Student Vocational Experience Report
Port Hedland Hospital
I recently completed a two week placement in Port Hedland, a town situated in the Pilbara region of WA.
True to its name, Port Hedland is home to one of the largest ports in the southern hemisphere. The town is
split into two main residential centres - Port and South Hedland. The Port Hedland Hospital has recently
been rebuilt in South Hedland, and is approaching its second anniversary. There are three main hospital
pharmacists in the Pilbara region, and they all have very diverse roles.
I was amazed at the extent of clinical knowledge the pharmacists have. Being a remote location, there is
only one main ward, the “general” ward, for all different clinical situations and cases. The pharmacists had
such a broad knowledge of all different disease states and the medications that go along with them, both
common and rare.
A normal day as a pharmacist in Port Hedland consists of firstly going over the ward list for the day. I learnt
that assessing a patient’s blood work and lab results prior to the ward round gave you important
information not only on their clinical status, but relevant pharmaceutical information such as electrolyte
balances, deficiencies, and renal function. It helped me see that whilst pathology lectures can be boring,
the real life application is actually very relevant to pharmacy practice!
Next up was the ward round with the medical team, visiting each of the patients in turn with the
consultant physician providing a briefing of each patient before we went in. The physician would question
and assess the patient, while the pharmacist and I would check medications that had been given, dosing
and strength, assess whether medications such as antibiotics were suitable, check regular medications, get
medication histories for patients, and check the medication charts for completeness and errors.
By going on the ward rounds I learnt valuable clinical information about specific conditions and about the
medication regimens that are implemented for each one. It greatly helped me to put into practice and
understand why certain drugs are used in each situation, what properties of the drug were useful, and how
they influenced the use of other medications. These are some of the valuable clinical knowledge and
experiences I gained in such a short time:
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Witnessed the cardio version (via drugs) of an atrial fibrillation patient
Insulin regimes, the different types of insulin and controlling spiking glucose levels
Empirical treatments, such as for pneumonias
Pathological crying and laughter
Anticoagulation methods and principles
Heart failure and myocardial infarction drug therapies
There were many other clinical situations and interesting patients that I was able to meet and learn about. I
also gained experience in the Paediatric ward checking doses and learning about their conditions.
During the first week I went on a day trip down to Karratha hospital. The day before I had received a phone
call from Karratha as their fridge had gone off overnight, and I was able to help the pharmacist track down
product stability data. The main reason for the trip was to sort out a new fridge for them, but whilst there
we got to look over all of the patient medication charts, check up on medication histories, and I also got the
opportunity to counsel a patient who would be leaving the hospital newly started on warfarin.
In the second week I was lucky enough to go out on a regional visit to many of the nursing posts and other
hospitals in the Pilbara. We travelled from Port Hedland to Marble bar, Nullagine, Newman, Paraburdoo
and Tom Price. The purpose of the trip was to conduct S8 audits at each of the locations and to check up to
see if everything was going ok and if the nurses had any concerns. It was a great trip and everyone who I
met along the way was lovely and welcoming. In Newman, we gave presentations to the nursing staff on a
couple of drugs- amiodarone and enoxaparin. I gave the amiodarone talk, and it was great because this was
not something I knew much about so I learnt a lot! I got to see so much of the Pilbara outback on the trips
thanks to my supervisor who took us to have a quick look around each town that we visited, even stopping
to show us the Red Dog statue (from the movie!) and the aboriginal rock art.
On my final day of placement I was also given the opportunity to spend a day in theatre! Lucky for me it
was “women’s day” so I was able to witness a caesarean section and the birth of a baby boy! It was so
interesting observing and talking to the anaesthetists about the different drugs used and how they all
worked. I was also able to have a go at bagging and masking a patient (“Just in case you ever have to” was
the anaesthetist’s reasoning!)
Overall I had a fantastic time on my rural placement at Port Hedland hospital. Everyone was very
welcoming and accommodating. What I really came to enjoy was how everyone in the hospital is involved
in everything. The nurses, pharmacists and doctors all interact and ask for each other’s input when
situations arise. It is definitely a team atmosphere, where everyone gets along well and all seem to really
enjoy their work! I got to experience so much in just the two weeks (including a visit to the Marble Bar
races on the weekend!), and was amazed at what the job of a rural pharmacist has to offer.
After having this experience, I would definitely consider a job in the rural sector!
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TRIM D??/????? | Title | Rural Health West