Clinical practice & operations
Connecting patient-centered clinical judgment with reliable, effective medication-use systems.
Taylor M. Patterson, PharmD · Professional portfolio
Curiosity
in practice.
Advancing healthcare through clinical expertise, thoughtful innovation, research, and education. I'm interested in the questions that lead to better systems—and the people who help answer them.
An integrated perspective
Four pillars.
One purpose.
Each area informs the others. Together, they shape how I think about improving healthcare.
Research & analytics
Asking meaningful questions, preparing useful data, and exploring the evidence behind decisions.
Technology & innovation
Investigating how technology can make healthcare workflows smarter without replacing human expertise.
Education & mentorship
Helping learners connect ideas, think independently, and see opportunities they hadn't imagined.
Selected work
Ideas made tangible.
A few ways I've applied curiosity in clinical education, healthcare operations, and research.
∑01 / Clinical education
From knowing to doing
A structured learning approach that connects literature, guidelines, and patient-specific reasoning.
↗02 / Operations
Supporting a Tecsys rollout
Empowering technicians to troubleshoot independently and connecting frontline feedback with implementation teams.
◎03 / Research
From data to operational change
A critical-care antifungal review that informed ICU Pyxis inventory changes while preserving access through main pharmacy.
Beyond the portfolio
Let's find the next good question.
02 / About
A career shaped by curiosity.
I started in pharmacy with a love of learning. Along the way, I discovered that the questions that excite me extend from bedside care into systems, research, technology, and the people learning to use them.
The path here
One question leads to another.
My educational journey began early: I earned an Associate of Science degree while in high school, completed my remaining prerequisites, and entered pharmacy school. Clinical pharmacy gave me a foundation in evidence-based decision-making, teamwork, and patient care.
But I became increasingly interested in the systems surrounding clinical practice. A Sparx Academy Excel course introduced me to new ways of working with information, including Excel and SQL. Later, supporting a Tecsys rollout showed me how much thoughtful technology implementation depends on people, workflow, and communication.
Now, while pursuing graduate study in informatics and analytics, I'm exploring data cleaning, statistical analysis, and responsible AI. I'm energized by how these disciplines can strengthen healthcare—not because I have every answer, but because they open up better questions.
What drives me
Learning that travels.
I love testing a hypothesis, discovering how something works, and using that understanding to approach something unfamiliar. I want learners to do more than remember information for the moment. I want them to carry the reasoning forward and apply it independently.
That philosophy shapes the way I precept, the way I approach workflow problems, and the way I imagine healthcare technology: tools should extend human understanding, not replace it.
A guiding thought
“The most exciting part of learning something new is discovering what else becomes possible.”
Outside of work
Always room for adventure.
Travel is one of the ways I stay curious. I enjoy exploring new places, experiences, and perspectives—and bringing that sense of discovery back into everything I do.
03 / Work & research
Experience in practice.
A collection of clinical education, operational implementation, and research experiences that connect evidence to everyday work.
01 / Clinical education
From knowledge to clinical reasoning.
My precepting approach gives learners multiple ways to build and apply understanding—from a disease state to the literature to an individual patient.
Chalk talksPatient workupsCase presentationsDrug information
Interactive chalk talks establish foundations. Drug information responses connect questions to primary literature. Patient case presentations require learners to combine guidelines, evidence, and patient-specific factors. Structured workups give them a repeatable process for clinical assessment.
The goal: not simply knowing the answer, but being able to reason through the next case independently.
Teaching philosophy
Build understanding. Apply it with purpose.
01
Learning
Create a strong, adaptable foundation.
02
Evidence
Connect questions to high-quality literature.
03
Reasoning
Integrate information to make sound decisions.
04
Practice
Apply knowledge in real patient care.
Explore teaching materials
These teaching materials are shared as examples of my educational approach. Student-authored work is credited as student work created during preceptorship; material is educational and not patient-specific treatment advice.
Teaching philosophy · PDFMy teaching philosophyWhy I prioritize deep learning, independent inquiry, conceptual understanding, and meaningful application.Read philosophy ↗Teaching guide · PDFPatient workup processA structured approach to independent patient assessment, medication review, and clinical recommendations.Open PDF ↗Chalk talk · PDFManagement of shockHandwritten teaching map covering shock types, perfusion, resuscitation, and vasopressors.Open PDF ↗Chalk talk · PDFBiostatisticsVisual lesson on variables, measures of spread, significance testing, and correlation.Open PDF ↗Student-authored example · PDFDrug information responseA third-year student evaluated high-dose insulin euglycemia therapy in calcium channel blocker overdose.Open PDF ↗Student-authored case · PDFPatient case presentationA second-year student explored DKA management through patient assessment and primary literature.Open PDF ↗
Teaching in practice
From foundational understanding to independent application
My educational framework connects guided patient workups, interactive chalk talks, drug information responses, and patient-specific case presentations. The downloadable third-year drug information response and second-year case presentation are student-authored examples completed during my preceptorship. They demonstrate the inquiry and synthesis I encourage.
02 / Healthcare operations
Implementation is a human process.
During the Tecsys rollout at UNC Medical Center Hillsborough, I supported technicians as they learned to navigate new workflows, prioritize issues, and troubleshoot independently.
I focused on a practical sequence: identify the problem, locate the right information, then correct or escalate the issue. Feedback from the frontline was an important part of improving the system.
One issue involved products incorrectly appearing as backordered because their statuses were out of date. I helped escalate this problem; it was among several reports that contributed to the development of a troubleshooting SOP.
Workflow supportTechnician trainingIssue escalation
Operational leadership
Find.
Fix.
People + process + technologyFix.
01IdentifyDefine the frontline issue
02InvestigateFind the right information
03Resolve or escalateSupport independent troubleshooting and report recurring problems
03 / Research
From medication data to operational change.
During my postgraduate pharmacy residency, I led the execution of a critical-care antifungal medication-use evaluation. I collected patient-level information using Epic SlicerDicer, reviewed prescribing patterns and fluconazole exclusions, analyzed the findings, and authored the written assessment and recommendations for the Critical Care Committee.
The review identified patients continuing micafungin without documented reasons to avoid fluconazole. The evaluation contributed to an inventory change: micafungin was removed from ICU Pyxis stock while premixed fluconazole bags remained stocked. Micafungin remained available from the main pharmacy when clinically indicated.
Rather than eliminating treatment options, the change adjusted immediate unit-level availability and underscored the connection between clinical analysis, stewardship, and operational decisions.
Epic SlicerDicerMedication-use evaluationAntifungal stewardshipInventory optimization
March–May 2023 · Initial therapy
31 patient records reviewed
27Started on micafungin
4Started on fluconazole
Descriptive utilization review; not a comparative outcomes study.
What comes next
These experiences inform my vision.
04 / Vision
The future is a series of better questions.
My professional interests are evolving at the intersection of healthcare, research, operations, technology, and education. These aren't predictions or promises. They're directions I'm excited to explore.
Where I'm looking forward
01 / EVIDENCE
Research & statistical analysis
I want to contribute directly to the statistical work behind research—cleaning datasets, selecting appropriate tests, investigating hypotheses, and helping teams interpret results with care.
02 / SYSTEMS
Operations & process improvement
How might we identify workflow bottlenecks earlier, improve dispensing dashboards, or use predictive inventory methods to reduce avoidable friction? Clinical operations gives me a practical lens on these questions.
03 / TOOLS
Responsible AI & informatics
I imagine AI assisting—not replacing—clinicians: locating relevant labs within defined time windows, surfacing information from authorized patient records, supporting chart review, and reducing repetitive data gathering. Privacy, reliability, and human review are essential.
04 / PEOPLE
Education & expanding possibilities
I want students and colleagues to discover what else a pharmacy background can make possible—from research and analytics to informatics, technology, and interdisciplinary collaborations they may not have encountered before.
The principle
“Technology should expand what healthcare professionals can understand and accomplish—not replace their judgment.”
A conversation in progress
What could we build together?
05 / Connect
Great ideas start with a conversation.
Whether you're exploring a professional opportunity, developing a research idea, or simply interested in connecting across disciplines, I'd love to hear what you're working on.
For recruiters & hiring managers
Explore professional opportunities
I'm open to conversations about roles at the intersection of clinical expertise, health informatics, analytics, research, healthcare technology, and operations.
For peers & collaborators
Connect & collaborate
From clinical education to research and responsible AI, I enjoy exchanging ideas with people who are curious about where healthcare is going.
Send a message
Let's start somewhere.
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