Sarah Whipple, PharmD, BCPP
Sarah Whipple, PharmD, BCPP, is a Mental Health Clinical Pharmacist at the VA Central Iowa Health Care System in Des Moines, Iowa.
Sarah feels strongly that psychiatric patients are often misunderstood and made psychiatric pharmacy a career to make a difference in the care that they receive. Read on to learn how Sarah works to serve this population as she tries to improve their quality of life.
Describe your role as a psychiatric/neurologic pharmacist.
I have the opportunity to work with Veterans on our acute psychiatry ward, in our outpatient mental health clinic, and in our mental health residential rehabilitation treatment program which includes care for homeless Veterans, a psychosocial treatment program, post-traumatic stress disorder treatment program, and substance abuse program. I also oversee our tobacco cessation telephone clinic, which is a rotation for Drake University.
Describe your typical day and practice setting.
Right now every day is different as I am currently developing my role. I have interaction with my P4 student in the smoking cessation clinic every day. I provide education to other members of the health care team and provide input about medication therapy when consulted. I often have several projects in process. Right now that includes an MUE, several policy revisions, and restructuring our smoking cessation telephone program. I am looking forward to spending more time in direct patient care in the upcoming months. I love that every day offers a new challenge.
What do you do in your practice that you feel has the greatest impact on psychiatric patients and/or their families?
I think the value I place upon my patients has the greatest impact. That is shown in different ways depending on where I am working.
Even for non-academicians, educating coworkers and consumers about the pharmacist’s role is a constant challenge. How have you helped to educate about mental health issues?
I have really tried to focus on the importance of our accessibility when educating my coworkers. With noncompliance being such a significant issue with mental health patients, I stress the significance of education and having an open door so that patients can ask questions.
Why is an organization dedicated to the psychiatric or neurologic pharmacist important to you?
The networking opportunities are wonderful. The e-mail list serve is outstanding because you can get quick feedback from other psychiatric pharmacists about a patient case or specific topic.
How did you help a patient this week?
This past week I have had the opportunity to help facilitate getting several patients started on clozapine therapy. This has involved providing education to staff and the patient and guiding the health care team through the application process.
How did you help another healthcare provider this week?
We just had another long-acting injectable antipsychotic added to formulary so I have been working on providing education to the staff.
How did you help a caregiver this week?
I am currently working with the team of pharmacists from our CLC to put together two in-services about psychiatric medications in this setting. We are trying to focus our presentation on medication monitoring and documentation.
How are you involved in patient advocacy?
As the only mental health pharmacist in my health system, I try hard to represent the unique needs of my patients whenever policy decisions are being made.
How have you built positive relationships with other medical professionals?
Working as a team is so important to providing great quality care. Every member has their own strengths and I make it a priority to communicate my value and respect for these roles.
Any advice to patients with mental illness or neurologic conditions?
Ask lots of questions. You should know what to expect and what to watch for so that you can take part in your health care decisions.
If you could tell the public one thing about your job to have them better understand psychiatric pharmacy, what would it be?
Pharmacists have a lot to offer the health care team. Our knowledge about medication therapy can really improve patient care.
Do you participate in an community activities with the mentally ill or patients suffering from neurologic conditions (e.g. NAMI)
Not at this time
What do you like best about your current position?
I love to plow new ground and my current position allows me to evaluate current processes and determine how I can best help. Every day presents a new challenge. I look forward to going to work every day.
What advice would you give to someone considering becoming a pharmacist?
I get to spend my days solving problems, teaching, and interacting with patients and other professionals. It is a very rewarding job and the possibilities are endless.
Narrowing your training focus can be intimidating. What advice would you give to a pharmacist who is considering specializing in psychiatry or neurology?
As a person who recently made this transition, I have found that being an expert in a certain area to be very rewarding. I like to be the person that someone comes to with a difficult case. Even though I have specialized, I continue to learn new things all the time.
In your opinion, what are the job prospects for new neuropsychiatric pharmacists?
Through my experiences in CPNP, I have met many incredible pharmacists providing excellent mental health services who are utilized in innovative ways. I think the job prospects are great for someone who is passionate about what they do.
