SPPS faculty, students and alumni participate in interprofessional mission trips to Dominican Republic, Belize and Haiti

In collaboration with Sharing Christ Our Redeemer Enterprises (SCORE) International, a short-term mission organization, six PharmD students, accompanied by preceptor Gina Prescott, clinical associate professor, pharmacy practice, visited the Dominican Republic. Clinics were held in Valiente, Monte Cristi and Ducasa, where over 400 patients were counseled on medication dosing and selection. Students worked with local medical providers on medication selection and preparation, and assisted with administering anesthesia medications during surgeries at the Good Samaritan Hospital in La Ramana.

The impact of interprofessional cooperation was not lost on students during the trip. “With different perspectives of the patient, we were able to identify more by working together,” one student reflected. “[It shows] the importance of caring for the patient as a whole.”

Alumnus Brian Bowman, ’16, led three PharmD students on a mission trip to Haiti, in partnership with Serving In God’s Name (SIGN), a mission organization that provides essential healthcare services in Haiti.

At clinics located in Delmas-31, Delmas-75 and Coram Deo Kenscoff, students provided a wide range of assessments, including eye and ear exams, blood pressure readings and medication counseling to over 500 patients. SPPS students also spent time working with the interprofessional medical team preparing and packaging medications, which one student remarked helped to “broaden my horizons as a health care professional.”

Another interprofessional mission trip to Haiti was conducted with the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Two second-year pharmacy students accompanied SPPS alumni Michael Burns, ’16, and Charlene Meyer, ’15, to the village of Fontaine, where medication counseling was provided at the local clinic. “The counseling…made me feel that I enhanced patient care,” one student said. The group also traveled to clinics in Savonnet, Saintiacre and Gaspard as well. Over 1,000 patients were seen over a four-day period.

Preceptor Al Reiman, clinical assistant professor, pharmacy practice, led three PharmD students on a medical mission trip to Belize. The trip, an interprofessional collaboration with the UB School of Nursing, was led by International Service Learning (ISL), an organization that offers volunteers practical experience through medical, education and community enrichment programs.

Students went door-to-door and filled out a community health sheet for each person that needed medical assistance. Clinics were held in Shawville and San Ignacio, where over 100 patients received counseling. Students were able to apply what they learned in their Patient Assessment and Pharmaceutical Assessment courses to conduct these evaluations.

A local doctor taught the students about tropical diseases common in Belize, including Dengue Fever, Chikungunya and Zika Virus. After the educational session, one pharmacy student surmised, “As health care professionals, we must understand how different populations and different environments affect the diagnosis and treatments being used.”