The UNC Student Health Action Coalition is among four student community-engagement projects that will be awarded the 2009-10 AACP Student Community Engaged Service Award from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. The award recognizes outstanding programs that deliver consumer education about medication use, expand access to affordable health care, and improve the public’s health.
SHAC is composed of students from all UNC health-affairs schools: pharmacy, medicine, nursing, dentistry, public health, and social work. The students provide free health services to local underserved individuals and communities, partner with communities to develop and implement sustainable programs, and create service-learning environments for students in the health-science programs at UNC. The students from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy whom the award recognizes are team leader Carson P. Padgett (PY3), Kathryn G. Merkel (PY4), LaKia S. Scoggins (PY4), Allison L. Snyder (PY3), and Christopher J. Westerfield (PY3). Lisa M. Dinkins, PharmD, a clinical assistant professor in the Division of Pharmacy Practice and Experiential Education, is their faculty adviser.
The key branches of SHAC in which pharmacy students are currently involved include the SHAC Clinic in Carrboro, SHAC Outreach and Beyond Clinic Walls. all of which allow student practitioners to work in teams to solve complex medical and lifestyle concerns for their patients.
- At the clinic, pharmacy students consult with medical teams of one or two medical students with an attending physician and make recommendations for medication therapy. They encourage adherence to the SHAC formulary when possible, which guarantees that the patient will receive the medications they need free of charge.
- SHAC Outreach works with local groups to assess ways for community members to get involved in maintaining and improving their health. Students identify unmet needs, partner with groups to create sustainable programs and provide support through materials, expertise and volunteers. Examples of outreach initiatives include diabetes clinics, health fairs, and wellness programs.
- In Beyond Clinic Walls, students form interdisciplinary teams and visit a client’s home monthly to assess the client’s health status, living conditions, and concerns, and then share their observations with the client’s primary-care physician. Pharmacy students are responsible for documenting and updating a list of medications for each client, monitoring their client for medication contraindications and adverse side effects, and reporting any concerns to their team leader. Students also assess their client’s compliance and knowledge about their medications and provide education as needed.
The UNC students
In addition to receiving a commemorative Steuben glass Star Stream, the winning schools will also receive $10,000 to be used exclusively to support the expansion of the recognized program or new community engaged service projects at the school. Additional prizes include a $5,000 financial stipend administered to participating students to be used for enhancing or sustaining the recognized program or for travel support to attend and present their projects at professional meetings.
A student representative and faculty adviser from each winning school will be honored during the 2010 AACP Interim Meeting Community Engaged Service Awards Luncheon on Monday, February 8, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Virginia.