Rotation Descriptions

Administration

This rotation will provide the resident with an opportunity to participate in administrative activities within the Department of Pharmacy Practice at Purdue University and the Pharmacy Department at Wishard Health Services. The rotation is designed to enhance the resident's verbal and written communication skills and improve the resident's understanding of administration related to the academic and county hospital settings. The resident will participate in virtually all activities with the preceptor. Discussion topics will include budgeting, performance appraisals and merit salary administration, study funding, curriculum evaluation and development, medication safety, and drug policy development, to name a few.

Global Health Outcomes

This rotation will develop a further understanding of pharmacoeconomics, the manner in which pharmacoeconomic studies are conducted and their usefulness in making therapeutic decisions. The Pharmacoeconomics department is responsible for planning, developing, implementing, and publishing health care outcomes studies in the areas of cost and quality of life (QOL). These studies are performed on marketed compounds and compounds in development.

Global Medical Information

In this rotation, the resident will participate in a pharmaceutical company-based medical information center by performing all the duties of a global medical information associate. Objectives of the rotation include enhancing both oral and written communication skills, improving literature searching and evaluation skills, and maximizing efficiency in performing medical information tasks through the use of computer databases and electronic communications. The resident will also manage all medical information activities related to assigned products, design a continuing education credit presentation for Lilly employees, and participate in departmental activities and projects.

Global Patient Safety

This rotation will give the resident the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of pharmacovigilance and epidemiology, especially as they pertain to medical information. In addition, the resident will develop an overall understanding of the responsibilities of a global pharmacovigilance department at a pharmaceutical company. The resident will review and understand the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines related to the reporting and handling of adverse drug events (ADEs). The resident also will gain an understanding of how international ADEs are processed. The rotation will focus on safety surveillance. These objectives will be met through assigned readings and rotational projects.

Global Scientific and Information Communications-Regulatory

This rotation will allow the resident to better understand the development and maintenance of various regulatory documents, as well as document planning and management.  These objectives may be achieved through literature searching and medical writing/editing assignments on documents such as protocols, clinical study reports, submissions, and regulatory response documents related to Lilly products and trials.

Institutional Drug Information

This rotation's purpose is to use superior drug information skills to improve patient care. Objectives of this rotation include taking personal responsibility for improving pharmaceutical care of patients through drug information practice and further developing drug information skills so that the resident becomes an "expert" in the field. This will allow the resident to precept others in developing their drug information skills. Residents will also prepare and present a formulary monograph to the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, attend and participate in meetings with pharmaceutical representatives, and conduct medication use evaluations. Participation in the drug information service adverse drug reaction program is also a rotation requirement.

Investigational Drug Service/Toxicology

This rotation will allow the resident to assist in the activities of a pharmacy-related investigational drug service and toxicology. During the Investigational Drug Service rotation, the resident will actively participate in the various functions of the service which include writing pharmacy protocols, attending clinical study "startup" meetings, developing study budgets, and attending Institutional Review Board meetings. During the rotation in toxicology, the resident will attend didactic lectures, review and present patient cases, and participate in rounds with the toxicology team. The resident may also prepare and present a journal club pertinent to the toxicology service.

Marketing

This rotation is designed to develop a further understanding of a marketing department at a pharmaceutical company. Residents will participate in collecting and analyzing strategic marketing information for a specified agent. Rotation objectives include understanding the role of a marketing department in a pharmaceutical company, recognizing relevant information necessary to develop a strategic plan, improving literature evaluation skills, and utilizing the internet to gather information.

Medical Liaison

This rotation will give the resident the opportunity to learn how a medical liaison provides medical information that builds relationships, shares knowledge, and enhances health.  Objectives of the rotation include enhancing communication skills, describing the preparations and roles of a medical liaison, recognizing the various different roles within the US Medical Information and Communications Services (MICS) organization, and understanding the core skills demonstrated by a medical liaison.  These objectives will be accomplished by giving several presentations, completing a project that has ongoing value to the MICS organization, shadowing a medical liaison, and interacting with medical liaisons throughout training sessions.

Medical Plans

This rotation introduces residents to the activities required of a clinical research scientist on the US Medical team. This is achieved through participation in clinical trial- and medical-related projects. The resident will most likely be assigned a project relating to scientific disclosures through either scientific or commercial forums.

Regulatory

This rotation will allow the resident to gain an understanding of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory processes for clinical drug development. This includes understandings of early phase investigational new drug trials, commercialization trials, promotional regulations, internal Lilly Good Clinical Practice policies, and sources of regulatory information. These objectives will be met through one-on-one interactions with the rotation preceptor, attendance at team meetings, and use of regulatory information sources, and rotational projects.