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.”
Georgia Hiatt, a senior social work major, recently published a reflection on trauma-informed approaches to social work for Open Table Nashville (OTN), where she interns.
Morning sessions featured a lineup of experts in antimicrobial stewardship. These included Christopher Evans, PharmD, BCPS, HAI Pharmacist, Tennessee Department of Health Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance Program, George Nelson, MD, assistant professor of medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and Libby Dodds Ashley, PharmD, MHS, FCCP, BCPS(AQ-ID), instructor, Department of Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Duke University, Duke Antimicrobial Stewardship Outreach Network (DASON). The morning’s keynote speaker was CAPT Arjun Srinivasan, MD, associate director, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who gave an update on national activities regarding antimicrobial stewardship.
A group of 34 Occupational Therapy Doctoral students from Belmont University met at Permobil, leader in the rehabilitation power wheelchair industry, to collaborate with representatives and students and faculty members from Vanderbilt’s School of Engineering to adapt ride–on cars for children with mobility impairment and their families. The event, hosted by Associate Professor of OT Dr. Teresa Plummer through the organization Go Baby Go, showcased the importance of self-initiated mobility in early development and the need for greater mobility options for children living for disabilities.
Participant and Belmont OT student Madeline Harcrow said, “This experience proved beneficial to my education and future as a clinician. All are deserving of play, joy, self-expression, companionship and new learning, and I love that this truth drives the work of our profession. The energy in the room was undeniable and unwavering – evidence of a job well done by all.”
The College of Health Sciences and Nursing recently hosted Visiting Professor Dr. Amanda Phelan, associate professor and associate dean for global engagement for the School of Nursing, Midwifery & Health Systems at the University College Dublin (UCD). Phelan also serves as the co-director for the National Centre for the Protection of Older People at UCD.
A group of 25 Belmont College of Pharmacy students attended the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Midyear Clinical Meeting this month. This is the largest gathering of pharmacists and longest running clinical meeting in the world. Former First Lady Michelle Obama was the Keynote Speaker.
Occupational therapy graduate students Roya Rezadoost and Madeleine Ruff sang a Spice Girls song at a recent benefit concert for the Down Syndrome Association of Middle Tennessee. The concert was hosted by Dr. Natalie Michaels, associate professor of occupational therapy. She also partook in the festivities by performing original songs as well as hits from Whitney Houston and Pat Benatar.
Associate Professor in the School of Nursing Dr. Leslie Folds recently received funding from the Tennessee Hospital Association and the National Student Nurses’ Association for a grant she submitted. The $16,000 grant will fund a Behavioral Health Internship Program for undergraduate nursing students next summer.
Belmont was again well represented at the 37th Annual Lilly Conference on College Teaching this November at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Ten Belmont faculty members–from the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, the College of Science and Mathematics, the College of Health Sciences and Nursing and the College of Visual and Performing Arts–were among the 550 conference participants.
The School also announced a few updates to the program with the celebration of its 45th year including the implementation of a new concept-based curriculum specially designed by SON faculty to promote critical thinking, compassionate care and essential skills needed in the workplace of the future. This curriculum change points to the School’s consistent commitment to remaining relevant and competitive in an ever-evolving world.
Professor of physical therapy Michael Voight recently published two articles in the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. The first, titled “
Belmont’s Occupational Therapy Doctorate students recently attended the Nashville Buddy Walk at the Hermitage. While there, the group helped with activities, passed out t-shirts and made Thanksgiving Day thank-you cards with the kids for their parents and caregivers. This event is sponsored by the Down Syndrome Association of Middle Tennessee.
Dr. Beth Hallmark, assistant professor and director of simulation in the College of Health Sciences and Nursing, was recently recognized as the March of Dimes Nurse Educator of the Year. The announcement was made at the organization’s annual Nurse of the Year Awards Luncheon held on Wednesday, November 1 at Belmont.
Dean of the College of Health Sciences and Nursing Dr. Cathy Taylor was recently featured on HealthStream’s “Second Opinions” Podcast. Taylor’s interview, “Rewiring Nurse Education to Match Industry Demands and Millennial Strengths,” details the ways in which nursing education programs are evolving based on the ever-changing health care workforce.