Martina Ringen

"Don't pick up hitchhikers"...curve to the right, turn left...park...show ID card if the front desk controller does not recognize my face...wait. One, two, three, four more doors to be unlocked before me and locked behind...wait in line with escort for keys...walk through a couple more securely locked doorways. And welcome to another day in prison. I love it here!

Phoenix, Arizona has been my home this summer during my BOP Pharmacy COSTEP assignment. My daytime residence is FCI Phoenix-a men's medium to high security prison. I have found lodging in the guest room of some new friends; a family I found through the local branch of my church. Afternoons and evenings I can workout, shop, sleep, or whatever suits my fancy. My fancy has recently included a beautiful day trip to Sedona. There are actually some trees in Arizona! Tubing down the Salt River ate up another day off of work. Now down to the real reason I am here...pharmacy.

I have been thoroughly challenged at this institute by my fellow pharmacists. My preceptor CDR Andrew Litavecz has years of experience to make me think about long term pharmacy practice. The staff pharmacist LTJG Tom MacLean, a recent graduate, still has MOA's, DI's, and all related facts buzzing around in his head. So at any moment I might be thrown the curve ball "What's the mechanism of action of this drug?" as he holds up a newly filled prescription bottle.

This team of pharmacists has given me a rather well rounded perspective on pharmacy. I do enjoy my pharmacist duties and daily interaction with the inmates. I am glad to be here long enough to know many inmates by name: those who come daily to take psychotropic medications under our supervision. In addition, I do spend considerable time working on QA reports, DUE research, and looking up all the drug answers that I cannot remember.

I also appreciate being able to know the whole medical team here reasonably well, partly due to our daily medical staff meetings. Those relationships make it much easier to call the prescribers with my questions and concerns about prescriptions.

One particular summer bonus that I would like to highlight is the IHS Pharmacy Training Program which I attended in Phoenix for four days. During this seminar I learned invaluable physical assessment techniques and reviewed case studies with experienced pharmacists. Most memorable was role playing angry or otherwise 'problem' patients. In small groups we took turns acting as patient and pharmacist to practice managing difficult situations and barriers to successful counseling. That week of training would be of benefit to everyone. If possible, I hope to attend that program every few years to renew what I learned.

When the end of summer has come and for the last time I walk out of these locked doors, I will be sad to leave this team, the inmates' familiar faces, and the challenges I have faced. However, I will also be thankful for my experience and hopeful for opportunities in the future.

Please e-mail questions and comments to potter@fred.net Last Updated: January 26, 1998.