Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital
Last updated: 08-17-01
This document is a cooperative effort on the part pharmacy students who have nearly completed (at this writing) their externship at Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital. The letter is updated in the latter part of the externship to ensure accurate information regarding living quarters, demands of the externship program and general background information on Sitka. If you are reading this, it is probably safe to assume that you are also considering doing some type of student work at Mt. Edgecumbe. Please feel free to make any additions or corrections to this document because there are a few things that we feel are important to know before traveling to Sitka and that you may not hear from anyone except another student.
Empty Arms: Student Housing
First, don't worry about your living quarters. The hospital maintains a small apartment building (about 10 apartments) that is right next to the hospital. Each apartment has a kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom, each of which are small but well kept. The kitchens are equipped with a small table and two chairs, a microwave, coffee maker, toaster and a small assortment of cooking utensils, and depending on the preceding student, you may have a small stock of food in the cupboards. The bathrooms are simple, just a shower, commode, and sink. Bedrooms, which double as living rooms, are carpeted and contain at least a twin size bed, nightstand, and a dresser. They also contain a Lazy Boy recliner and a chair. Sheets, towels, and pillows are also provided. The most important thing to know about your living quarters, in my opinion, is the fact that there is a washer and dryer in each apartment. You don't even have to put coins in them! There may be some laundry detergent and fabric softener also, but again, that depends on the tenant before you. Each apartment differs slightly as to its contents because as students come and go, they leave different things behind to make more room in their luggage. The most important fact that you need to know is you will not be living in a hospital room or dormitory. You get your own small, but comfortable apartment.
Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital
Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital is located on a small island called Japonski Island. The city of Sitka is on a larger island called Baranof Island, and can be reached by walking (or driving if you figure out how to have access to a car) over a bridge. Within reasonable walking distance, for most people, is at least 1 grocery store, a movie theater (with 2 screens), video rentals, Ben Franklin variety store, a bowling alley, several restaurants, and numerous gift shops. There are no stores of any type on Japonski island, so be prepared to carry your purchases back over the bridge or call a cab. Cabs between the hospital and downtown are quite reasonable, around $3-4 one way. To go any farther than downtown by cab, however, may get quite expensive, so you may find it useful to make friends who own cars. The only other mode of transportation I can think of is cycling. There are several bicycles behind the apartment building that you are welcome to use, but they are not in very good shape, so you may want to rent a bike from the rental place in town or bring your own. You can usually get a bike box for free at your local bike shop (airlines charge about $15), and the airlines charge about $50 to ship your bike on the plane one-way.
If you would like to give the address here to your family before you leave, tell them they can write to you:
your name
c/o Pharmacy
Mt.Edgecombe Hospital
222 Tongass Drive
Sitka, AK 99835
When you arrive at the hospital, one of the first things you may want to do is drop by the mail room and let them know to which department they should direct your mail (pharmacy). You will not receive mail on Saturdays here, because the hospital does not sort mail on Saturdays, so plan on your mail taking several more days to arrive than you're used to. There is an outgoing mailbox just outside the front door of the hospital too, so you really have no excuse to not write home. If you have packages to mail, there are 3 post offices in town as well.
You will have your own phone extension in your apartment. The lines are connected through the hospital switchboard, so you will be able to be reached by having the caller dial the hospital's number and asking for your apartment number (or your extension number). From your phone, you will be able to make local calls by dialing 9- and then the number you are calling, but long distance calls must be either put on a calling card, or collect. To accomplish this, you simply dial 0 to contact hospital communications and tell them how you would like to bill your call. You can also call Alascom directly by dialing 9, then 108660. If you've ever lived in a dormitory, this is probably a similar phone situation. You will also have access to a voice mail system from your extension.
While you are here, you will be served 3 meals a day. When you arrive, be sure to ask about the meal schedule and have them point out where you are to pick up your trays. Meals are served in the staff cafeteria, the Lighthouse, except dinner and weekend meals are picked up on trays from the dietary office and can be eaten in the cafeteria or taken back to your apartment. If you choose to eat in your apartment, be sure to let the kitchen staff know so they can put foil over your food to keep it warm. If you would like more to eat than they serve, just ask for double helpings. The kitchen staff here are very nice and are usually happy to oblige. The food is good, considering the fact that it's hospital food, but if you don't like the entree they're serving, they usually serve fruit and soup with every meal so you won't starve if you're a picky eater. Get there early though, they have been known to run out. If all else fails, there is a McDonald's, a Subway, and several local restaurants in town where you could eat. Keep in mind, though, that the food at the hospital is free and you'll have to pay for it if you go anywhere else. Also, if you plan on going hiking over a meal, the kitchen staff will supply you with a bag lunch, which usually includes a sandwich, fruit, juice, and chips or cookies. They take very good care of us!
At the hospital, you will usually work from 8am to 5pm, but you may often have to stay later to get things caught up. Pharmacy students work M-F and have holidays off. The Department of Pharmacy Services includes both inpatient and outpatient as well as clinical duties, and the hospital is small enough that the pace is comfortable for learning. As far as the educational materials you will have available, the pharmacy has the standard Facts and Comparisons, Trissel's, USPDI, DiPiro's Pharmacotherapy (3rd ed), Goodman and Gilman's (9th ed), Koda-Kimble's (6 ed), along with many others as well as Micromedix and IOWA information systems on the computer.
Students have the same dress code - casual but no jeans. Some of the men at the hospital wear ties, but most don't, just as some of the women wear skirts, but most wear dress pants. Lab coats are not required and everyone wears comfortable shoes. You shouldn't worry too much about bringing an elaborate wardrobe, because you do have a luggage limit on your plane trip here, and because you will fit in no matter what you wear.
Depending on the time of year, you may even have an opportunity to visit a village with one of the doctors. If this opportunity becomes available, I highly recommend the trip! You most likely will have to pay for travel expenses on your own, which could be expensive if you fly ($300), but the ferry is an alternative which runs about $52 round trip, depending on where you go and time of year. While visiting the village, the main role of the pharmacy intern includes consultations. I spent about 1/2 hour with each patient, going over the patient's medications, checking for interactions and problems/concerns. It's a great opportunity to spend time with the patients, focusing on the patient and using the pharmaceutical care model. Other duties to be completed while at the village include checking the expiration dates on all stock bottles in the medicine room, dispensing medications, and typing up medication lists for the patients with multiple medications to take home with him/her. When going to the village, it's helpful to go with a focus in mind, such as diabetes. Since the doctor knew diabetes was my focus, I consulted each diabetic. I also gave a presentation to the health aides regarding the monitoring parameters of the diabetic medications. The presentation is informal, yet a wonderful learning experience, not only for the health aides, but also for you! The prep work is well worth the experience!
Another thing to keep in mind is the fact that your apartment does NOT come with a TV or a radio. I would suggest bringing at least a small radio. There are 3 radio stations in town and they play a good variety of music. Bringing a TV might not be as useful because Sitka has only one television station. The apartments are cable-ready though, if you would like to pay for cable TV (about $50/month). Some students have also been known to watch TV in the outpatient waiting area in the evenings and use VCR’s in the hospital to watch movies. There are many things to do in town to keep you entertained if you choose to do without these items. Some things to do in town include several museums, the Raptor Center, where they heal and care for injured birds of prey, Totem national park, and the aforementioned movie theater, bowling alley, and shopping. You will find many trails around Sitka and depending on the weather conditions can offer a great day of entertainment, especially important on Sundays when the majority of stores are closed. Sitka is a historic city, so if you're interested, there are many things to learn. Depending on whom you meet while you're here, you may also have to opportunity to go fishing, hunting, etc. and whale watching. This is also a wonderful area for sea kayaking, and there are two places in town that will rent boats. The more creative you are, and the more you like the outdoors, the busier you will be. There is also a fitness center within walking distance that costs about $15/ month. It has treadmills, stair master, free weights, and a sauna.
You'll want to be sure to pack a raincoat and waterproof boots, because it rains here often and without rain gear you may be stuck indoors. Although, on a sunny day you might want shorts and a T-shirt. Other things you'll probably want to bring include a camera and plenty of film (since film is expensive here~$6 a roll), a pair of binoculars, and an alarm clock. There are places to get film developed in town, or you can bring film mailers and have them delivered to the hospital. Lori did it several times while here, and the pictures made it here okay. There are several ATMs in town, but unless you are a member of an Alaska bank or Wells Fargo they will charge you a small service charge. Other items can be more individualized to your interests: such as snowboards, surfboards, camping gear, and fishing gear. There are basically unlimited outdoor experiences here!
Well, are you tired of reading? We've run out of things to tell you and wouldn't want to over-inform you because that would take the adventure out of coming here! For that reason, the rest of Sitka for you to discover and enjoy on your own. I hope we've answered most of your pre-travel questions, but if you have any more, just call. someone here will be happy to answer any questions. Again, we hope we've helped and we hope you enjoy your stay in Sitka. We have all had a wonderful time, and would do it again if given the chance.
Sincerely,
Lori Jacobs, Fall 1993
Alexandra Bankert, Winter 1994
Tara Ruffner, Sept, 1995
Dwayne Pierce, Summer 1996
Angela Brunner, Summer 2000
Ty Kiser, Summer 2001
Updated 08-17-01