CAPSules

UNC CAPS had a contest to determine the best UNC submission for the APhA-ASP’s PharmFlix Video Contest!  There were three submissions and this year's winner was the PY2 class.  Students were challenged to create a short public service announcement related to the theme "Share Your Story" to advocate for the profession of pharmacy.

Megan Hartranft

What is the title of your position?

Student member of the Commission On Affiliate Relations (COAR)

What are your typical monthly or annual commitments for your position?

My main responsibilities occurred during September at Policy Week in Bethesda.  Every year ASHP invites members of the five Councils and the Commission to gather and develop policy that is later reviewed by the Board of Directors and eventually voted on by the House of Delegates.  The COAR is responsible for making recommendations on petitions for state affiliation.  Before Policy Week, I had a conference call with the other COAR members for orientation and training purposes.  I did a lot of reading, and I had to be prepared to present the affiliate applications from three state organizations.  I also enjoyed leading the discussion on developing resources for state affiliates to increase student activities.  The pinnacle of Policy Week was Legislative Day, when all the Council members went into DC to lobby our state senators and representatives about important pharmacy issues like drug shortages.

What is your favorite part about your involvement with ASHP?

I loved being a part of developing pharmacy policy and having an impact on the way our profession evolves.  Working with and learning from the leaders of health system pharmacy was an amazing experience.  I made a lot of great connections and I’m excited about continuing my involvement as my career moves forward!

What advice do you have for students who are interested in getting involved?

Don’t be afraid to jump in and seek out a leadership position.  Everyone I met at Policy Week was extremely eager to hear the student perspective and put our ideas to use.  Students definitely bring a unique perspective to the practice of pharmacy and I hope UNC continues to lead at a national level.

Sarah Johannes

What is the title of your position?

Member of the Pharmacy Student Forum Executive Committee (PSFEC)

What are your typical monthly or annual commitments for your position?

Annually, I am granted the privilege of attending the ASHP Summer Meeting and Midyear Clinical Meeting.  It is during those meetings that the Executive Committee comes together to discuss our progress as a forum.  At the Midyear Clinical Meeting, the committee is also responsible for facilitating the Pharmacy Student Forum programming.   The Executive Committee holds monthly conference calls in addition to communication via email throughout the month.  Each committee member serves also as a liaison to one of the five Pharmacy Student Forum Advisory Groups.  Each Advisory Group has its own chair, however my role is to serve as a direct link to the entire Pharmacy Student Forum.  Therefore, I must be present on those monthly conference calls as well.

What is your favorite part about your involvement with ASHP?

Getting to work with students from across the nation is by far my favorite part of being involved with involvement with ASHP.  There are so many enthusiastic students who are excited about ASHP and what the association has to offer.

What advice do you have for students who are interested in getting involved?

Don’t doubt yourself, you are more than capable of getting involved nationally.  At first I thought I would never be able to achieve a national position, however a close mentor gave me the support I needed to apply.

The deadline for ASHP National Positions is November 15, 2011.  Please visit http://www.ashp.org for more information.

The 2011 Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund - Walk to Cure Diabetes was held on a chilly, rainy Saturday morning at the end of October. Nevertheless, the weather did not hold back the participation of the CAPS Operation Diabetes volunteers or the participants of the event. Watch the following video for some pictures from the heartwarming event!

The 2011 Aging in Stride 5K Race to Benefit the Frail and Elderly Fun of Orange County was a great success. Watch the video below for highlights of the event!

Cameron Jordan
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Memphis, TN
Pediatric oncology

Description of average day of rotation:

A typical day started around 8 am.  I spent the morning catching up on existing patients and any new admissions.  I was responsible for monitoring electrolytes for TPN adjustments, assessing pain medication usage, determining whether any pharmacokinetic tests would need to be ordered for the day, and checking all medications dosing.

Round began at 9:30 am.  Our patients were all diagnosed with either leukemia or lymphoma, and may have been admitted for neutropenic fever, chemotherapy administration, evaluation for new disease, or any other complication to their treatment.

The team consisted of the attending physician, an oncology fellow, two pediatric residents, two pediatric nurse practitioners, a pharmacist, a pharmacy resident, and myself.  While it seems like a large group, the pharmacist often allowed the pharmacy resident and I to manage the service under her guidance.

After rounds, I was responsible for making adjustments to TPN nutrition as well as following up on any PK tests done and determining appropriate dosage adjustments.  I met with my preceptor and the pharmacy resident to go over the patients and medication changes.

In the afternoons, the resident and I were responsible for counseling patients and their caregivers on all medications and relevant tests before they were discharged from the hospital.  I also attended numerous meetings throughout the week.  Some were exclusive to pharmacy students and focused on important topics in a pediatric oncology setting, such as febrile neutropenia, nutrition, and different types of cancer seen at St. Jude.  I also participated in weekly meetings with the interdisciplinary team, which included discussion about patient cases and protocol issues.

Favorite thing about rotation:

The involvement that pharmacy had in making therapeutic decisions.  Because this patient population experiences many side effects to their chemotherapy regimens, the medical team relies on pharmacy to be knowledgeable about all areas of patient care, not just oncology.

Type of people you interact with:

St. Jude is a pediatric oncology treatment facility, so most patients are children or adolescents with cancer accompanied by their parents or caregivers.  Additionally, St. Jude houses clinical research facilities, which means that there are research scientists as well as medical providers.

What do you do for fun on weekends or down time at your site?

Weekdays were very busy, but I did have time to talk to other pharmacy students, pharmacists, and physicians during the afternoon.  I had a lot of reading to do at home, so most evenings were spent catching up on that and preparing for the next day.  I was able to explore Memphis during the weekends.  I attended the Cooper Young Festival one weekend, an event in the arts district of Memphis with local crafts and live music.  I also explored Shelby Farms, a large park that has lots of mountain biking and running trails.  I had planned a trip to Nashville, which was only about three hours away, but wasn’t able to make it.  Since I was in Memphis, I had to catch a glimpse of Graceland, visit Beale Street, and try the barbeque at a few different places, since each person I talked to in Memphis recommended a different place as the “best” in Memphis.

Advice to the younger students you wish you knew before!

Take advantage of your out-of-state opportunities.  It requires a bit more work on your part, but start contacting people early to see what rotation experiences are available.  It’s true that pharmacy is a small world, so make the best use of your opportunity to network with practitioners in another part of the country.  Also, don’t be afraid to explore a new area or a unique patient population.  Children with cancer can certainly be daunting – but I found out through my experience during this month that they are also very rewarding to work with and are often too busy “being kids” to let their cancer slow them down.

Anyone who is interested in this rotation or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital can contact me (cljordan@email.unc.edu) - I’d be happy to share more about my experiences!

Butt Clean-Up

A small group of CAPS members gathered on October 15th outside of Kerr Hall to do a Butt Clean-Up around the School of Pharmacy and other health disciplines. We split up into 3 groups and covered the area around the pharmacy school, social work school, public health, nursing school and the HSL. We were able to gather a good amount of cigarette butts and a lot of other trash found around the schools. We were surprised at the amount of butts we found considering we are a smoke-free campus! We hope to hold another clean-up next semester and think it was a great success! Here is a little about our events coming up this month:

Employee Health Fair with the Nicotine Dependence Program and Smoking Cessation from 12-6 on Tuesday, November 8^th in the Women's Hospital lobby.

Our mid-semester meeting will be held on Monday, November 14th at 12pm in Beard 116. We will be discussing events for next semester, new ideas, and Alice Pollard from the School of Social Work will be coming to speak to us about the Nicotine Dependence Program.

Great American Smoke Out on Thursday, November 17^th – there will be a table from 9-5 in the UNC Family Medicine Center to promote smoking awareness and harm of secondhand smoke.

by Todd Knepper

This month I would like to highlight an article in a recent issue of Dean Blouin’s newsletter the “BlouInsight.” In this article Dean Blouin discusses Dr. McClurg’s and Dean Mumper’s leadership towards the development of the new strategic plan for our school. This critical strategic plan will allow our school to continue to be a model of innovation and excellence in pharmacy practice and education, and will positively influence the future of all students and graduates. Recently, Dean Blouin spoke to a group of our peers at “Dinner with the Dean” regarding the new strategic plan. I encourage you to read more about the strategic plan and consider the implications it will have on our future.  Read More...

Justin Arnall and Megan Smith at the MRM Meeting

by Erin Turnigan

APhA Region 3 Midyear Regional Meeting (MRM): "Fun in the Sun 2011" in Orlando, FL was a great success, especially for UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy!  The event was held October 28-30, 2011.  We were fortunate to have top-notch candidates run for each of the three Regional Officer positions (Delegate, Member-at-Large, and Midyear Regional Meeting Coordinator). After inspiring speeches and hours of deliberation of the Nominations Committee, each of our candidates were selected to be placed on the ballot.

It was a close race, but we now have two UNC pharmacy students representing the Region 3 as Officers! Congratulations to Audrey Schnell, Regional Delegate; and Michael Wolcott, Midyear Regional Meeting Coordinator!

The weekend was filled with sessions pertaining to leadership development (presented by our very own Dr. Macary Marciniak), financial planning, Generation Rx, IPSF, and pharmacy policy. In addition to the sessions, there was an expo with representatives from CVS/Caremark, Walgreens, Walmart, Kroger, McKesson, Cardinal Health Foundation, and more. Candidates for Regional Officers were also able to introduce themselves to pharmacy students in attendance.

Saturday night, UNC students had a chapter dinner at Giovanni's and enjoyed Italian food while discussing the resolutions proposed by schools throughout Region 3 and decided what the chapter's stance on the proposals were for voting during the Closing Business session. Of the resolutions proposed by UNC, one of them was passed by the House of Delegates: PBM Audits of Pharmacy. It will be considered by the National Resolutions Committee at the AphA-ASP Annual Meeting.

Overall, the weekend was enjoyable by all in attendance! Even though the weather wasn't as sunny as expected, it was enjoyably warm, and many schoolmates were able to visit the theme parks and downtown Orlando.

With next year's MRM in our home state of North Carolina, it will be exciting to see what amazing things are in store!