Michael Dejos

Specialty

Currently, I am completing a PGY-1 pharmacy practice residency at the St. Joseph Medical Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. After my PGY-1 pharmacy practice residency, I will be completing a PGY-2 medication use safety residency at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. My goal after post-graduate training is to become a medication safety officer who utilizes his knowledge and leadership skills to promote innovative patient-care changes that reduce the risk of patient harm, advance the profession of pharmacy, and optimize patient outcomes.

Role

As a PGY-1 pharmacy practice resident, I am exposed to various areas of clinical pharmacy practice including but not limited to medication safety, sterile products, cardiology, pharmacy administration, emergency medicine, and critical care medicine. Being able to rotate through these different areas gives me a strong foundation of many therapeutic disciplines. It gives me a greater appreciation of the systems in place that optimize patient care and reduce the risk of patient harm. While the PGY-1 pharmacy practice residency affords me much clinical training, St. Joseph Medical Center provides me with much training in safety and quality improvement. Throughout the residency, many projects are given to me as an opportunity for me to gain more experience in developing, implementing, and monitoring medication safety projects.

How He Got There

Medication safety has been an interest of mine ever since I took an elective medication safety course during pharmacy school at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. After learning more about this area of practice, I developed a passion for it and decided to take an elective rotation in medication safety during the clinical track program at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. When I was able to see medication safety in action as a student pharmacist on clerkship, I knew I wanted to gain more experience in the field. As a result, I applied and matched at St. Joseph Medical Center in Reading, Pennsylvania, a PGY-1 pharmacy practice residency that offers much opportunity in medication safety.

The guidance and support that I have received from my professors, preceptors, and mentors have greatly impacted my passion for pharmacy practice. Through my interactions with them, I knew that wanted to dedicate my professional life to the advancement of pharmacy practice through political advocacy, involvement in professional pharmacy organizations, and commitment to excellence in clinical practice, research, and academia.

Other Professional Activities

In terms of professional pharmacy organizations, I am a member of the Christian Pharmacists Fellowship International, Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association, Pennsylvania Society of Health-System Pharmacists, American Pharmacists Association, and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. I serve the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association by peer reviewing articles related to inpatient care, medication safety, and cultural therapeutics, and I am a member of the Section of Inpatient Care Practitioners for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. When time permits, I am involved with the Knights of Columbus where I serve as the Minister of Health for my council which involves organizing health fairs and community screenings that promote health and wellness for the community and underserved populations.

Advanced Training

Upon graduating from my PGY-1 pharmacy practice residency, I will be a clinical fellow/resident pharmacist at the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital completing a PGY-2 medication use safety residency.

Advice

Go the extra mile, and deliver more than you are paid to do.