Belmont is preparing to celebrate National Public Health Week this year. During the first full week of April each year, the American Public Health Association (APHA) brings together communities across the United States to observe National Public Health Week (NPHW) as a time to recognize the contributions of public health and highlight issues that are important to improving our nation. Each day of NPHW 2018 will focus on a different public health topic that’s critical to creating and sustaining a healthy nation.
Monthly Archives: March 2018
Health Sciences Students Teach Local Students about Health-Related Careers
Students from the Belmont University College of Health Sciences and Nursing, with Dr. Natalie Michaels, participated in a Health Science Career Fair at Hillwood High School on Friday, March 23. High school students had a chance to interact with Belmont students to learn more about the fields of nursing, occupational therapy and physical therapy.
Congressman Jim Cooper Educates the Physical Therapy Students on Health Care
The Doctorate of Physical Therapy Class of 2019 received an esteemed visitor to their Health Care Systems Class taught by Associate Professor Dr. Natalie Michaels this week.
Congressman Jim Cooper came to talk about the current state of health care in the United States. He talked candidly about the current situation in both the federal and state governments regarding health care, focusing his talk on physical therapy and answered questions for the students.
Team Hosts Inter-Professional Event Focused on Faith & Healthcare
In Fall 2017, an inter-professional team consisting of faculty from Pharmacy, Occupational Therapy, Nursing, Social work, Physical Therapy, Public Health and a staff member from University Ministries designed and delivered an event addressing how personal spirituality can influence interactions with patients. Student feedback from the event was positive overall, with suggestions to provide additional events addressing spirituality, add perspectives from other health professions and lengthen the event to allow for more questions and discussion. Faculty added that including an alumni panel might be of additional interest to students and placing students at tables rather than rows of seats might further facilitate group discussions. Continue reading
Global Medical Brigade Student Group Spends Spring Break in Honduras
The newly established Belmont chapter of Global Medical Brigades spent spring break in rural Honduras working alongside the local community to help implement a sustainable healthcare system. The group participated in a 3-day temporary clinic in the remote community of Manzaragua where they worked intake/triage for almost 700 patients, shadowed and assisted healthcare providers, conducted “charla” (chats) with the local children teaching them proper dental care while administering fluoride treatments and collected electronic patient records to help monitor overall community health trends.
In addition to the clinic, they participated in public health projects where they worked on a pipeline for a clean water project in a community with no running water and built eco-stoves that help provide clean-air living conditions in the home. Students in BGMB represent a diverse group of majors from across campus including pre-health, biology, social work, chemistry and exercise science, among others. The chapter worked closely with the Public Health Program to prepare for their trip and Dr. Williams, director of the public health program, serves as their advisor.
CHS Students, Faculty Attend Leadership Health Care Delegation
Students from Belmont’s College of Health Sciences and Nursing attended the Leadership Health Care Delegation in Washington, D.C. this past week with Dr. Natalie Michaels from the Departments of PT and OT. Speakers presented information regarding issues related to health care currently being debated in congress at the federal level. The students were able to mingle with congressman and people in health care financing from Central Tennessee, all in our nation’s capital.
Participating students included Eric Bengtson, doctoral candidate in physical therapy, Andrew Wagner, doctoral candidate in occupational therapy and Morgan Clouse, doctoral candidate in nursing. After meeting the group, Congressman Jim Cooper stated that he was greatly impressed with their professionalism.
Graduate Nursing Students Achieve 100 Percent Pass Rate Again
For the 14th year, graduates pass certification exam on first attempt
All December graduates of Belmont’s Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN) program for Family Nurse Practitioners (FNPs) passed the national certification exam on their first attempt. The College’s 100 percent first-time passage rate for all graduates – both MSN and DNP – has continued since 2004 and is well above the national average passing rate of 84 percent. Continue reading
Belmont Health Science and Pharmacy Students, Faculty Participate in Geriatric Interprofessional Meeting at MeHarry
Students from the Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Pharmacy programs at Belmont University joined forces for the Geriatric Interprofessional Team Training at MeHarry Medical College recently. This training session, held yearly, offers an opportunity for participants to collaborate with students from other universities and different disciplines in the health care arena to offer the best treatment plan for a patient in a case study. It allows students to learn about other disciplines and how their work helps the overall patient care team. More than 450 students from universities across the State of Tennessee participated.
In total there were 67 Belmont pharmacy students, and 5 Belmont therapy students in attendance. This was the first time that this interprofessional group included the occupational therapy profession, providing students with a unique experience they hadn’t had before.
Belmont faculty leading the charge were Natalie Michaels from PT and OT, and Angela Clauson, Cathy Ficzere, Ashton Beggs and the Dean David Gregory from Pharmacy.
Mission to Guatemala, Day 7.
One final group picture before loading up the vans!
So we have finally made it back to the states. A bittersweet goodbye to the beautiful city and people of Guatemala. It has been a life-changing experience for all of us involved. There isn’t a single one of us that will not keep a part of this trip with us at all times.
We really love this view!!!!
As promised, we have put together a little something special for our final post… each member of the groups has written a little about their trip. Below is a snippet of each member’s favorite thing about the trip and what they are going to miss most!
Katie Smith: My favorite thing about this trip was how everyone came together and worked as one team. It seemed like we had all known each other before, but I only knew one person coming and now I am leaving with so many friends. I will miss the kind hearts of the people and how they are so appreciative of what they have.
Mission to Guatemala, Day 6.
We will miss you, Antigua!
It’s the final day in Antigua, Guatemala, and we’re not ready to leave this beautiful place. The people of the community have been so gracious to us. This experience has been a greater gift to us and individuals and future healthcare professionals than we were to the patients we saw throughout the week.
Still not use to the beautiful spots hidden throughout the city.
Today was our day to relax, enjoy the city, and adventure a little. We ended up in two groups for the day, one zip lining and one going for a hike up a volcano. The volcano goers were up and out early this morning headed for the most National Geographic worthy scene around. The volcano towered at about 8,300 feet, but we only climbed a portion of it to get to the top…we weren’t crazy enough to endure the whole climb. From where we were dropped off, it took about an hour to hike to the top and a little more than an hour to hike down. We were then treated to a fulfilling lunch followed by hydrotherapy baths/soaking pools of the hot springs. Our other group of zip liners were able to sleep in a little in comparison to the volcano group, but spent the morning soaring through the skies of a local coffee plantation.
Mission to Guatemala, Day 5.
It will be sad to not all be together next week!!
¡Hola!
Después de tres días largos pero gratificantes, ha cambiado un poco el ritmo de hoy. Fuimos a la plantación de café de Pablo, La Azotea, para una clínica abierta a los trabajadores. Tuvimos que ver a los pacientes rápidamente hoy para que pudieran volver al trabajo. ¡Fue increíble tener todo el groupo unido para otro día lleno cuidado interdisciplinario de pacientes.
Mission to Guatemala, Day 4.
Who wouldn’t love starting your day with this sight!?
Today was day four! We have made it to the middle of our trip… boy how things have truly fallen into place. Every day it feels as though we grow more familiar and aware of our surroundings, but I don’t know if we will ever get use to this view!!!! [The picture doesn’t do this scenery justice!]
Mission to Guatemala, Day 3.
A final picture with students and staff at Keramion.
It was a great day all the way around today!
Our morning routine continued like normal today, we gathered for breakfast and made our daily game play. Like yesterday, the students and professors of Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Social Work headed back to Keramion while the group of Nursing and Pharmacy students opened clinic in San Miguel. Each day brings new excitement and experience a valued part of this amazing trip thus far.
Continue reading
Mission to Guatemala, Day 2.
Nursing and Physical Therapy students at work in Keramion.
It was another beautiful day in Guatemala!
Today we embarked on our first day of clinic work, but not before sharing a morning meal together. With a quenched appetite, we were all energized for the day ahead. We separated into two groups headed for two different facilities, but kept one goal — to learn, to care, to teach, and to spread love to all those we are surrounded by.
Continue reading
Mission to Guatemala, Day 1.
Aside
Hola! ¡Buenas noches desde Antigua!
After a long Saturday traveling in two separate groups into Guatemala City, the team is finally together and we have made it to Antigua! We woke up to a beautiful view of the volcanos and the lively community of Guatemala City for breakfast before the hour ride into Antigua. Upon arrival we were graciously welcomed into our homes for the next week to unload our bags and take in another incredible view. After getting settled in, we headed into the Square for lunch and grocery shopping that doubled as our daily workout. When we returned with our groceries, a few of the students prepared a yummy taco dinner for the entire team. During the meal preparations the pharmacy students adventured back into the city to pick up medication supplies for the clinic days ahead. To conclude our day we joined as a team to have a relaxing prayer and discussion on our excitements and gratitude for the opportunities that lay ahead of us this week. As a team we are all immensely blessed to have a chance to travel here and carry out God’s work in Guatemala!
Stay tuned for more pictures and updates on our week!
With love,
Kaitlyn Kerley, Caleb Darensbourg, and Cassidi Honer — Pharmacy and Social Work students.
From left to right: Caleb Darensbourg (Pharmacy), Kaitlyn Kerley (Pharmacy), and Cassidi Honer (Social Work)
College of Pharmacy and HealthTrust Initiate Fellowship
HealthTrust, a healthcare performance improvement company and group purchasing organization (GPO), and Belmont’s College of Pharmacy’s Christy Houston Foundation Drug Information Center recently announced a joint program to enhance drug information services for members of the GPO’s Pharmacy Services Group. Participants will include employees of the Drug Information Center and Belmont pharmacy students. The professionals will field inquiries from HealthTrust members and distribute information about drug identification and availability, class review comparisons, new drug monographs, dosage administration, drug interactions and adverse effects.
In providing these services, the organizations have established a clinical information manager role and postgraduate fellowship training program through the Christy Houston Foundation Drug Information Center. The clinical information manager will be responsible for optimizing the drug information service and precepting Belmont pharmacy students. The two-year Evidence Based Clinical Management Fellowship in Drug Information will begin in June and underscore corporate leadership, drug information services and promoting the development of teaching and scholarly activities.
“At Belmont University, student pharmacists benefit from a range of specialized concentrations, electives and experiential opportunities both within and beyond the campus,” said Dr. David Gregory, dean of Belmont’s College of Pharmacy. “Our partnership with HealthTrust will complement didactic coursework with practical experience to better prepare students for the demands of an evolving healthcare marketplace.”
“HealthTrust is excited to partner with Belmont’s College of Pharmacy to enhance the drug information services available to our members,” said Vincent Jackson, vice president of HealthTrust’s Pharmacy Services Group. “In addition to benefitting our membership, these specialists will receive valuable insight to the GPO space and exposure to other areas of pharmacy that are not normally part of their scholastic training.”