Creation of a Peri- and Post- operative Care Rotation for a Geriatric Pharmacy Residency: A Pilot Experience

Pharmacists have emerged as important members of the health care team to optimize outcomes for older patients. Demand for pharmacists with experience caring for adults aged 65 years and older is expected to increase as the population continues to age. Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center (CBMC) is an acute care hospital located in Livingston, New Jersey, that offers a Post-Graduate Year-2 (PGY2) Geriatric Pharmacy Residency Program. The hospital performs a variety of surgical services for many older patients annually. The authors aimed to outline a residency rotation developed within this program that was designed to introduce the resident to the peri- and post-operative setting. Over a four-week period, the resident identified 70 opportunities to optimize medication use in surgical and postoperative older patients. Of these recommendations, 70% were accepted, indicating potential value to the health care team. Creating this rotation enabled the residency program to achieve its goal of developing a specialized clinician to serve the medical needs of older patients.