Belmont University physical therapy students recently assisted High Hopes, a non-profit preschool and therapy clinic serving children with and without disabilities, in moving to a new location in Franklin, Tennessee. The students sorted and packed High Hopes’ kitchen, classrooms and therapy clinic supplies. The evening packing sessions enabled High Hopes to move to their new location with minimal disruption in preschool or therapy services to children. The mission of High Hopes Inclusive Preschool and Pediatric Therapy Clinic is to equip children and youth with the skills necessary to achieve success thorugh education, rehabilitation and loving support. High Hope services as a clinical affiliation site for Belmont PT students.
Monthly Archives: February 2014
Pharmacy students invited to lecture at Hillsboro High School
Rho Chi members, Hollie Asmussen, Maggie Montgomery and Christie Griffiths, recently gave lectures on analgesics and antibiotics to students at Hillsboro High School. As the academic honor society in pharmacy, Rho Chi encourages and recognizes excellence in intellectual achievement and advocates critical inquiry in all aspects of pharmacy.
Schools of PT and OT join to provide continuing education to health care providers
Over 70 physical and occupational therapists attended a continuing education course, An Evidence Based Approach to Standing and Walking for Children with Moderate to Severe Motor Dysfunction, at Belmont University on Saturday, February 22. This course was sponsored by Belmont University Schools of Physical and Occupational Therapy along with Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. The course was taught by Ginny Paleg, a nationally-recognized expert in pediatric standing and mobility, and was underwritten by Prime Engineering. Course participants learned how to select and fit appropriate standing and walking assistive devices for children with special needs.
Pharmacy students participate in interprofessional training
Fourth-year pharmacy students recently participated in interprofessional team geriatric case training with the Meharry Consortium Geriatric Education Center. To ensure health professional students develop skills for working in interprofessional teams, the Center hosts this annual team training. This is the third year the College of Pharmacy has been involved in this event.
This experience serves as an opportunity for students to develop interprofessional collaborative skills by working as a team on a geriatric case and developing a patient assessment and treatment plan. Faculty experts are available to consult with teams, and nurse practitioners observe and rate team dynamics. The program concludes with an interactive general assembly where an interdisciplinary expert panel provides feedback and answers questions.
PT professor recognized by Komen as a Pink Tie Guy
Dr. Mike Voight, Professor of Physical Therapy, has been recognized as a Pink Tie Guy by the Greater Nashville affiliate of Susan G. Komen, the world’s largest organization fighting breast cancer. The recognition was made at a Komen celebration dinner this week that honored a group of ten individuals from middle Tennessee this year.
The Pink Tie Program features 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. Pink Tie Guys bring a male voice to the urgency of finding a cure for breast cancer.
“Mike is the perfect Pink Tie Guy,” said Dr. Cathy Taylor, Dean of the College of Health Sciences. She added, “His positive energy is contagious, and he has worked tirelessly to mobilize others to race for the cure. We are so proud of his accomplishments and appreciate our Komen partners for rewarding his work in this way.”
Pharmacy students learn about medication adherence first-hand
Second and third-year pharmacy students enrolled in the Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Elective spent the past month learning about the difficulties of medication adherence first-hand. Nineteen students were given a pillbox and 15 candies representing medications with various schedules of administration. Students were required to fill their pillbox according to their medication list. At the midpoint, students were given two medication changes mimicking real-life scenarios. Following the four-week project, students submitted a focused reflection and discussed the experience with their classmates. Students consistently deemed the pillbox experience a positive one.
Pharmacy student gets practice experience in Haiti
Fourth-year pharmacy student Shaneika Walker and pharmacy faculty member Ashton Beggs recently returned from a one-week medical mission trip to Gobert, Haiti. Walker was selected for this Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) last spring. Under the supervision of Beggs, Walker was involved in all medication-related aspects of the trip planning, which began summer 2013. The medical team purchased medications from Blessings International, and it was the responsibility of the pharmacy student and pharmacist to decide which medications and the appropriate quantities to order to treat the variety of disease states encountered. Medications were packaged and labeled appropriately for shipping to Haiti for both the general and health literacy of the Haitian population. While in Gobert, Walker and Beggs were in charge of dispensing medications and counseling patients on each medication dispensed.
PT students and faculty visit Tennessee lawmakers
On Tuesday, February 18, 70 physical therapy students along with 4 PT faculty participated in the Tennessee Physical Therapy Association Day on the Hill. They attended a session that covered an introduction to the legislative process, how to visit with a legislator, and how to become an advocate for the physical therapy profession. State Senator Doug Overbey spoke with them on the importance of getting to know their legislators. The students were then given a guided tour of the Legislative Plaza and the Tennessee State Capitol.
Dr. Cathy Taylor Named to 2014 Nashville Health Care Council Fellows Class
Dr. Cathy Taylor, dean of the College of Health Sciences & Nursing, was recently selected as a member of the 2014 class of the Nashville Health Care Council Fellows. The Fellows initiative engages industry leaders in clearly defining health care’s greatest challenges and exploring new strategies to meet these issues facing the U.S. health care system.
“It is an honor to be selected as a 2014 Council Fellow, and I am eager to expand my knowledge and network with others in the health care field,” Taylor said. “The Fellows class is an elite group of industry leaders, and I consider it a privilege to learn from and alongside each of them.”
The 2014 class, selected by the Council Fellows Advisory Committee led by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D., includes 32 of the nation’s top health care executives.
College of Health Sciences and College of Pharmacy to partner in Haiti with LiveBeyond
During his recent visit to Thomazeau, Haiti, College of Pharmacy Dean Phil Johnston visited villages with LiveBeyond workers and a Belmont delegation to aid and dispense medications to a woman in postpartum, a father with high blood pressure, a small boy with worms and a man with a hip injury. The most powerful experience of them all was when a man who received medical attention sang a Christian hymn in Creole as his Voodoo-practicing neighbors gathered around and listened.
“It was like watching a Bible story about caring for the least of these,” Johnston said.
He, along with College of Health Sciences & Nursing Dean Cathy Taylor and Nursing Assistant Professor Robin Cobb, visited LiveBeyond’s base in Haiti last week to identify areas of student mission participation and to flush out unique partnerships between the University and the nonprofit organization that would allow Belmont Continue reading
Social Work students gather for 30th annual supper
Over 60 student, faculty and staff from the social work department recently celebrated the 30th annual departmental chili supper. The event began as a way to get to know students outside of the classroom, and has evolved into one of the main events that students look forward to each spring, often bringing their roommates, significant others, and even, on occasion, a pet or two. This year’s supper was held in the home of Dr. Jenny Crowell. Continue reading
Pharmacy student to compete in national Patient Counseling Competition
Meghan Duquette, a third year student in the College of Pharmacy, will represent Belmont at this year’s national Patient Counseling Competition presented by the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP). Meghan was the winner of this year’s school competition in the College of Pharmacy coordinated by the local chapter of APhA-ASP. The national competition features local winners from 120+ pharmacy schools across the country. This year’s competition will be held in Orlando, FL at the end of March.
The goal of the APhA-ASP National Patient Counseling Competition is to encourage student pharmacists in their efforts toward becoming better patient educators. The competition is designed to reflect changes that are occurring in practice, to promote and encourage further professional development of the student pharmacist and to reinforce the role of the pharmacist as a health care provider and educator.
Dr. Harry Jacobson, healthcare investor and former CEO of Vanderbilt University Medical Center to speak at Belmont Friday
Dr. Harry Jacobson, Chairman of MedCare Investment Funds and a founding partner of Tristar Technology Ventures, will present a public lecture at Belmont University this Friday morning, February 7. He will speak on healthcare innovation from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. in McWhorter Hall Room 114, and the event is open to the public. The lecture is sponsored by the Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences & Nursing as part of their Diagnosing Our Future Speaker Series.
MedCare and its affiliated entities manage approximately $1 billion in assets, the substantial majority of which are related to the medical and healthcare services industry. Currently MedCare has a portfolio of fifteen healthcare companies representing most sectors of the industry including services, information technologies, medical devices, pharm and biotechnology. All of MedCare’s investments are targeted to companies bringing innovation to health care.
Dr. Jacobson is former Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs at Vanderbilt University and CEO of Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). Continue reading
Pharmacy students complete training for HIV counseling and testing
Over a dozen College of Pharmacy students recently completed training for HIV Counseling and Testing at Nashville Cares. The training was sponsored by the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) and is a part of their Remember the Ribbon initiative to improve HIV/AIDs awareness, education, and prevention in minority communities.
SNPhA members from Belmont, including advisor Dr. Edgar Diaz-Cruz, learned through hands on training and role playing how to properly administer the HIV rapid oral test, as well as how to deliver those results with compassion and understanding. Additionally, students learned invaluable education tools about safe practices and the prevention of HIV. The students who completed the training are now officially certified in HIV Counseling and Testing through the Tennessee Department of Health. The students plan on using the skills learned to serve the surrounding communities through education and prevention.
Students completing the training include: Jennifer Chisum, Ricky Church, Marion Compton, Kyla Cunico, Erin Todd, Fernando Diggs, Joshua Farrell, Michelle Krichbaum, Gia Nguyen, Fredrick O’Neal, Ugoeze Onuoha, Sara Thompson and Bailey Bolten.
