Belmont Pharmacy Student Wins Poster of the Year at Tennessee Pharmacists Association Meeting

Pharmacy student Jillian Morgan at TPA Poster Presentation Contest

Pharmacy student Jillian Morgan at TPA Poster Presentation Contest

Belmont pharmacy student Jill Morgan recently won Poster of the Year at the Tennessee Pharmacists Association (TPA) meeting in Nashville. She competed in the Tennessee Society of Health-System Pharmacists 2020 poster presentation and was selected by four judges out of more than 40 submissions.

Morgan’s poster was titled, “Evaluation of Discontinuing Bolus Insulin and Substituting with a Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Agonist (GLP-1 Agonist) in Veterans with Poorly Controlled Type 2 Diabetes While on a Basal-Bolus Insulin Regimen.”

In addition to Morgan’s victory, alumna Maren Richards-Brinton was also recognized in the contest as a “Distinguished Poster.” Richards-Brinton’s poster was titled, “Evaluation of Alvimopan Use After Major Small or Large Bowl Procedures.”

College of Pharmacy Welcomes Post-Graduate Fellows

After an extensive interview process, two students have been selected for Belmont’s post-graduate fellowship programs, housed in The Christy Houston Foundation Drug Information Center within Belmont’s College of Pharmacy. These two-year fellowships are designed to provide pharmacists with an intensive program focused in drug information, evidence-based practice, corporate management, teaching and research.

Chelsa Deans from the University of Tennessee has been selected for the Clinical Pharmacist Fellowship in Drug Information with Belmont and Aegis Sciences Corporation.

Chelsa Deans
Chelsa Deans

Sally Hughes from Washington State University has been selected for the Clinical Management Fellowship in Drug Information with Belmont and HealthTrust.

Sally Hughes
Sally Hughes

Both fellows will begin their program in June 2020 within the Christy Houston Foundation Drug Information Center under the mentorship of Genevieve Lynn Engle, PharmD. Fellows complete their training at Belmont University the first year and then with the corresponding corporate sponsor during the second year of the program.

Pharmacy Students Publish Patient Counseling ‘Skill’ for Amazon Alexa

Dr. Blash and pharmacy students
From left: Dr. Anthony Blash, PharmD, CPHIMS & 2020 Healthcare Informatics, Senior Team members Joshua Page, Julie Nguyen and Grant Harder

More than 2.8 billion prescriptions written annually in the United States fall under the Top 300 prescribed medications. Belmont University College of Pharmacy third-year students Julie Nguyen, Grant Harder and Joshua Page recently published patient counseling and education for the Top 300 prescribed medications on Amazon Alexa.

Amazon Alexa is a voice controlled artificial intelligence (AI) platform that has the ability to provide information upon request. As part of the Introduction to Healthcare Informatics curriculum in the Doctor of Pharmacy program at Belmont University, the students worked as a team to develop an application, or “skill” that is now available in the Alexa store.

The skill, “My Medicine Cabinet,” was designed to increase the access of accurate and relevant drug information to patients and contains information for the Top 300 medications currently prescribed in the United States. While none of Alexa’s skills should replace a consultation with a licensed healthcare professional, these skills can be downloaded for free online or through the Alexa app, which is now available for Amazon Fire, Apple and Android devices.

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College of Pharmacy Hosts 4th Annual Antimicrobial Stewardship Symposium

Rita Drummond Olans Speaks at Symposium
Rita Drummond Olans, DNP, RN, CPNP-PC, APRN-BC, MGH Institute of Health Professions and Spaulding Hospital speaks at Antimicrobial Stewardship Symposium.

Belmont University’s College of Pharmacy hosted the Fourth Annual Middle Tennessee Antimicrobial Stewardship Symposium on January 31 on Belmont’s campus.

This symposium brought together key stakeholders and practitioners to learn and discuss ways to work together as a medical community to improve appropriate antimicrobial use and mitigate risks. The symposium was attended by 150 healthcare professionals from multiple disciplines including pharmacists, physicians, nurses and those involved with infection prevention and patient safety and quality from 9 states and more than 60 healthcare facilities. Continue reading

Nursing, Pharmacy Students Hold Flu Clinics Across Campus and in Community

During the fall 2019 semester, nursing and pharmacy students held 19 flu clinics across campus, administering flu vaccines to 759 members of the Belmont campus community. The clinics were coordinated by Health Services Interim Director Krystal Huesmann in collaboration with DNP student Macy Ball, Associate Dean of Nursing Dr. Martha Buckner and Assistant Professor of Pharmacy, Dr. Kendall Shultes. More than 70 students were involved in this effort.

Ms. Ball’s DNP scholarly project is entitled “Community of Immunity: A Process Improvement to Increase Influenza Vaccine Uptake.” The project aims to increase influenza vaccine uptake among freshmen who reside at Belmont University and assess barriers and facilitators regarding the influenza vaccine.

In addition to the campus clinics, nursing students also participated in flu vaccine clinics for employees of the Nissan North America Headquarters in Franklin. Nine students participated in those clinics on four dates in October where more than 500 employees were vaccinated.

Belmont Pharmacy Students Serve Honduras on Medical Mission Trip

Belmont students hold mission sign in Honduras

The week following final exams, a group of 25 College of Pharmacy students from both Belmont and Lipscomb Universities travelled to El Zamorano, Honduras on a medical trip with Belmont on Mission. The team split its time between spending time at Jovenes en Camino, a home for 50+ boys from the area, and setting up mobile clinics. In these clinics, the students spent time ministering to and serving the surrounding areas in the Zamorano valley by providing medical care and medication to those without access to adequate health care.

Trisha McHugh, P3, described a typical day. We prepared a triage center and three different clinic rooms outside the mobile pharmacy. From there, we started seeing patients from the community. There were men and women off all ages from the area and we treated all that came through our doors,” she explained. “Every single smile, hug, and ‘gracias’ only reaffirmed that what we were doing mattered. We provided fluids for someone in severe dehydration. Medication was given to families who were struggling with infections. Prayer was spoken over parents dealing with loss of loved ones. Every single moment worthy of our full time and devotion.”

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Dr. Engle Published in ‘American Journal of Health System Pharmacy’

The manuscript, titled “Survey of Drug Information Centers in the United States 2018,” was an update to the 2008 directory and identified a total of 82 centers that met the definition of a Drug Information Center. Various characteristics of the centers were explored including affiliations with academic institutions and activities performed.

College of Pharmacy Fellow Published in PLOS One

The article, which was published in PLOS One, originated from a poster that he presented at the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting in 2017. Douglas worked with a group consisting of pharmacists, statisticians and physicians through the Specialty Pharmacy and Infectious Diseases Clinic at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Pharmacy Faculty Member and Student Provide Continuing Education for HIMSS North America

Dr. Anthony Blash InstructingAssociate Professor of Pharmacy Dr. Anthony Blash and Belmont PharmD Candidate Class of 2020 Mary Lankford were part of a collaborative team to deliver the 2019 Virtual Certified Associate Health Information Management Systems (CAHIMS) certification review class in five two-hour sessions recently.

The 10-hour continuing education course was offered to help prepare HIT professionals and students to sit for the CAHIMS Certification Exam. The review class was attended by 21 members of the healthcare informatics community, including pharmacy students and HIT professionals from The University of Texas At Dallas, the Carolina Biooncology Institute, Wellstar Health Systems and Adventist Health System. Continue reading

Dr. Reed Presents for American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists

Dr. Ken Reed, associate professor in the College of Pharmacy, presented a poster titled “Comparison of Calcium Glycerol Phosphate Versus Calcium Gluconate Mediated in Situ Gelling of Alginates for Ocular Drug Delivery” on November 4 at the annual meeting of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) in San Antonio, Texas.

AAPS is a professional scientific organization of individuals in academia, industry, government and other pharmaceutical science related institutions. Its mission is to advance the capacity of pharmaceutical scientists to develop products and therapies that improve global health.

Belmont Pharmacy Students Promote Safe Medication Practices with Drug Takeback Event

Pharmacy Students Demonstrate Using Safe Drug Deposit Box

Pharmacy Student Rachel Milwee had never previously considered what to do with leftover medication. Like many, unused prescription pills were stashed in the back of a household medicine cabinet until time for spring cleaning. However, this practice can often lead to medicine misuse, as the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health proved that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends.

Now as a second-year pharmacy student, Milwee and her peers are taking steps to prevent drug misuse through Generation RX, a division of the patient care initiative of APhA-ASP (the student division of the American Pharmacist Association). Belmont’s chapter was pleased to partner with Metro Police to host the first on-campus Drug Takeback event at Belmont’s Health and Wellness Fair on October 23. The event also provided informational pamphlets with instructions for students and faculty to safely dispose of their medications at home.

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College of Pharmacy Students Make High-Risk Medication Clinical Decision Support Available to Local Hospital

Group Picture of Student Team

Belmont University College of Pharmacy Healthcare Informatics students are partnering with Nashville General Hospital at Meharry to develop a Clinical Decision Support (CDS) tool which supports the safe use of medications in the hospital environment.

Third-year pharmacy students Joshua Page, Julie Nguyen, Grant Harder, Raven McKinnie and Kenyatta Cleark created a database of maximum and minimum dose ranges for high-risk drugs most commonly used by hospital formularies. This information can be used in many ways in the Electronic Health Record (EHR) to help avoid potentially harmful medication errors. Continue reading

Tennessee Health Care Hall of Fame Inducts 2019 Class at Luncheon and Ceremony

7 Inductees

Dr. Jonathon Perlin, Richard Miller, Clara Elam, husband Dr. Lloyd Elam was awarded, Morris Flexner, father John Flexner was awarded, Dr. David Barton, Dr. Mary Bufwack and Dr. Nancy-Ann Deparle were inducted into the Tennessee Health Care Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Luncheon at Belmont University on October 15, 2019.

The Tennessee Health Care Hall of Fame inducted its 2019 class, made up of seven health care legends from across the state, at a luncheon and ceremony in Belmont’s Curb Event Center today. Hosted by John Seigenthaler, Jr., a partner at DVL Seigenthaler, a Finn Partners Company, the Hall of Fame seeks to recognize and honor the pioneers and current leaders that have formed Tennessee’s health and health care community and encourage future generations of health care professionals. Continue reading

Dean Gregory Joins Fellow Pharmacists to Advocate on ASHP Legislative Day

David Gregory and Pharmacy Reps with Rep. Cooper
Dr. David Gregory and Pharmacy Reps with Rep. Jim Cooper

Dean of Belmont’s College of Pharmacy Dr. David Gregory joined 120 American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) members on Capitol Hill on September 11 for a direct advocacy push. The group personally urged their congressional representatives to support legislation that helps pharmacists meet critical patient care needs.

This year’s Legislative Day visits — 159 in all — emphasized the importance of face-to-face interactions with Congress in shaping policies that affect the pharmacy profession.

“It was an honor to work with our congressional representatives on key issues involving pharmacy and pharmacy education.” Said Gregory. “Belmont College of Pharmacy strives to be a leader in the field and working with our government officials and professional organizations is part of the process.”

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Pharmacy Student Selected as 2019-20 HIMSS TIGER Initiative Scholar

Julie Nguyen, pharmacy student at Belmont University
Julie Nguyen, pharmacy student at Belmont University

Belmont pharmacy student, Julie Nguyen, was selected as one of two inaugural students from a national pool of graduate and undergraduate applicants for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society TIGER Initiative Scholars Internship Program. Via the Scholars Workgroup, HIMSS launched the program in June to mentor and help advance the inter-professional informatics focused healthcare workforce.

The spirit of TIGER is to maximize the integration of technology and informatics into seamless practice, education, research and resource development. During this internship, Ngueyn will be working closely with TIGER’s global network represented by 29 countries worldwide via the International Task Force, Scholars Workgroup, and Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) Workgroup. Continue reading

Belmont Pharmacy Students Fare Well in National Competition

ACCP Clinical Pharmacy Challenge Belmont Team

Belmont students competed in the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) Clinical Pharmacy Challenge, a national team-based competition. The Belmont team made it to the fourth round of the competition, consisting of the top 16 teams in the country.

Teams of three students compete against teams from other schools and colleges of pharmacy in a quiz-bowl type format. This year a total of 120 teams from across the country competed.

The Belmont College of Pharmacy team consisted of Professional Year 4 students Tyler Merritt, Shekinah Baum and team captain Livia Lindin. The alternates for the team are Caleb Darensbourg and Mack Watson.

Belmont Nationally Recognized for Innovation, Commitment to Undergraduate Teaching

Belmont University appears numerous times in the 2020 rankings of America’s Best Colleges, a new analysis released today by U.S. News & World Report. The University was praised as the best in the state and No. 17 in the country for its “unusually strong commitment to undergraduate teaching,” placing Belmont in heady company with the likes of Duke and Gonzaga. Belmont was also recognized for the 12th year in a row for innovation as an institution and ranked seventh nationally for Learning Communities, among other accolades.

Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “The recognitions we’ve received from U.S. News and our peers across the country prove emphatically what I’ve known to be true for a long time: Belmont faculty are leading the way in higher education by providing unparalleled expertise in the classroom and with the overall curriculum. While these rankings are certainly gratifying, I am far more excited about what they represent, that Belmont students are receiving the highest quality education that will empower them to use their skills and abilities to live lives of meaning and purpose.” Continue reading

Dr. Angela Clauson presents at Lilly Conference with other Belmont faculty members

Faculty at Conference

Five Belmont faculty and staff presented at the Lilly Conference on College Teaching in Ashville, North Carolina August 5-7. Participants included faculty from Pharmacy, Mathematics, Music Business, Computer Science and the Teaching Center. The 2019 conference theme was Innovative Strategies to Advance Learning.

Dr. Angela Clauson, director of experiential education in the College of Pharmacy, presented a session on “Utilizing TEAMMATES as a Way to Effectively and Efficiently Administer Team Peer Feedback” and also a poster, “Using an Audio Interview to Expose Pharmacy Students to Other Health Professionals,” that was included in the poster session.

Pharmacy Today to Feature Dr. Montgomery Green

The feature, “Pharmacists on the Frontline: The Fight Against Antimicrobial Resistance,” features Green and her responsibilities as an internal medicine pharmacist, professor and preceptor for residents and student pharmacists to lead antimicrobial stewardship efforts.

According to the article, “Green leads daily prospective reviews in her antimicrobial stewardship program. Using a clinical decision support system, she screens for positive urine or blood cultures, infections, duplicate therapies and antibiotic treatments longer than 72 hours. She also assesses high-risk or broadspectrum antibiotics and keeps an eye out for asymptomatic patients receiving antibiotic treatment. When antibiotic misuse is flagged during the review process, Green communicates her recommendations to the prescribers.” Read the full article at the link above.

Dr. Bynum Published in American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education

The article, entitled “Revisiting Faculty Citizenship,” resulted from a collaboration with faculty from University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Montana College of Health Professions and Biomedical Sciences, East Tennessee State University Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy, Western New England College of Pharmacy, Stony Brook School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy and Mercer University College of Pharmacy.

Dr. Diaz-Cruz Elected to Association of Biochemistry Educators Board

The 7th International Conference of the Association of Biochemistry Educators was held May 5-9 in Tucson, Arizona. Dr. Diaz-Cruz also presented a podium and poster presentation entitled “Using Biochemistry to Educate Students on the Causal Link between Social Epigenetics and Health Disparities.”

Dr. Diaz-Cruz also has recently published two manuscripts. “If Cultural Sensitivity Is Not Enough to Reduce Health Disparities, What Will Pharmacy Education Do Next?” was published in Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning. In collaboration with Dr. Chris Barton in the Department of Biology and others, Dr. Diaz-Cruz was the co-author on “Enoxacin and Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) Act Synergistically to Inhibit the Growth of Cervical Cancer Cells in Culture,’ published in Molecules.

Dr. Ham Mentors Undergraduate Students for Research on Colon Cancer Cells

Libby Nunn Presents Poster
Libby Nunn and her poster at the ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics

Working with Dr. Amy Ham, associate professor in pharmaceutical, social and administrative science in the College of Pharmacy, two pairs of students from the past two years have shed light on the proteomic profiles of exosomes from colon cancer cells. Exosomes are extracellular vesicles that act in cell-cell communication and are involved in the progression and metastasis of colon cancer cells.

Libby Nunn, senior biology major, and Nancy Sharkawy, junior neuroscience major, completed this work for the 2018-19 year. In June, Nunn presented a poster entitled “Comparison of Sample Digestion and Fractionation Methods for Protein Biomarker Discovery in Exosomes” at the 67th Annual American Society for Mass Spectrometry Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics in Atlanta, Georgia. Continue reading

Pharmacy Student Presents Research on Human Trafficking Training

Macy England Presents Poster at ASHP
Macy England Presents Poster at ASHP

During a poster session at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Summer Meeting in Boston, 2020 PharmD Candidate Macy England presented her research on the significant need for human trafficking (HT) training within pharmacy school curriculum and emergency departments (ED)

According to her presentation, “Impact and Necessity of Human Trafficking Training in the ED and Pharmacy School Curriculum,” there were more than 10,600 HT victims in the year 2017 who were reported to the National Hotline and BeFree Textline.

England said HT victims are exposed to a variety of physical ailments and conditions, and more than 88 percent of victims seek medical attention at some point in their captivity, two-thirds being in an emergency department.

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Belmont Ranked Top 12 Christian University in America

Belmont is one of the best Christian universities in America, according to a list by The Edvocate that ranked the University no. 12 on its recent list of 2020 Best Christian Colleges and Universities in America.

In addition to the overall list, Belmont tied for fourth place for outstanding undergraduate teaching. The site ranked Belmont no. 5 among regional universities in the South, highlighting the university’s offerings for veterans and degrees in music and music production.

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‘Hey Alexa!’ Pharmacy Students Build A.I. Program for Top 200 Drugs

More than 300 million patients currently take medications that fall under the top 200 medications prescribed in the United States. Belmont University College of Pharmacy third-year students Angelina Babakitis, Lanoi Chindavanh, Damitea Johnson, Mary Lankford, Inmar Osi and Austin Simmons recently published patient counseling and education for the top 200 prescribed medications on Amazon Alexa.

Amazon Alexa is a voice controlled artificial intelligence (A.I.) platform that has the ability to provide information upon request. As part of the Introduction to Healthcare Informatics curriculum in the Doctor of Pharmacy program at Belmont University, the students worked as a team to develop an application, or “skill,” that is now available in the Alexa store.

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