(Above, students report on the dangers of over-the-counter sleep aids at a suburban nursing facility).
CHICAGO–(ENEWSPF)–May 26, 2016. Helping patients understand their medications is at the heart of today’s pharmacy practice, which is why Roosevelt University’s College of Pharmacy is training students to share their knowledge publicly in the community.
“All of us understand the importance of being able to communicate as a pharmacist with the general public,” said Lezley Diaz, who is one of nine pharmacy students who recently conducted research for public presentations as part of a course called Community Outreach on Trending Over-the-Counter Topics.
“People had a lot of questions,” said Diaz, who presented to about 60 people on “Vitamin D and its Role in Osteoporosis” with fellow Class of 2017 students Jeffrey Pierre Louis and Tin Vo. During the presentation, students shared information on the need for post-menopausal women to take Vitamin D supplements.
Other public presentations made during the elective course taught by College of Pharmacy Clinical Instructor Jucimara Markoff were: “Probiotics and their Role in Enhancing Health” by Class of 2017 students MacKynzie Anderson, Yong Cheng and Brent Edelcup, also at the Schaumburg Township Library; and “Over-the-Counter Sleep Aid Dangers” by Class of 2017 students Freddy Teuma Sonfack, Danh Truong, Yusef Turfe at Belmont Village Senior Living in Buffalo Grove.
“The course and its final presentation helped me to learn how to talk to people,” said Truong, whose group warned seniors of some dire consequences of using over-the-counter sleep medications, including unexpected falls.
“As a result, I feel I’m more confident than I was before in talking to patients,” added the international pharmacy student whose goal is to work in a community pharmacy after graduating in the spring of 2017.
Anderson believes the elective course gave pharmacy students an opportunity they hadn’t had before to take learning beyond the walls of the classroom – an experiential learning component that is one of the hallmarks of Roosevelt’s three-year PharmD program.
“It was a great chance to interact with people who were really interested in learning about probiotics,” said Anderson, whose student group talked about lack of guidelines for the over-the-counter products, which are good for overall health, but which won’t necessarily relieve recurring bowel problems. “I enjoyed the experience so much that I wouldn’t mind doing it again.”
Currently, plans are being made to offer the 10-week Community Outreach on Trending Over-the-Counter Topics elective course for a second time at Roosevelt’s Schaumburg Campus during 2017.
“It’s a chance for our students to learn how to do direct patient education with large groups. At the same time, it’s giving our PharmD program and Roosevelt University great exposure as we strive to educate the public on important health issues,” said Markoff.
Source: http://www.roosevelt.edu
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