Criddle answers riddle of virtual rotations

A virtual rotation is just not the same as a regular one... it’s better. At least in some ways. Just ask Sarah Criddle ’21.

“When I found out that my first rotation was going to be virtual, I was extremely sad,” said the fourth-year student at the MUSC College of Pharmacy. “When I got into it, I found it was still an incredible experience and I learned equally as much or even more. Instead of going to the preceptor with every little question, you tend to figure out more things on your own. It’s a great way to grow.”

The virtual rotation is a valuable benefit. Across the country this spring, coronavirus wreaked havoc on experiential education as rotation sites adopted new safety standards, employees started working remotely, and clinicians were swamped with additional patient care. MUSC pharmacy students were fortunate not to miss a single rotation. This summer, students and preceptors are teaming up to find new ways of connecting.

“Having good virtual rotations is an option not every student has and we’re lucky to be at MUSC,” said Criddle, who just finished a virtual rotation with Jason Cooper in MUSC’s Drug Information Center. “MUSC has prepared us to do something out-of-the-box like this because they don’t just teach us what’s in the books; they teach us how to be better people.”

Virtual rotations have helped Criddle with self-pacing, discipline, and deadlines. In each case, the preceptors have found ways to make a big difference in her educational experience and create opportunities for her to give value back to them, all without having her on site.

Her preceptors have:

• assigned things like educational handouts and presentations with the expectation she would take the lead on what to do
• given her helpful tools (“Where to go when you need to know!”) or provided detailed to-do lists
• asked her to solve problems with her own research and ingenuity; her first preceptor was delighted to be taught how to ask poll questions on conference calls

Her next two rotations will be live, starting with faculty member James Sterrett and the Fetter Healthcare Network when she does ambulatory care in August. She’s spending whatever free time she can find looking into possible fellowships in health economics and outcomes research (or paddleboarding, where social distancing is automatic).

But for the present, she is content to be on a virtual academic rotation with Shannon Drayton, assistant dean for assessment and curriculum at the MUSC College of Pharmacy. Since she may one day become a pharmacy faculty member, it is a great way to learn about administration, finance, development, and other aspects of academic pharmacy. She’s also had some insight into her own College faculty.

“I think every student should be required to sit in a faculty meeting,” she said. “You don’t realize how much the faculty stands up for students or how often their decisions are made out of concern for students!”

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In June, the MUSC College of Pharmacy celebrated Preceptor Appreciation Month! Pharmacists interested in precepting a student should contact Elizabeth Weed or Celia Dennison.