Block 5 2023: Last Week of Rotation

Rotation:

After five short weeks of learning, exploring, and traveling our rotation has come to an end. This was sadly our last week in Wyoming. The clinic activities this week included finishing our Journal Club and presenting it to Katherine and the pharmacy staff. The Journal Club was on the use of Belbuca (buccal buprenorphine) for chronic low back pain in opioid-naïve patients. Presenting this article as a Journal Club sparked lots of conversations about pain management and the complexities of treating chronic pain. We both learned so much about pain management on this rotation from completing this Journal Club and from presenting patients at the Pain Committee Meetings! 


During our last week, we also went to the FedEx in Riverton to ship a box of our things home. We had to do this because we both had ordered Halloween costumes that would sadly not fit in our suitcases. Since we flew to Wyoming, we did not want to have to purchase another bag to put these in, so we decided to ship a box home before we left Wyoming. The price to ship is based on the weight of the package so it can vary based on what you are sending, but overall, this was a very easy process. We picked up the box from FedEx and brought it back to the house to pack it. The next day, we brought it back to FedEx and they were able to ship it to Birmingham. The package beat us home as it only took three days to make it to Birmingham!

 

There was one more restaurant we wanted to try in Lander before we headed home. The restaurant is called The Middle Fork, and the menu has an assortment of both breakfast/brunch and lunch food! They are only open for breakfast and lunch, so make sure you plan to make it there before they close at 2 p.m.! We went during our lunch break, and it was delicious! On our last day, Katherine surprised us with pastries from the Lincoln Street Bakery in Lander. We both also recommend this bakery because the pastries are fresh, and they even have lunch options such as salads and sandwiches.

 

On our last day, we got to say goodbye to everyone at the clinic that we had met during our five weeks in Wyoming. Everyone was so welcoming and was willing to teach us about not only pharmacy, but also about Wyoming itself! Wyoming is very different from Alabama, so we were very grateful for the information and recommendations on things we should go do and see. If you have any questions about what plans to make for your weekend adventures, ask the staff! They had so many recommendations and would give us tips on the best way to get there and what we should do while there. Working in the pharmacy on the Wind River Reservation was an amazing experience because we got to learn so much about pharmacy and the Native American culture during our rotation. Katherine was also an excellent preceptor! She took the time to teach us about how the pharmacy works at the clinic and she gave us many learning opportunities that allowed us to advance our knowledge in different areas of pharmacy!


 

Picture of Kristin and Anne Thomas with Katherine in front of the Ethete Clinic

 

Utah:

Before heading back to Alabama, we squeezed in one last adventure to Moab, Utah to visit Arches National Park. The drive from Ft. Washakie, Wyoming to Moab, Utah is around eight hours, so we broke up the drive on the way to the Arches and stopped in Salt Lake City, Utah as this was about halfway. Although the drive was long, this was so worth it. The national park is very different from Yellowstone or the Grand Tetons because it is in the desert, and it consists of different rock formations that you can walk to and climb up! We went to The Windows, The Double Arch, and then went to The Delicate Arch viewpoint. This was a perfect time of year to go because the weather was sunny and cool. During the summer months, we heard it can get very hot on the rocks, so we were thankful for the cooler weather and the breeze.


 

Picture of the Double Arches 

 

From Moab, we drove to Idaho Falls, Idaho to spend the night before heading back to Alabama. We chose this stop because it was only two hours away from the Jackson Hole airport and it was more affordable to stay the night there versus in Jackson Hole.

 

The Journey Home:

Before leaving Idaho Falls, we went through a car wash to clean out our rental car. We then drove from Idaho Falls to the Jackson Hole airport. Returning the rental car was a very easy process. We just parked it in the return lane in the parking lot and brought the keys to the desk agent in the airport. Our flights home were identical to the flights out to Wyoming. We flew from Jackson to Dallas/Fort Worth and then from Dallas/Fort Worth to Birmingham. Once we arrived in Birmingham, we hopped in an Uber and then we were home!

 

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