Student pharmacists teach class at Overton Health Care Academy
Janel Shoun-Smith |
Twenty-two students at Nashville’s John Overton High School will end this school year not only with advanced health care knowledge but also with the ability to sit for a national health care exam, straight out of high school, thanks to the efforts of Lipscomb University’s doctor of pharmacy students.
Several fourth-year students at Lipscomb’s College of Pharmacy are each spending a portion of their month-long advanced pharmacy practice experiences developing curriculum and co-teaching a pharmacy profession, practice and science class held at Overton’s Academy of Health Sciences, where students gain real-world experience through project-based learning.
Typically, a student pharmacist’s academic APPE rotation may consist of shadowing a Lipscomb professor, conducting research for specialized projects, class observations, curriculum development or lesson planning, said Dr. Ronda Bryant, assistant professor of pharmacy practice. “The typical academic rotation doesn’t offer many opportunities to get up in front of a class, but these students have extensive time with the Overton High School students and receive immediate feedback on their ideas and lesson plans. They are delivering material they generate to an audience several days a week.”
“It’s unique to get to see the professor’s point-of-view, which isn’t usually available in pharmacy school,” said Isaiah Keller, a fourth-year student pharmacist from Ohio who worked with the Overton class throughout September. “Someday I may want to be an adjunct professor in a pharmacy college.”
While the partnership is providing Lipscomb student pharmacists a more holistic opportunity in the academic world, it’s giving Overton’s high school students an even more valuable benefit: possible employment upon graduation.
Students in the pharmacological sciences course will graduate with the knowledge and skills needed to sit for the national pharmacy technician certification exam, a credential that could earn them a full-time job or part-time work in the health care field as they pursue higher degrees.
Overton is the only school in the Metro Nashville school system and one of a few in the state offering this course material to high schoolers said Mary York, academy coach at Overton High School.
“Statistics show that pharmacy technician jobs are in demand. With this certification, students can graduate high school with skills that allow them to go immediately into the workforce and, if they desire, further their education in the field of pharmacy science,” York said.
Overton teacher Denise Wigginton is overseeing the course, developing grading metrics and designing tests, while Lipscomb’s students are working with her to develop content, presentations, study guides and lab exercises. All lessons are designed to meet the required standards to prepare for the pharmacy technician certification exam, which generally requires a year of study.
The high school students were wowed in September when student pharmacists Isaiah Keller and Trent Barrett developed four lab stations giving students hands-on experiences illustrating specialized skills for pharmacy technicians in the areas of medication compounding, counting and liquid measurements with various instruments.
Other topics discussed during the first month of class were medication dosage forms, different ways to administer medications, medication interactions and how different types of medication affect the metabolism. Presentations included sports or entertainment analogies as well as several photos to keep the teens interested in such advanced material, said Barrett.
“They have tailored the information presented to pertinent things high school students would see in their real life such as substance abuse,” said Bryant.
Other topics that will be covered throughout the school year include herbal products, immunology, pharmacy law, history of pharmacy, the role of nutrition and types of pharmacy careers, Bryant said.
Lipscomb’s involvement with Overton is through the PENCIL Foundation’s PENCIL Partners program, said Laura Ward, director of admissions and student affairs, who facilitates that relationship. Lipscomb College of Pharmacy faculty members Bryant and Dr. Susan Morley are coordinating the drug knowledge portion of the curriculum and overseeing the preparation and delivery of content by the student pharmacists. The College of Pharmacy has been a PENCIL Partner with Overton and worked with teachers on curriculum ideas and other projects since 2011.
Bryant said Lipscomb officials believe the program is mutually beneficial for each institution raising the overall learning experience for students at each school. “This project and partnership is so unique. We feel like Overton High School could get national attention for partnering with student pharmacists via the PENCIL partnership. What an outstanding platform to expose more high school students to the pharmacy profession,” she said.