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University of California, San Diego
Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Patient Care Projects
Generation Rx is an educational program that focuses on increasing public awareness regarding prescription medication abuse. Prescription drug abuse has many serious social, legal, and deadly consequences and it is important to address this issue with the at-risk population. Generation Rx gives numerous presentations at local middle and high schools throughout San Diego. This chapter’s Generation Rx program has won multiple awards and has been recognized for its unique style in teaching others. Since its inception in 2011, thousands of individuals have been reached in the local community and that number continues to grow each year. Visit http://www.generationrx.org/ to learn more.
Operation Diabetes aims to improve the health of the community by providing free blood glucose screenings and diabetes education. It also strives to provide a variety of opportunities for student pharmacists to enhance their patient care skills and advocate for the profession. We participate in a number of health fairs throughout the year, such as at the San Diego Heart Walk, Kidney Walk, and UCSD Triton Day. Educational events include a Diabetes Workshop at Pharmacy Day and outreaches at local elementary schools.
Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States. Student pharmacists can take an active role in improving patient outcomes in heart health by helping them identify and understand their cardiovascular risks. APhA-ASP Operation Heart strives to do this through free cholesterol and blood pressure screenings and heart health education. Operation Heart participates in multiple health fairs throughout the year, including the Veteran's Affairs Stand Down, Sharp Hospital's Heart Health Expo, and the Kobey Swap Meet Health Fair. Operation Heart also hosts the Hypertension Workshop during SSPPS's annual Pharmacy Day event and does heart health presentations to local businesses.
Operation Immunization seeks to combine education with action. Students educate the public —about vaccines, their benefits, vaccine schedules, and new developments. Student pharmacist have the opportunity to promote the pharmacist’s role in vaccine-preventable diseases. In addition to educational outreaches, students participate in multiple flu vaccine clinics with both UCSD Health System staff and in the community at the student-run free clinics. Operation Immunization strives to —Increase the public’s knowledge of immunizations while increasing the number of patients receiving immunizations.
OTC Literacy is the newest addition to the APhA-ASP Patient Care Projects. By age 16, 90% of adolescents report self-administering over-the-counter (OTC) medications. In response to the high number of emergency department visits each year due to OTC medication errors, OTC Literacy was launched in summer 2015 to better educate 5th and 6th grade students and their families about safe OTC medication use. Sponsored by Scholastic, the OTC Literacy campaign aims to increase public awareness through educational events at local book fairs and presentations during school health classes and at community centers. Visit http://www.scholastic.com/otc-med-safety/ to learn more.
The International Pharmaceutical Students Federation (IPSF) represents over 350,000 student pharmacists across the world. By being a member of APhA, you are also a member of IPSF. The IPSF Liaison serves as the contact between the IPSF National Officers and the chapter’s APhA-ASP/CPhA officers. The IPSF Liaison also has the opportunity to pursue a variety of IPSF patient care projects that focus on public health. In the past few years, this position has been involved with the Pharmacy Profession Awareness Campaign by giving presentations in the local community. These presentations inform others about the roles and responsibilities pharmacists have in healthcare. By being involved with this campaign, student pharmacists become true advocates for the profession.
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