Belmont University College of Pharmacy was recently featured with an article in Directions in Pharmacy, a special supplement of Pharmacy Times. The article included a short interview with Dr. Philip Johnston, Dean of the College.
Pharmacy Times is a clinically-based, monthly journal providing practical information pharmacists can use in their everyday practice. Continue reading
Inaugural class represents Tennessee’s greatest health and health care pioneers
During a McWhorter Society Luncheon held on Belmont University’s campus this week, the Tennessee Health Care Hall of Fame announced the eight health care professionals selected as the Hall of Fame’s inaugural inductees. With a mission to honor men and women who have made significant and lasting contributions to the health and health care industry, the Hall of Fame was created by Belmont University and the McWhorter Society and is supported by the Nashville Health Care Council, a Hall of Fame Founding Partner.
Among the highly qualified candidates nominated, the inaugural inductees were reviewed by a Selection Committee made up of health and health care leaders from across the state. Selected inductees represent some of Tennessee’s greatest health and health care pioneers, leaders and innovators. Inducted individuals include:
In April, pharmacy students in the Ambulatory Care Pharmacy course led educational classes at Room In The Inn, a community of participants, guests, volunteers and staff who work together to offer hope to Nashville’s homeless population. The organization serves more than 4,000 homeless individuals each year.
Assistant Professor in the College of Pharmacy Dr. Ashton Beggs teaches the course to second and third year students each spring, focusing on disease states seen in primary care settings and best practices for patient education. Continue reading
Two doctoral students in the Occupational Therapy program at Belmont recently completed their residency projects, which together provided wheelchairs and professional support to children and their families in San Carlos, Mexico. Claire Grecco and Tara Harper completed complimentary projects under the academic advisement of Dr. Teresa Plummer, Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy, and with assistance from the faith-based charitable organization, Reach Out and Care Wheels (ROC Wheels), based in Bozeman, Montana.
For her project, Grecco piloted the creation of a local chapter of Youths Empowered with the Helper Spirit to Reach Out and Care at Ezell Harding Christian School in Nashville. Through the program, students learned about the international need for wheelchairs and helped raise money to provide wheelchairs for children in need. Continue reading
Dean of the College of Health Sciences Dr. Cathy Taylor was recently featured “The Mother & Child Project: Raising our Voices for Health and Hope,” a compilation of personal narratives, research and essays from inspirational leaders, politicians, philanthropists, speakers and musicians including Kimberly Williams Paisley, Amy Grant, Melinda Gates, Senator Dr. William H. Frist and Michael W. Smith, among others.
The project was compiled by Sen. Frist’s Hope Through Healing Hands, a nonprofit whose mission is to promote improved quality of life for all people around the world. Using health to lead the charge, Hope Through Healing Hands seeks to educate all people on ways to have access to a fuller, healthier lifestyle. Continue reading
The Belmont Nurses Christian Fellowship (NCF) has joined forces with Passion Partners, a nonprofit missions organization, to launch their annual Pad Project campaign that collects feminine hygiene products for Ugandan and Kenyan girls who would otherwise be unable to attend school. The donations are wrapped as gifts and distributed at monthly Purity Project meetings at high schools in Wakiso and Kampala, Uganda, where girls are taught about health, self-worth and the Bible. Continue reading
Gail Bursch, Associate Professor of Physical Therapy, received the 2015 Carol Likens Award (CLA) presented by the Tennessee Physical Therapy Association (TPTA) at their annual meeting recently. The award is given annually to a TPTA member who has provided exceptional service to the profession of physical therapy. Bursch served as Chair of the Nashville District of TPTA for 11 years, was Vice President of the Tennessee Chapter for 5 years and most recently chaired the TPTA Nominating Committee for 4 years. The Likens award is named for its first recipient who served the chapter as president from 1985 to 1995 and whose vision, leadership and commitment to the profession brought the TPTA through one of its greatest periods of growth and service to members. Continue reading
Dean of the College of Health Sciences Cathy Taylor was part of the original design team of national experts, supported by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), who worked to develop and launch the MCH Navigator beginning in 2010.
The MCH Navigator is an online portal and clearinghouse for maternal and child health professionals, students and others working to improve the health of women, children, adolescents and families for training on key MCH and leadership topics. The project contains in-depth training portals on specific issues of importance to public health professionals and highlights learning opportunities focused on MCH topics.
Continue reading
Pictured are DNP students Jennifer Jaramillo, Kathryn Dambrino, Danielle Voss, and Kristen Allen as they wait for a meeting in Senator Bob Corker’s office.
Four doctor of nursing practice (DNP) students attended the AACN Student Policy Summit held in Washington, DC earlier this week. The students were immersed in program sessions focused on the federal policy process and nursing’s role in professional advocacy. Aspart of the summit they made visits to capitol hill with Associate Dean of Nursing Dr. Martha Buckner, meeting with legislative staff of the senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension committee. Student Jennifer Jaramillo said, “The policy summit was such an amazing opportunity to advocate for nurses in Tennessee and across the nation. Building a network with other nursing leaders was an invaluable experience that will enrich our future practices. Advocacy and policy play a major role in our nursing practice and the future of our profession.”
More than 50 Belmont Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) students recently attended the Tennessee Occupational Therapy Association’s (TNOTA) Day on the Hill.
The students joined a group of 120 other students and practitioners from across the state, forming the largest organized representation to date for TNOTA Day on the Hill. Continue reading
Twenty-four graduates and soon-to-be graduates of Belmont University’s College of Pharmacy have been selected for pharmacy residency programs following the annual match process conducted for the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists (ASHP). About 4000 residencies are being offered in 2015 through the ASHP Match, a competitive application process.
Belmont placed 90 percent of applicants in first-year residencies, compared to an overall placement rate of 65 percent. For second-year residencies, Belmont placed 75 percent compared to an overall placement of 70 percent. First-year pharmacy residencies provide post-PharmD training in health systems, managed care oand community settings, while second-year residencies provide advanced training in a focused area of patient care.
Since 2004, all graduates of Belmont’s Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN) program for Family Nurse Practitioners (FNP), totaling 150 students, have passed the nursing certification exam on their first attempt. The most recent class of 28 graduates passed the exam this spring.
Dean of the College of Health Sciences Cathy Taylor said, “This is marvelous recognition for our outstanding students and a testimonial to the passionate dedication of an expert graduate nursing faculty team led by Dr. Leslie Higgins. We are so proud of this remarkable accomplishment.”
The School of Nursing began offering its MSN degree 20 years ago and with the creation of the Doctorate of Nursing, the graduate programs have grown to a record enrollment of 87 students in the fall of 2014. Prepared to practice in a variety of settings, FNPs provide primary health care to families and individuals of all ages. Graduates from Belmont’s program have gone on to practice in pediatrics, genetics, family practice and public health, among others.
Lucille Turmel, a 2012 Belmont graduate, found Belmont’s post-master’s certification program directly fit her needs and prepared her for a career as an FNP. Currently working in a private practice in Washington, Turmel said she enjoys working with all ages of patients and has recently developed a passion for teenagers and young adults.
While at Belmont, Turmel said the best part of her education was the “personal attention and guidance from Dr. Higgins and the faculty and staff…I felt very well prepared and was employed two months after leaving Belmont.”
The advanced practice nursing examination for FNPs is administered by the American Credential Center (ANCC) and validates nursing skills, knowledge and abilities. Since 1990, more than a quarter million nurses have been certified by ANCC and over 80,000 advanced practice nurses are currently certified by the ANCC. The certification is accepted by governing boards throughout the U.S. as well as insurers and the military.
We missed this post several months ago, but the accomplishment is worth recognizing even a bit late.
As posted by Nashoba Publishing in Ayer, Massachusetts
Elizabeth M. Lochiatto, an Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadet at Belmont University, Nashville, Tenn., has graduated from the Leader Development and Assessment Course at Fort Knox, Ky.
The 29 days of training provide the best possible professional training and evaluation for all cadets in the aspects of military life, administration and logistical support. Although continued military training and leadership development is included in the curriculum, the primary focus of the course is to develop and evaluate each cadet’s officer potential by exercising the cadet’s intelligence, common sense, ingenuity and physical stamina. The cadet command assesses each cadet’s performance and progress in officer traits, qualities and professionalism while attending the course.
Cadets usually attend LDAC between their junior and senior years of college, and they must complete the course to qualify for commissioning. Upon successful completion of the course, the ROTC program, and graduation from college, cadets are commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army, Army National Guard or Army Reserve.
Lochiatto has also completed the Nurse Summer Training Program.
This program assigns cadets who are nursing majors to Army medical facilities throughout the continental United States as well as in Germany, where they develop and practice leadership skills in a clinical environment. The cadets work side-by-side with an Army Nurse Corps officer preceptor.
Dr. Pat Sells, Professor of Physical Therapy, was recently honored by the Greater Nashville affiliate of Susan G Komen as part of the 2015 class of Pink Tie Guys. Dr. Sells was among nine individuals from middle Tennessee who were recognized this year.
The Pink Tie Program honors influential leaders who help mobilize, energize and engage audiences in the breast cancer movement through their role within the community, within their organizations, and through their personal involvement. The Pink Tie Guys are leaders who bring a male voice to the urgency of finding the cure.
It was Dr. Sells’ interest in service that first led him to get involved with Susan G. Komen and the Race for the Cure. His interest in the Komen events was heightened following the passing of his grandmother, who happened to be a 20 plus year survivor of breast cancer. After her passing, Pat spent a great deal of time contemplating the courage, strength, determination and faith required of someone facing breast cancer, a strong motivational influence to help find a cure.
Dr. Sells, along with 2014 Pink Tie Guy and fellow Belmont professor, Dr. Mike Voight, coordinate over 100 student volunteers from the School of Physical Therapy prior to and during the Race for the Cure event each year. The students were recognized in 2013 by Komen International as the Outstanding Volunteer Group of the Year.
Belmont University’s Gordan E. Inman College of Health Sciences and Nursing was lauded last week when U.S. News and World Report released its 2016 rankings of Best Graduate Schools, a tool to help prospective graduate students better understand the graduate school landscape and identify potential programs. Belmont’s Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN) ranked at No. 115, up from No. 234 in the 2011 rankings.
The MSN ranking is based on average peer assessment score, average undergraduate GPA, acceptance rate, faculty resources, student-faculty ratio and research activities, among others. In addition to its recent U.S. News ranking, Belmont’s MSN program has seen great success through the first time pass rate of graduates. For the 11th consecutive year, graduates of the MSN program for Family Nurse Practitioners have achieved a 100 percent first time pass rate on the nursing certification exam totaling 150 student graduates since 2004.
Belmont OT student, Jayme Mills and BU PT alumnus, Marna Jane Bevill watch as a child test drives her new “ride.”
Six doctoral students from the School of Occupational Therapy recently joined with Dr. Teresa Plummer, Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy, Dr. Nancy Darr, Professor of Physical Therapy, and several graduates of both programs to teach a Go Baby Go preconference workshop at the annual International Seating Symposium (ISS) held in Nashville this year. The ISS is the lead educational and scientific conference in the field of wheelchair seating & mobility and related technologies.
The student presenters included Elizabeth Davis, Gabrielle LaGrace, Emily McClearran, Jayme Mills, Kelly Phipps and Betsy Philo, all second year OTD students. OTD alumnus Cassie Swinehart and DPT alumnus Marna Jane Bevill assisted in the presentation which was coordinated with Go Baby Go Music City and the Center for Independent Living.
Workshop participants were instructed in how to modify commercially available ride on toys for young children with disabilities. Several children with physical disabilities participated in the workshop and received ride on cars modified by participants with assistance from the instructors and Go Baby Go Music City volunteers. Modified ride on cars enable children with physical disabilities to interact and play with peers thus improving communication, vision, cognition and motivation to move.
Team Nursing/Pharmacy
from Pharmacy Faculty Members
Elisa Greene & Edgar Diaz-Cruz, and
Nursing Faculty Member Jamie Adam
Our team returned safely to Nashville just before midnight last night with exhausted, yet fulfilled students and faculty. This unique Springbreak experience gave students an incredible opportunity to be immersed not only as American students in the Guatemalan culture, but also as an inter-professional healthcare team. Nursing, OT, Pharmacy students and a student majoring in Communications, learned how to leverage each other’s strengths to provide quality care to the people of Guatemala. Within the majors, students had various degrees of experience. Graduate students were mentoring undergraduates, seniors were mentoring freshman, and faculty were facilitating meaningful inter-professional learning experiences.
As most international trips go, students and faculty were challenged to be flexible about their own expectations and use the unexpected as “teachable moments.” In addition, our team had to learn to manage the people’s expectations of what we could provide. There was much we could offer, but in some cases, we had to acknowledge our own limitations. Regardless of whether we could identify a problem or a need, our patient might not be able to afford a physician or the medications needed. Continue reading
Two separate teams of health science students are in Guatemala over Spring Break this year. One team consists of nursing and pharmacy students. The other includes OT and PT students. Both team are writing about their experiences.
Team Nursing/Pharmacy
from Gabi Okoniewski, Danielle Marshall
& Tori Powers
A week ago, none of us knew what exactly we were getting into as we traveled to Antigua, Guatemala. Now a week later, our expectations of this trip have been far exceeded and our perspectives have changed. Not only have we learned about the culture here in Antigua, but we have also learned more about our own culture in America. Collaborating with the different professions this week has given us all a greater appreciation for the different disciplines in the healthcare field. This was a great experience that could not be matched by any other.
Top reasons why YOU should come on the Guatemala Spring Break Immersion Trip
-There is 75 degree weather everyday and there are NO mosquitos!
-The creation of new friendships.
-Cultural compentance within the city.
-Having the ability to interact with the kids at both the coffee plantation school and the God’s Children School. Continue reading
Two separate teams of health science students are in Guatemala over Spring Break this year. One team consists of nursing and pharmacy students. The other includes OT and PT students. Both team are writing about their experiences.
Team Nursing/Pharmacy
from Erin Todd, Erin Oakley,
Kandice Squires, Noah Ploegman &
Justin Beasley
Today our group drove to San Luca, a small town ten minutes from Antigua, to visit a pharmaceutical manufacturer called PharmaDel. 
Here we had the unique opportunity to observe the medication manufacturing process first-hand. It was exciting for us as future pharmacists to follow a medication from its raw form into its final packaged product ready to be distributed across Central America. We were impressed with the level of dedication and integrity demonstrated by plant employees.
After observing these processes for both solid and liquid medication formulations, our tour then shifted focus from the manufacturing aspect towards PharmaDel`s quality assurance measures. The technology and lab techniques used to evaluate the purity of the medication produced are very similar to those which we use in our country. 
Special air pressurization, filtration systems, and room design functioned to enhance sterility and prevent contamination. PharmaDel is working towards becoming certified by the World Health Organization as meeting their highest standards for pharmaceutical manufacturing. It was surprising to our group that most of the drug development and quality assurance measures were performed by pharmacists, however, the guide explained to us that this is a common role for pharmacists in Guatemala. To become licensed, students complete 5 years of post-high school general and pharmacy education, plus 6 months each in a hospital and laboratory practice setting. Finally, they complete an internship in one of these areas, which often leads to employment. Continue reading
Two separate teams of health science students are in Guatemala over Spring Break this year. One team consists of nursing and pharmacy students. The other includes OT and PT students. Both team are writing about their experiences.
Team Nursing/Pharmacy
from Maddy Clarke Williams & Alexis Rhea-Anne Pendley
Language may be regional, but love is universal.
Today, we had no expectations of where we were going or what we would be doing. Upon arriving, we came to realize we were at a school that was tangible proof of how one man’s work can establish a strong community for roughly 150 students in Antigua, Guatemala. Some twenty years ago, a man’s heart was touched by God’s radiating beauty that he experienced through the children he met on a mission trip. He was inspired to give back to the children who touched him. With the little money he had, he was able to purchase a Big Mac and split it twenty ways, so every child to which he was ministering was able to have some. The man went on to create a school for these orphans that has developed through the years and now provides a safe and empowering environment. We soon realized our purpose at the school differed from our previous experiences at the coffee plantation.
To begin our day, we taught the children the importance of nutrition and basic hygiene, such as washing hands and brushing teeth. To assist in our teachings, we taught the students a simple, yet catchy, song about washing their hands. After practicing this song with them several times, they requested more songs. With humble hearts and shaky voices, our group managed to quiet the area by singing Amazing Grace. Many of us later remarked on the power of the moment; though the students may not have understood the words we sang, they definitely appeared to share the same content feelings. Afterwards, the children were eager to share with us a few of the songs they had learned at school. Continue reading
Two separate teams of health science students are in Guatemala over Spring Break this year. One team consists of nursing and pharmacy students. The other includes OT and PT students. Both team are writing about their experiences.
Team OT/PT
from Grace Cronin & Talia Fayed
“God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called”
Today on March 11th, we spent the morning traveling to the community of Las Conchas on the outskirts of Guatemala City. The houses in this community are a single room with concrete floors, tin roofs and walls, and even blankets serving as dividers. Access to clean water is limited and food is sparse. Upon arrival we split up into 3 teams who each visited with a local family in each sector of the community. 
My group went to visit Nicole’s family. Nicole is a 3 year old little girl who has problems with her spinal alignment and is poorly nourished due to problems with feeding. As we came to learn more about her family we found out that Nicole has had a very hard life so far, but now is in the care of her aunt and grandmother. She is being raised by her aunt and grandmother because her mother abandoned her. These two women stepped up to the plate to do God’s work and take care of this sweet soul that Nicole is. These women were certainly not equipped to take on caring for a toddler with special needs, but God has certainly picked the right women! We loved getting to spend time with these women and Nicole. We enjoyed playing with Nicole, loving on her and her family, and teaching her stretches for her back and strategies to help her eat and communicate more. We can’t wait to hear of Nicole’s progress and the joy that she will bring to her family and her community. Continue reading
Two separate teams of health science students are in Guatemala over Spring Break this year. One team consists of nursing and pharmacy students. The other includes OT and PT students. Both team are writing about their experiences.
Team OT/PT
from Ali Groot & Allison Richardson
“God has created us to do small things with great love.” Mother Theresa
March 10, team Guasome traveled to Elim, a church in Guatemala City. We were able to visit with four families in order evaluate and give suggestions of activities based on the children’s needs. The families were actively engaged with the sessions and eager to learn how they could encourage and improve the quality of care they give their child. Although every member of the team had their own experience with a different family, both of us worked with one special boy named Jimmy.
Jimmy is a 7-year-old boy with cerebral palsy. We collaborated with his eager to learn family on positioning to increase his strength and participation in exploring his environment. It was very inspiring to see the amount of love and support surrounding this child. After two hours Jimmy was out cold in his gracious Mothers arms. His parents explained that Jimmy is a precious gift from God and that they feel blessed that our team was able to come in and share more ideas with them. His father spoke with so much love and hope about Jimmy’s future and it was a true blessing for us to hear his kind words spoken over us. Hearing him speak so freely about God touched our hearts so deeply.
After stuffing our faces with Gautemalan fried pollo, we decided to get a little exercise and headed to the Guatemala National Olympic training center where one of our amazing translator’s brothers plays adaptive tennis. Jose and Isa showed us how it’s done, making it look much easier than many of us were soon to find out. We were both able to test our skills (or lack there of) on the tennis court. Turns out maneuvering a wheelchair with one-hand results in going nowhere but circles while watching tennis balls fly past you. After we got schooled, Julio (number 46 in the world-NBD) had us all in awe as he and the coach played a match. We broke into groups again and gave the kids and Julio suggestions for stretching, strengthening, and adaptations to help them succeed and minimize discomfort. Continue reading
Two separate teams of health science students are in Guatemala over Spring Break this year. One team consists of nursing and pharmacy students. The other includes OT and PT students. Both team are writing about their experiences.
Team Nursing/Pharmacy
from Rachel Searfoss, Tim Zerwic & Ellie Ivancich
Put a few students in a room and you come up with a physical assessment. Put a few more students in a room and you come up with a list of suggested medications. Put yet another student in the room and you learn what exercises can be done to remedy specific pain. Put all of the above along with faculty and interpreters in a room, and you come up with a plan, from English to Spanish, for how to help an individual return to a more optimal state of health.
Day two of health screenings and teaching begins in Antigua with the College of Health Sciences and Pharmacy missions team. The group has worked incredibly hard to find better ways to organize our efforts together in order to provide the most useful amount of care that we can give to the coffee plantation workers and their families. Everyone has offered their insight, experience, heartfelt concerns, suggestions, and innovative ideas to make this process mesh together in a solidified way. When workers came to the screenings earlier this morning, we began recording height and weight first, assessing for any complaints of pain or health concerns, taking blood pressure and blood glucose measurements, and teaching for both adult and child CPR education. The effort to reorganize the health screening process engaged the workers and families so much more than before and also helped to streamline the process into where those with more serious health issues were able to receive more concentrated and specific care. One of those cases worked closely with our occupational therapy student on the mission team, Tim.
A man who works the coffee fields was complaining of upper back and shoulder pain. He reported that he lifts heavy bags of coffee over and over again each day. The bags, filled with fresh coffee harvested, can weigh up to 150 pounds. After assessing the injury, Tim considered that the man may be suffering from a supraspinatus tendon impingement. This type of injury affects the rotator cuff and involves abduction of the arm away from the body and can result from overuse and overexertion. Working with an interpreter, Tim taught the man how to perform different types of stretches and exercises he could do at home, even with a can of beans, something he easily has on hand.
Two separate teams of health science students are in Guatemala over Spring Break this year. One team consists of nursing and pharmacy students. The other includes OT and PT students. Both team are writing about their experiences.
Team Pharmacy
from Dr. Eric Hobson
Pharmacy students hard at work caring for children at the Moore Pediatric Surgery Center in Guatemala City. Samantha Wheeler and Jessica O’Connell are preparing medications for today’s surgery patients.
BU students Samantha Wheeler, Jasmin Mohn, Jessica O’Connell and professor Eric Hobson taking a break from a long day of surgery support.
Two separate teams of health science students are in Guatemala over Spring Break this year. One team consists of nursing and pharmacy students. The other includes OT and PT students. Both team are writing about their experiences.
Team Nursing/Pharmacy
from Kristen Flowers and Noah Ploegman
On our second day in Guatemala began with a traditional Guatemalan breakfast prepared by a local mother and daughter. After breakfast, we ventured thirty minutes under the shadow of an active volcano to a coffee plantation where women enthusiastically greeted each member of the team with a hug.
The owner of the plantation allowed us to set up a clinic in the school for his employees and their families. We provided screenings for diabetes and hypertension, personal hygiene, nutrition, and CPR. In return, the plantation owner invited us to experience the “work” on a coffee plantation. We were able to sort and pick coffee beans, and observe, first hand, the heavy lifting the workers perform. This experience gave us insights into why we were seeing so many workers complaining of shoulder and knee pain. In addition, the recent volcano eruption left ash covering the coffee plants and covered the workers and us while we worked, leaving us to wonder if workers were experiencing respiratory issues.
Although we had prepared for screenings and teaching it quickly became apparent that workers and their families had many acute needs they wanted addressed.
Patients presented with symptoms of strep throat, peritonsilar abscess, arthritis, diabetes, peripheral edema, and arrhythmias. This unexpected change placed a new responsibility on our team to work together to manage their expectations and our capabilities to care for their immediate needs.