Day 1 at NTUH

           Hello from Taipei, Taiwan! Today was my first day at the National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) for my international APPE experience. I will first be doing a 3 week rotation in the Pediatric ICU (PICU), followed by a 3 week rotation in family medicine. My classmate Johnny and I arrived early yesterday morning and checked into the NTU Faculty Alumni House. This housing is available for foreign exchange students at the hospital. My roommate is a medical student from Korea who is currently doing a 4-week rotation in the anesthesiology department. This has been great because I get to learn a little about how the medical school programs abroad.
            This next morning Johnny and I met with one of the assistants named Wen Chi, who is currently replacing our main contact Yu Chen while she is on maternity leave. After filling out paperwork, getting our IDs made, and meeting several faculty and  pharmacists in the School of Pharmacy, we headed off to our respective departments.
           The National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) was opened in 1885 and has been one of the leading medical centers in Taiwan.  Taiwan has a national health insurance system in which ~99% of the population is covered. Their department of pharmacy consists of different services such as:
            -Outpatient Pharmacy Services
            -Inpatient Pharmacy Services
            -Emergency Room Pharmacy Services
            -Oncology Pharmacy Services
            -Pareneteral Nutrition Services
            -Sections of Inventory Control
            -Drug Information Services
            -NTU Children’s Hospital Pharmacy Services
            The outpatient pharmacy dispenses 20,000 prescriptions per day. Unlike in the United States, pharmacies in Taiwan do not have technicians. Instead, all pharmacists are responsible for filling and verifying the prescriptions.
            The role of the pharmacist in the inpatient pharmacy is similar that in the United States. Pharmacists are responsible for filling and verifying prescriptions, ensuring the accuracy of medications dispensed, rounding with the medical team and applying clinical pharmacy services to help optimize patient care.
            Stay tuned for my next post in which I go into more detail about the NTUH Children’s Hospital!

Ready for our first day at NTUH!