Saint Cloud

CentraCare

CentraCare is the largest rural health care system in Minnesota, made up of 10 hospitals and over 30 clinics in the central, west central, and southwestern regions of the state. With over 11,000 employees, the team at CentraCare reflects the various backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicities of the region. CentraCare strives to create a healing environment where all are welcome.

St. Cloud Hospital

St. Cloud Hospital, the largest CentraCare patient care facility, is a regional hospital with 489 licensed beds that offers a full spectrum of inpatient and outpatient services. St. Cloud Hospital has received numerous accolades, including America's 250 Best Hospitals Award, America's 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery, America's 100 Best Hospitals for Spine Surgery, and an Outstanding Patient Experience Award. The St. Cloud Hospital Inpatient Pharmacy employs roughly 50 pharmacists and has 3 PGY1 Pharmacy Residents on staff yearly as part of the St. Cloud Hospital Pharmacy Residency Program. The inpatient pharmacy has 9 decentralized positions covering the entire hospital, with service areas that include general medicine, orthopedics, neurology, surgical, oncology, pediatrics, cardiology, mental health, emergency medicine, surgical center/operating rooms, and intensive care populations.

Clinical Ambulatory Pharmacy (MTM)

The Clinical Ambulatory Pharmacy (MTM) department provides comprehensive medication management to patients across the CentraCare service area, with access to care at all primary care clinics and multiple specialty clinics. The team provides over 9,200 comprehensive medication management visits annually and has received top achievements for value-based contract incentive measures related to quality and engagement multiple years in a row. The MTM team employs nearly 20 pharmacists, including 2 PGY1 Pharmacy Residents, as part of the CentraCare - St. Cloud and CentraCare - Paynesville Pharmacy Residency Program.

CentraCare Pharmacy Services

CentraCare Pharmacy Services operates three clinic/hospital outpatient pharmacies at St. Cloud Hospital, Plaza, and Northway, plus a URAC- and ACHC-accredited specialty pharmacy location. CentraCare Pharmacy Services employs 18 pharmacist staff members and dispenses roughly 325,000 prescriptions each year.

Hannah Thompson, PharmD, BCPS (Lead Preceptor - Acute Care, Institutional)

Hannah is a 2017 graduate of South Dakota State University and a 2018 graduate of a PGY1 Residency at St. Cloud Hospital. She currently staffs as a clinical pharmacist at St. Cloud Hospital, covering general medical, surgical, oncology, and neurology patients. Additionally, she serves as the PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program Coordinator and the Student Coordinator for the site. Hannah's practice interests include infectious disease, quality improvement, and pharmacy education. She is currently a member of ASHP, MSHP, and CentraCare's Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee.

Paul Huiras, PharmD, BCPS (Supporting Preceptor - Acute Care, Family Medicine)

Paul provides clinical pharmacy services for the Family Medicine Health Center Inpatient Medicine Service. This teaching service is staffed by the Family Practice Medicine Residents and Faculty. Over his pharmacy career, Dr. Huiras has precepted numerous IPPE and APPE students, as well as PGY1 and PGY2 residents, and has a passion for mentoring, teaching, and writing. He currently serves as Director of the PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency Program at CentraCare - St. Cloud Hospital. He is a faculty member and Fundamentals Course Director at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Paul is a member of the St. Cloud Hospital P&T Committee and Investigational Review Board, and is actively involved in the Minnesota Society of Health-System Pharmacists organization. Outside of work, Paul enjoys cooking, traveling, wine tasting, hunting, and fishing.

Jessica Lind, PharmD, BCACP (Supporting Preceptor - Clinical Ambulatory Pharmacy Management)

Jessica earned her Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy in 2011. She completed a PGY1 residency in Ambulatory Care at the University of Minnesota - First Light Health System in Mora, MN in 2012, followed by a PGY2 residency in Ambulatory Care at Hennepin County Medical Center in 2013. She is a member of MPhA, ASHP, and MSHP, with practice interests in ambulatory pharmacy practice development and rural pharmacy practice. Outside of work, Jessica enjoys being outdoors — hiking, biking, gardening, and quality family time.

Jason Lind, PharmD, MBA, AAHIVP (Supporting Preceptor - Community Pharmacy)

Jason earned his Doctor of Pharmacy from North Dakota State University in 2012 and a Master of Business Administration from Capella University in 2024. His practice philosophy centers on providing safe medications, proper counseling, and effective vaccinations from a retail setting. He practices at CentraCare Northway Pharmacy in Saint Cloud, MN. Outside of work, Jason enjoys hiking, camping, hunting, attending concerts, and working on home improvement projects.

CentraCare — Rotations Overview

We aim to create an experience that is beneficial to the student and preceptors involved in the teaching process across all rotational learning experiences. We provide flexibility by offering a variety of rotations that are selected by the student. The student will select two elective options while on rotation. Any electives not chosen may be incorporated in an abbreviated fashion during the student's acute care and institutional rotations, to provide a well-rounded experience throughout the U2RxAP program. Students should expect to have some crossover with our PGY1 Pharmacy Residents in varying capacities throughout the experience. Every effort will be made to allow for layered learning opportunities while still optimizing learning experiences for both the resident and student. We foster a culture of teamwork and flexibility in order to accommodate the requests of our learners.

Required Learning Experience Descriptions

Acute Care Rotation

Site: St. Cloud Hospital Inpatient Pharmacy

Description: During this 5-week rotation, students will contribute to patient care, alongside the pharmacy preceptor, as a member of the Pharmacy Care Team on a variety of services. Students can expect to rotate through decentralized services that may include general medicine, orthopedics, neurology, surgical, oncology, pediatrics, cardiology, mental health, and intensive care populations while on rotation. Students may also be able to spend time in more specialized areas such as infectious disease, transitions of care, family medicine rounding, or management, depending on availability and student interest. The student coordinator and/or primary preceptor will utilize the student's entering interests form to try to personalize the experience, balancing the student's interests with other electives the student may experience while on rotation.

Travel requirements: None.

Onsite hours: Most shifts are 7:30am–4:00pm, but may differ slightly based on service area.

Rotation activities: The student will be required to complete two presentations during their rotation, typically in the format of a journal club and patient case. Daily rotational activities vary greatly depending on which service the student is participating in. The student will experience a variety of service types and varying degrees of interprofessional interaction, and can expect to participate in pharmacy consult completion (pharmacokinetics, renal dosing, warfarin dosing, antimicrobial stewardship, etc.), medication order review, interprofessional rounding (if applicable to the service area), and topic discussions throughout the different service areas.

Ambulatory Care Rotation

Site: Family Health Clinic – 1555 Northway Dr Ste 200, St. Cloud, MN

Description: The ambulatory pharmacist is responsible for providing all aspects of comprehensive medication management to patients with multiple medications and multiple comorbidities, including but not limited to diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and congestive heart failure. The ambulatory pharmacist also attends daily team huddles, participates in interdisciplinary case reviews as needed, and is available for daily curbside consults, including drug information questions, new medication education, and drug interaction investigations. Comprehensive medication review is completed annually during the first calendar visit of the year. Inbasket management includes responding to patient MyChart questions, staff messages, chart cc's, and phone encounters within 24 hours.

Travel requirements: Potentially between two clinic locations in St. Cloud, MN.

Onsite hours: 8:00am–4:30pm.

Rotation activities: The student will work in tandem with the ambulatory care preceptor to participate in all patient-related appointments and activities, and in the development of patient care plans. The student will participate in patient review prior to appointments, including drafting a plan of action before seeing patients with the preceptor. Students will be involved in assisting with patient care documentation as deemed appropriate by the preceptor, and will also engage in all interdisciplinary interactions, meetings, and team huddles alongside the preceptor. Topic discussions on numerous chronic disease states will be incorporated into the learning experience.

Community Rotation

Site: CentraCare Pharmacy Services operates three clinic/hospital outpatient pharmacies and specialty pharmacy services:

• CentraCare - St. Cloud Hospital Pharmacy is an outpatient pharmacy attached to St. Cloud Hospital and is open 365 days a year. This pharmacy fills discharge prescriptions for patients being discharged from the hospital or emergency department and is an open-door community pharmacy.
• CentraCare - Plaza Pharmacy is an open-door community pharmacy located in a large specialty clinic and is open 365 days a year. This pharmacy offers specialized services for many specialty departments, including oncology, adult and child psychiatry, pediatrics, women's health, dermatology, endocrinology, rheumatology, digestive health, internal medicine, and urgent care. This pharmacy also performs non-sterile compounding, and Specialty Pharmacy services are also located within this pharmacy.
• CentraCare - Northway Pharmacy is an open-door community pharmacy located in the Northway Family Medicine Clinic, also serving the needs of patients from the Northway Family Health Center. This is where CentraCare's medical residents and ambulatory pharmacy residents practice. CentraCare - Northway Pharmacy also manages a robust immunization program.

Description: The role of the community pharmacist is to safely dispense and verify medications, counsel patients, and administer immunizations, while working at the top of scope and in accordance with the Rules and Statutes of the MN Board of Pharmacy. The community pharmacist at Northway Pharmacy is involved with the St. Cloud community's Project H.E.A.L. initiative, which provides health services and medications to patients who are not otherwise able to afford care.

Travel requirements: Potential travel between pharmacy locations.

Onsite hours: Shifts are 9:00am–5:30pm.

Rotation activities: Pharmacy students on rotation will have the opportunity for exposure to:

• Hospital discharge pharmacy
• Pharmacy benefits processing and troubleshooting
• Managing patient financial challenges
• Learning specialty pharmacy workflows and product procurement
• Managing pharmacy-based immunization scheduling and injections
• Non-sterile hazardous and non-hazardous compounding, and USP 795 and USP 800 compliance
• DSCSA compliance
• Review of the 340B drug purchasing program

Institutional Rotation

Site: St. Cloud Hospital Inpatient Pharmacy

Description: During this 5-week rotation, students will contribute to patient care, alongside the pharmacy preceptor, as a member of the Pharmacy Care Team on a variety of services. Students can expect to spend time in central pharmacy as well as with those involved in medication safety, pharmacy operations, and department management. Students should expect a more centralized operations focus, though this may also include some exposure to decentralized areas such as general medicine, orthopedics, neurology, surgical, oncology, pediatrics, cardiology, mental health, and intensive care populations while on rotation. The student coordinator and/or primary preceptor will utilize the student's entering interests form to try to personalize the experience, balancing the student's interests with other electives the student will experience while on rotation.

Travel requirements: None.

Onsite hours: Most shifts begin between 5:30am–8:00am, with each shift lasting 8 hours.

Rotation activities: The student will be required to complete two presentations during their rotation, typically in the format of a journal club and patient case. Activities will vary based on area of focus each day. Students can expect to learn and engage in technician activities such as dispensing and preparing both IV and oral medications, as well as restocking hospital-wide automated dispensing cabinets. The student will participate in centralized pharmacist medication checking and order verification, and will also spend time understanding pharmacy operations as a whole. Activities for decentralized experiences will vary depending on the service area.

Elective Learning Experience Descriptions

Ambulatory Care Management (Non-Patient Care Ambulatory Care Elective)

Site: CentraCare SouthPoint – 3001 Clearwater Rd, St. Cloud, MN

Description: This rotation will introduce APPE pharmacy students to the world of Clinical Ambulatory Pharmacy practice management and high-reliability principles. The Director of Clinical Ambulatory Pharmacy services provides strategic leadership and coordination of clinical practice and business operations for the MTM team to ensure quality and sustainable care are achieved.

Travel requirements: Between St. Cloud clinic locations.

Onsite hours: 8:00am–4:30pm.

Rotation activities: The student will present department safety findings at the daily safety huddle, participate in team huddles and department meetings, and assist with practice management activities such as quality assurance, leader rounding, and data collection and interpretation to ensure high-reliability organization principles are achieved. The student will have the opportunity to engage with interdepartmental teams such as the Ambulatory Quality and Clinical Operations committees, and will observe and participate in aspects of practice management initiatives to identify improvements and assist in the planning, development, delivery, and evaluation of clinical ambulatory pharmacy services.

Anticoagulation Patient Care (Ambulatory Care Elective)

Site: CentraCare Clinic

Description: The ambulatory pharmacist in the Anticoagulation clinic is responsible for providing all aspects of comprehensive medication management to patients receiving anticoagulation. The ambulatory pharmacist also attends daily team huddles with the Anticoagulation RN team, participates in interdisciplinary consultations for far-high and far-low INRs, and periprocedural consultations. They are available for daily curbside consultations, including drug information questions, new medication education, and drug interaction investigations.

Travel requirements: Onsite to the St. Cloud CentraCare location.

Onsite hours: 8:00am–4:30pm or 8:30am–5:00pm.

Rotation activities: The student will work in tandem with the anticoagulation preceptor to participate in all patient-related appointments and activities, and in the development of patient care plans for periprocedural and other RN out-of-scope consultations. The student will participate in patient review prior to appointments, including drafting a plan of action before seeing patients with the preceptor. Students will be involved in assisting with patient care documentation as deemed appropriate by the preceptor, and will also engage in all interdisciplinary interactions, meetings, and team huddles alongside the preceptor. Topic discussions on numerous chronic disease states will be incorporated into the learning experience.

Cardiology/Critical Care Rotation (Acute Care Elective)

Site: St. Cloud Hospital Inpatient Pharmacy

Description: This rotation combines the elements of cardiology and critical care into one experience. The student will spend the majority of this experience on the unit with the cardiology pharmacist, who is responsible for patients on Telemetry (28 beds), CVTU (15 beds), and Cardiac ICU (10 beds). The pharmacist is stationed in the Cardiac ICU (CICU) at one of the nurses' stations, which is also where the student will spend their time. The rotation will progress with the student first learning general cardiology patient management before progressing to managing more complex patients in the CICU. The student will then spend at least one week in the Medical ICU (26 beds) as well.

Travel requirements: None.

Onsite hours: Most shifts are 7:30am–4:00pm (cardiology), but also include 7:00am–3:30pm (ICU).

Rotation activities: Daily patient chart reviews for cardiology patients. Completion of pharmacy consults for all patients on Telemetry, CVTU, and CICU or ICU. Attendance at daily interdisciplinary rounds for CICU, and for medical ICU while on rotation there. Shadowing opportunities with cardiology PAs and during cath lab procedures. Participation in the hospital-wide code response team. Patient cases and journal clubs as assigned by the preceptor. Cardiology- and critical-care-related topic discussions throughout the duration of the learning experience.

Emergency Medicine Rotation (Acute Care Elective)

Site: St. Cloud Hospital Inpatient Pharmacy

Description: The Emergency Trauma Center (ETC) rotation is a 5-week learning experience for students, involving the provision of pharmaceutical care for patients in a Level II Trauma Center. The Emergency Medicine Team consists of attending physicians, mid-level providers, nurses, nursing assistants, social workers, and pharmacists. The emergency department's physical footprint includes 2 stabilization rooms, 6 behavioral health rooms, 10 rapid care rooms, and 21 general emergency rooms. Patients come from the community through triage and from nearby hospitals as transfers. Ages may range from birth to over 100 years old, and patients may present with anything from a sinus infection to a cardiac arrest. Due to the typically high turnover rate of patients, learning activities will occur throughout the day as cases present and time permits.

Travel requirements: None.

Onsite hours: Shifts vary — day shift 8:00am–4:30pm, evening shift 2:00pm–10:30pm. Students may be asked to complete some shifts that go into the evening.

Rotation activities: The student will participate in medication reconciliation of patients awaiting admission to the hospital from the emergency department, and will assist the preceptor in researching and answering provider questions using evidence-based medicine. The student will participate in stabilization room code blues, traumas, strokes, or other clinical scenarios deemed appropriate for pharmacist participation. Topic discussions will occur throughout the experience as able, and students may have the opportunity to shadow other disciplines during the rotation.

Family Medicine Rotation (Acute Care Elective)

Site: St. Cloud Hospital Inpatient Pharmacy

Description: During this 5-week rotation, students will contribute to patient care, with the pharmacy preceptor, as a member of the Family Medicine Inpatient Service. This service is staffed by resident and attending physicians from the University of Minnesota/St. Cloud Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program, and is comprised of a PGY1 and a PGY3 family medicine resident, an attending physician, a psychologist (Tuesdays and Wednesdays), and a clinical pharmacist (Monday–Thursday). PGY1 pharmacy residents may also rotate on this service.

This inpatient service provides care for patients of various ages (pediatric to geriatric) and acuity levels (general floors to progressive care units), with a focus on managing internal-medicine-related issues. Typically, the service provides care for 8–15 patients. Students will be working directly with the preceptor, either in the preceptor's work area, in the medical residents' work area, or in one of the patient care areas during teaching rounds.

Travel requirements: None.

Onsite hours: Most shifts are 7:00am–3:30pm, but may differ slightly.

Rotation activities: In addition to contributing to patient care during teaching rounds, students will perform medication reconciliations, complete pharmacy consults (pharmacokinetic, renal adjustments, anticoagulation, antimicrobial stewardship), and document drug therapy interventions for assigned patients. Students may also participate in case presentations, either with the preceptor or presented to the department. Core topics covered include management of hypertension, pneumonia, COPD, substance abuse and withdrawal, and management of seizures.

Infectious Disease Rotation (Acute Care Elective)

Site: St. Cloud Hospital Inpatient Pharmacy

Description: The Infectious Disease (ID) rotation is a 5-week learning experience for pharmacy students. The hospital has one ID pharmacist and one ID physician on staff, with whom the student will spend the majority of their rotation time learning. Students will be guided through the process of working up antimicrobial stewardship patients and will have more autonomy in patient review as the rotation progresses. Patients are identified for antimicrobial stewardship review through a rule-based module within the electronic medical record. The ID provider for this institution uses a consult-based service and periodically takes on medical residents and physician assistant students. The pharmacy student will work alongside any other students or residents with the ID provider at the time they are rounding on the ID service. The student will also have the opportunity to shadow a microbiology technician for one day of the rotation, and will attend infectious-disease-related committee meetings with the preceptor (e.g., Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee, Infection Prevention and Control, etc.).

Travel requirements: None.

Onsite hours: Monday–Friday, 7:30am–4:00pm.

Rotation activities: Antimicrobial stewardship and rounding with the ID provider are the primary activities during this learning experience. The student will review patients for antimicrobial stewardship 3 days per week (Tuesday–Thursday), and round with the ID provider and preceptor 2 days per week (Monday and Friday) for all 5 weeks of the learning experience. Additional activities include attendance at infectious-disease-related meetings, participation in system-wide journal clubs (if applicable), and infectious disease topic discussions.

Hospital Management & Medication Safety Rotation (Non-Patient Care Acute Care Elective)

Site: St. Cloud Hospital Inpatient Pharmacy

Description: This 5-week learning experience is centered around fostering the development of leadership skills and a culture reflective of the mission and values of St. Cloud Hospital and CentraCare Health. The student will actively participate in many activities related to management and leadership, working out of a designated student workspace (typically in central pharmacy) and spending a fair amount of time working in the pharmacy manager's office, located on the basement floor of the hospital, just down the hall from central pharmacy. The student may also work in the touchdown workspace located next to the medication safety pharmacist's office in River Campus (attached to St. Cloud Hospital).

Travel requirements: None, though the student may travel with the senior director to other sites if applicable.

Onsite hours: Most shifts are 7:30am–4:00pm, but may differ slightly based on meeting schedules and student interests; coordinated with preceptor(s) at the beginning of the rotation.

Rotation activities: Management activities may include, but are not limited to, leading or attending meetings and topic discussions, assigned projects, required readings, and presentations to pharmacy staff or other disciplines. Possible topics include (but are not limited to) medication error management, controlled substance diversion, performance improvement, compliance with regulatory agencies, 340B/DSH/GPO, budget management, leadership vs. management and crucial conversations, formulary management, hazardous medications, USP 797/800, and evaluating employees and performance appraisals. Medication safety activities may include medication safety and adverse event review and follow-up. Students will also assist with review of national and state medication safety recommendations and look to implement best practices when necessary, and will be expected to attend various meetings and assist with the planning and implementation of safety initiatives.

Pediatrics and Neonatal Care Rotation (Acute Care Elective)

Site: St. Cloud Hospital Inpatient Pharmacy

Description: This rotation involves the provision of pharmaceutical care for patients in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Children's Care Center (Peds), Pediatric Progressive Care Unit (PPCU), and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), with the option to follow Birthing Center (BC) and Adolescent Psych patients. The NICU is a 30-bed Level III NICU. The PICU has 4 rooms, PPCU has 4 rooms, and Children's Care Center has 14 rooms. The clinical rotation requires the student to prospectively review patients admitted to these services and to present/review these patients with the decentralized pediatric pharmacists/preceptors prior to Pediatric Rounds and NICU Rounds, which include the pediatric and NICU multidisciplinary teams (physicians, nursing, pharmacy, social work, dietary, and PT/OT). Pediatric rounds are at 8:00am at the bedside. NICU rounds are at 1:00pm on Mondays and 9:30am the rest of the week, by phone. The student will work alongside the pediatric pharmacist in an office located on the pediatric intensive care unit.

Travel requirements: None.

Onsite hours: 7:00am–3:30pm.

Rotation activities: The student will contribute to both pediatric and NICU rounds. Initially, the student will briefly review patients with the preceptor prior to rounds to discuss potential interventions. The student will participate in the completion of pharmacy consults (pharmacokinetics, TPN, etc.) and other clinical work as deemed appropriate by the preceptor. Topic discussions will occur, with the preceptor and student sharing responsibility for leading them. There may be opportunities to present education to pediatric or NICU nursing staff in coordination with the preceptor and nurse educator.

Specialty Pharmacy and Compounding Pharmacy (Ambulatory Care Elective)

Site: CentraCare Plaza and Specialty Pharmacy, St. Cloud, MN

Description: This pharmacy experience concentrates on three unique areas of pharmacy services: Specialty Pharmacy, Compounding, and the 340B drug purchasing program.

Travel requirements: Potential travel between pharmacy locations.

Onsite hours: Shifts between 8:00am–5:30pm.

Rotation activities: Pharmacy students on rotation will have the opportunity for exposure to:

• Specialty pharmacy patient-focused workflows, including patient onboarding and assessment, patient clinical workflows, prior authorization and financial assistance workflows, specialty pharmacy inventory procurement, and cold chain product packaging and shipping
• URAC and ACHC specialty pharmacy accreditation
• Non-sterile hazardous and non-hazardous compounding, following USP 795 and USP 800 compliance
• DSCSA compliance
• 340B drug purchasing program operation and compliance

Transitions of Care (Heart Failure) Rotation (Ambulatory Care/Acute Care Elective)

Site: St. Cloud Hospital Inpatient Pharmacy, St. Cloud Heart and Vascular Center (within St. Cloud Hospital)

Description: This rotation provides a unique crossover opportunity between ambulatory care and inpatient care by providing pharmaceutical care for patients transitioning from inpatient to outpatient care, primarily for heart failure indications. Students will provide care for ambulatory clinic patients in the mornings through clinic and phone visits alongside the preceptor. In the afternoons, the student will review inpatients managed by the heart failure service and attend daily interdisciplinary rounds. The heart failure team consists of a cardiologist, a mid-level provider, HF nurse specialists, a dietitian, cardiac rehab personnel, and a psychologist. The typical heart failure team service census ranges from 20–40 patients. Additionally, the student will be involved in comprehensive medication reviews for electrophysiology patients who are initiated on amiodarone or will be admitted for sotalol or dofetilide initiation.

Travel requirements: None.

Onsite hours: Most shifts are 7:00am–3:30pm, but may differ slightly.

Rotation activities: Daily review of inpatient heart failure patients. Attendance of daily heart failure rounds with the interdisciplinary team. Participation in ambulatory care visits and comprehensive medication reviews based on the preceptor's patient schedule. Topic discussions on various cardiovascular and chronic disease state topics with the preceptor. Patient case presentation and journal club, if applicable.

We have a current CentraCare employee who rents out a furnished bedroom to students at a rate of $100 per week, including utilities. Please contact Hannah Thompson ([email protected]) for further details.

St. Cloud State University rents out single, fully furnished dorm rooms during the months of May–August for $85 per week. This could be an option for someone needing a short-term spot at the beginning of the program until they find a more long-term solution. Contact Erin McClure ([email protected]) for more information.

We will continue to build upon our housing offerings, so please contact us if you are looking for assistance finding housing in the area.