Medication Adherence Challenge

The month of February is dedicated to informing and counseling the community on the importance of taking your medication on time and correctly every day. Wingate University School of Pharmacy has created a committee of dedicated students to go out into the community and talk to patients about compliance. Events range from an information booth at the YMCA, seminar to undergraduate students, information session at a local high school, and promoting P1 students to encourage their "e-patients"to take the pledge at http://www.scriptyourfuture.org/.

Today a few of my fellow students and I went to the local YMCA and talked to patient's about the importance of taking your medications on time. We passed out cards (like the one below) that have the pledge to take your meds, questions to ask your pharmacist, and a chart to write down a list of your medications. This card is easily stored in your wallet and serves as a reminder and tool to take your medicine!

Script Your Future is an amazing website that has tips and tools to help patients remember to take their medications. There also is information about common diseases states such as Diabetes, Hypertension, and Asthma. You can sign up for text reminders and join a community that will help encourage compliance.

Taking your medications on time is very important. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about what to do if you miss a dose. Taking your medicine at the same time every day allows a steady quantity of the medication in your body - so that it can work effectively. When you miss a dose, take a dose at different  times every day, or just don't take your medications at all - you are putting yourself at risk of toxicity, adverse effects, or cause the medication not to work and further complicating your disease.

January 2013, I was diagnosed with Hoshimoto's thyroiditis, an autoimmune hypothyroid disease, that requires daily medication for the rest of my life. Without taking Levothyroxine, a synthetic thyroid hormone, my body would not produce any active thyroid hormones. Thyroid hormones work on almost every part of the body. When I was told that I would be taking a medication every day for the rest of my life - I was in shock. I know that things come up, get busy, and schedules change - but it is extremely important you take your medicine correctly and on time every day. It was hard for me at first to remember to take my medicine every day, same time, before any meals. I set an alarm on my phone, out the medication on my night stand, and wrote reminders on the fridge. Soon, it became a habit and I don't even think about taking it every day. Make taking your medication a habit and keep yourself healthy.

Counseling at patient at YMCA about taking the Pledge

My friend Julie is a Nurse Practitioner in Orlando, FL and said, "You have no idea how many people who come to the hospital because they are not compliant! Especially with important medications like Coumadin! We need more people out there going out and making a difference so that people will take their medications!"

Don't be nervous to talk to your local Pharmacist about compliance and tips to remembering to take your medications on time and correctly! Your health depends on it! Take the pledge online at http://www.scriptyourfuture.org/pledge.

{faith} Don't Give Up

"He is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength. Trust in Him at all times, you people. Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us." 

Psalm 62 6 - 8

{Photo Credit: Rima Garsys}

I had pumpkin beer and ramen for dinner.

We made chocolate chips cookies to de-stress.

I am listening to the new Mumford and Sons album.

I am smiling and feel a lot better. 

One exam down and one to go. I can do this.

I thought I failed my exam today, it was probably one of the hardest application exams I have ever taken. I trusted myself and just went back through it because I still had time and told myself, "Amanda, just try your best and that's all that counts". I left the exam with the wind knocked out of me. I wanted to cry. I wanted to pack up my bags and and quit. I kept thinking, If I couldn't pass a drug class then I obviously wont be a good pharmacist. So, I cried. A lot. Questioning everything. 

That isn't the best mindset to have in a 4 year Doctoral program. I knew I needed a different approach. When I got home, I relaxed and took a deep breath. I started thinking about how I felt the first semester of high school and the first semester of college. THE SAME WAY I am feeling now. "Hard things are put in our way not to stop us but to call out our courage and strength." This is something I read every day. This is my quote. And I really thought about it. I have made it through all of the VERY hard things that have happened in my life. I am stronger because of them. I wanted to give up before and I didn't. Thank goodness I didn't because I wouldn't be where I am today - in a pharmacy doctoral program in North Carolina. I trusted my gut, left my friends and family, moved to a foreign city, and took a leap of faith. If it was all rainbows and butterflies then it probably wouldn't be that great of a ride. The rough times are just the chocolate chips in my cookie. They aren't as smooth as the batter but add to the wonderfully delicious taste. Hard times is what makes this experience worth it. 

So, I am going to try my hardest to believe in myself more and trust that I am here for a reason. That I can and will make it through this program and become a GREAT pharmacist. Making an impact in people's lives every day. 

Just a little Thursday thought. Today was hard but tomorrow will be better because of it.

TOMORROW IS FRIDAY! THANK GOODNESS.

{knowledge} Top 5 Strengths

In leadership we took a strengths test called Strengths Finders. I definitely recommend anyone to take it. You just pay a small fee for a personalized code and you take a quick quiz that finds your top five strengths. My were actually spot on.

1. Woo

• By nature, you enjoy chance encounters with friends and strangers. You engage them in conversation. Rarely are you at a loss for words. You delight in all kinds of dialogues, discussions, and verbal exchanges. You are apt to move swiftly from person to person, taking time to briefly chat with each individual. Driven by your talents, you frequently throw newcomers or outsiders off balance by pressing them to talk with you. With some individuals, you intentionally do this. With others, you are unaware of how forceful you are. You are eager to get things moving and completed. Even so, you strive to temper your demanding style. You probably want people to like you as well as do what you tell them to do. It’s very likely that you often share your ideas, feelings, and experiences. Your openness makes it easy for people to figure out who you are. They can begin to understand what causes you to think and act the way you do. Instinctively, you are quite open and transparent with individuals or groups. The level of trust you have for a person dictates how much you reveal about your personal history, innermost thoughts, or deepest feelings. Because of your strengths, you get a thrill from encouraging newcomers or outsiders to join discussions or engage in small talk. You probably have a gift for finding things to talk about when you meet someone for the first time.

2. Communication

• Instinctively, you relish talking to others. Frequently you help people express their opinions, thoughts, or viewpoints with enthusiasm. Your words frequently energize individuals or groups. Because of your strengths, you genuinely enjoy chatting with all sorts of people. A fine day for you includes many opportunities to engage individuals in dialogue. You probably feel most enthused about life when your need to express yourself is appreciated rather than viewed as a shortcoming. Chances are good that you customarily facilitate the group’s conversation. You carry yourself with an air of distinction. You take charge quite naturally. Nevertheless you appreciate the willingness of people to openly exchange ideas. Driven by your talents, you have a facility — that is, an ease and readiness — for speaking. Under very few circumstances do you struggle to find just the right word to express a thought or feeling. Being able to put friends or strangers at ease quickly is one of your special gifts. By nature, you find something likeable in just about every person you meet. You intentionally surround yourself with a wide array of people. Usually they represent different backgrounds, interests, cultures, or economic levels. You contend there is always room for one more person at a meeting, in a group, on a trip, or at a meal. Your pleasant, friendly, and cordial disposition draws individuals to you.

3. Futuristic

• It’s very likely that you have a capacity for envisioning what the coming months, years, or decades could, should, or will be like. Frequently you are prompted to transform your ideas into things you can touch, taste, see, smell, or hear. Driven by your talents, you are eager to get started on a project once you realize what you can accomplish in the coming weeks, months, or years. You work very hard to breathe life into your big dreams. These often push and pull you into the future. By nature, you are innovative, inventive, original, and resourceful. Your mind allows you to venture beyond the commonplace, the familiar, or the obvious. You entertain ideas about the best ways to reach a goal, increase productivity, or solve a problem. First, you think of alternatives. Then you choose the best option. Chances are good that you frequently question how well you are doing at this point in your life. You probably aspire to higher levels of excellence. You sense your greatest accomplishments lie ahead. This explains why you spend so much time and energy addressing your shortcomings. You think you jeopardize your chances of future success when you ignore your deficiencies. Because of your strengths, you characteristically center your attention on what you want to accomplish in the coming months, years, or decades. Being free of annoying distractions contributes to your enthusiasm for life in general and the future in particular.

4. Activator

• It’s very likely that you strive to energize people. You are determined to generate a lot of enthusiasm around various projects, events, or activities. Driven by your talents, you routinely raise the spirits of people by putting aside what you are doing and giving them your undivided attention. You work diligently to repeat the key ideas or questions they voiced. Because of your strengths, you have a gift for raising a person’s self-esteem. You notice something special he or she said. Then you formally or informally acknowledge the individual’s most interesting ideas. Instinctively, you characteristically generate enthusiasm. You contend anything is possible. Your optimistic outlook helps people believe in their potential. You encourage individuals to forge ahead quickly. You challenge others to view major and minor assignments as opportunities to excel. By nature, you may influence some of your friends to make things happen quickly. Sometimes you create enthusiasm in others by championing a particular project, rule, process, activity, or idea.

5. Arranger

• Instinctively, you may convince certain people that a particular project or cause improves humankind’s quality of life. Occasionally you persuade them of the importance of protecting the planet’s resources for future generations. Perhaps you help people realize they can accomplish more good as a group than they can as individuals. Driven by your talents, you help keep the peace on your team by doing your share of each day’s assignments. You generally perform your tasks so no one in the group has to do chores you overlooked, ignored, or forgot. It’s very likely that you usually excel on teams whose members appreciate your ability to simultaneously think about multiple ideas, problems, or tasks. The more you have to juggle, the happier you probably are. Because of your strengths, you have a reputation for being the team member who does whatever it takes — within the bounds of propriety and ethics, of course — to live up to your commitments. By nature, you produce good results when you have to juggle many activities at the same time. You probably have more energy for your studies, job, or life in general when you are given a variety of assignments. Working on just one task day after day ordinarily leaves you feeling mentally and physically exhausted.

I found this to be very helpful in recognizing the things I was good at. Sometimes you find a strength that you had no idea you had and sometimes you expect to have a strength and it doesn't show up on your top 5. I think my strengths represent myself very well. I feel like I am a very well rounded person and my strengths seem to prove that as well. I also think that getting to know people/keeping in touch with people are one of the most important things to me in my life. I think it is very fitting that I have "Woo" and "Communication" at the top of my list. I hope to use these strengths to go far in pharmacy school and in my career. I hope to learn from this course how to work well with people who have other strengths. I can't wait to see how we will use our strengths in class!

What are your top 5 strengths? 

Do you think mine match me?

Hope you have a great Thursday! 

{knowledge} HealthQuest

{source}

I recently volunteered at a non-profit pharmacy in Monroe, NC called HealthQuest. I was excited to volunteer because I love helping people in the local community and I was excited to get my feet wet in a pharmacy since I have never worked in one before.

HealthQuest helps people without prescription insurance or cannot afford their prescriptions and provides them with monthly medications at a low fee. They recently celebrated passing the $50 million mark in the value of medicines that they have distributed.

HealthQuest works with Wingate School of Pharmacy to staff the pharmacy during dispensing hours. This is when patients can come and get their prescriptions.

I think this is a fantastic program and keeps people in the community healthy and out of the hospital.

I met a lot of very friendly and inspiring pharmacists, technicians, and staff who volunteer their time every week to help their local community.

If you would like to volunteer or donate visit their website, mail donations to: Health Quest, (415 E. Franklin St. Monroe, NC), or call (704) 226-2050. Volunteers and donations are crucial in keeping the doors open. It was a great experience and cannot wait to volunteer again!

{knowledge} P1 Fall Course Overview

I have officially survived my first week of pharmacy school. Let me tell you something - there is so such thing as easing into grad school. You jump right into the deep end of the pool and they say swim 500 laps. GO!! But I have to say - I am really enjoying the classes. I don't think they will be necessarily difficult content but it is going to be a lot of information...all at once. I wanted to give you all a summary of each class this semester and what I am looking forward most about it. It will be interesting to look back at this post at the end of the semester and see if my opinion on the courses has changed.

General Advice to P1s

Source

Here is a breakdown of the courses I will be taking this semester:

Biological Science Integration Part 1: General overview of all the science courses you took in undergrad. This is going to be the most difficult class this semester because of the amount of information given each week. It is basically anatomy/physiology, chemistry, biology, biochemistry, and metabolism all in one class. 

Calculations: This course is designed to work hand and hand with the dispensing lab. Calculating amounts of ingredients needed to fill a prescription.

Dispensing Lab: This course is all about compounding and filling prescriptions. Its a hands on course designed to simulate compounding in a pharmacy. This semester we will be making children's flavored tylenol, medicated lolipops, and medicated chapstick. Just to name a few! 

Principals of Pharmaceutical Care: This is probably going to be one of my favorite classes. This course is focused on the new age of pharmacy - focused on patient care. 

Professional Responsibility and Leadership: This course is going to be another one of my favorites. It is designed based off a self assessment test taken at the beginning of the course. After the assessment you learn what your leadership style is and how to work with different leadership styles. It is going to be a great course to learn how to work in team settings in the health care world. 

Professional Communications: This course is your basic communications course but specific to pharmacy. How to communicate effectively in a pharmacy to both your patients and coworkers. 

Electronic Mentor Program: This is an interesting course that is based off electronic communications with pharmacists all over the country on ethical questions in pharmacy. We have a topic each week that we discuss in class and then leave our opinion on the topic in a comment on a blog. 

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving: This course is designed for you to think critically in pharmacy situations. Teaching you techniques on how to approach a situation successfully in a pharmacy environment.

Overall my first semester in pharmacy school is designed to give us an overall pharmacy background and prepare us to be well-rounded student pharmacists when we enter a pharmacy to do interning/work. I am very excited to see how these classes will turn out and can't wait to share my experiences with you! 

{knowledge} New Beginnings

You know those times where you just take a step back and look at everything you have done in your life? Think about where you are now and where you thought you'd be? Think about the path you set out for yourself, did it go the way you planned or did you change routes midway though?

I can't believe that I am living in a new state, attending an amazing pharmacy school, and running towards my dreams. How did I get here so quickly? It feels like just yesterday I was in elementary school. Life goes so quickly, sometimes we need to learn to take a step back and reflect on how we got to where we are today. I am so proud of the things I have accomplished in 22 years. I could not have made it here without the support and love from my family and friends. And above all hard work.

Speaking of hard work - tomorrow starts my first week of pharmacy school at Wingate School of Pharmacy. I completed orientation week which was filled with tons of school information, helpful study tips, and future talks. It really sparked my interest in thinking about the kind of pharmacist I want to be. I am very excited to start on this new journey and can't wait to share it with you along the way.

Here are some photos of the white coat ceremony on Friday. I officially feel as if I am a doctoral candidate now and I can't wait to show off this snazzy white coat :)