imagined; and the tremendous impact on your life will never be forgotten.

Here is some advice for the rotation that I can leave you with:

Packing: Plan on wearing mostly active wear. I recommend gym shorts and wicking under armour shirts to keep you the coolest. Bring roughly 6 cotton dresses and skirts for clinic days. Keens are essential and you will wear them almost everywhere you go, but you may want a pair of dressy sandals for the clinics. Bring any medications you can see yourself needing as supplies are limited here. You will also want two bathing suits, some various toiletries and a notebook for recording everything you learn. A water bottle and plenty of gatorade packets are also essentials.

Donations: Bring as many supplies as you can. Almost everything you can think of is needed. Among the most popular would be diabetic supplies, bandages and bandaids, antibiotic and antifungal creams and OTC analgesics. Everything you bring will be put to great use and be extremely appreciated.

Resources and the Health Fair: I would recommend making handouts on issues that women of all ages will be interested in, as they tend to show up much more than men at the event. Try to make your activity colorful and hands on to attract attention to it. People are extremely interested in learning from you so bring as many handouts as you can. Pretty much any game that you play with the kids will go over well, they truly enjoy your company more than anything else.

Clinic Days: Work up the courage to go and talk to patients. They are extremely receptive to you and value all the information you can give them. It is easiest if you create a "Patient Data Collection Sheet" to bring with you and use it as a guide in your patient interactions. This way you will also get the information necessary to complete case write ups later on. Patients carry around a notebook with all of their medical information in it, so try to look through them as much as possible. Be prepared to take blood pressures, pulses, respiratory rates and to give immunizations. The staff are very grateful for anything you can help them with.

House of Hope: Before you arrive here, try to keep the mindset that these people are in a place where they are cared for and loved. It can be a little shocking when you first walk in and see everyone, but try to stay positive. Paint uplifting sayings and pictures on the walls as it really brightens the place up and has an impact on the lives of the patients as well as the volunteers. Don't be shy in being around the patients. They crave interaction with you even though they cannot communicate.

Herbal/Bush Medicine Component: Keep an open mind. Forget what you learned in school about not recommending anything that isn't FDA approved. Realize that the majority of medications you work with today came from plants. There is a high efficacy associated with many of the herbal medications so ask as many questions as you can, take pictures and write down what you learn.

Physical Activity: Be prepared for this before you come. You will be walking up steep hills almost everywhere you go (even to your cabin). Try a challenging hike like Paix Bouche, if you can. You will feel very accomplished for doing it. I really recommend starting the day with morning yoga as it will help stretch out your muscles after all the hiking you do.

Miscellaneous: The food is great at Jungle Bay and they kitchen staff really work with you if you have any special requests. It is important to wear sunscreen whenever you are outside as the sun is really strong here. If you do get burned, ask for aloe at the front desk and they will give you some leaves of a plant. This works much better than the aloe in bottle that we are all used to, so don't bother bringing that along. Bring some sort of motion sickness medication with you (Transderm Scop patches or meclizine) even if you don't normally get motion sick, as the roads are quite narrow and have many turns.


In summary, the most important thing you can bring with you is an open mind. If you immerse yourself in the experience fully and leave your comfort zone as much as possible, I can promise you that it will be life changing. This rotation will help shape you into the pharmacist you become, but more importantly it will change you into a more open and compassionate human being.

Enjoy!

Susan Kane

Pharm D. Candidate, Class of 2014
Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences