EL FIN!!! (THE END!!!)

I AM OFFICIALLY DONE WITH MY PRODUCT!!!

(My pamphlet!)

On Thursday, I went to the pharmacy and got my last three hours that I needed to finish up my graduation project product. While I was at the pharmacy, I got to counsel a few patients with their new prescriptions (picture below), while Whit helped and oversaw what I was saying and doing. I also started and basically finished my pamplet on the misuse of prescriptions drugs.

As of today, my product is completely finished! I got Whit to look over my pamplet, made some corrections, and printed it. YAY!

(pics: first panel of my pamplet, then the inside panels)

2 parts down, 1 more to go!

I'm almost done! YAY! I am so ready to have my product done!

On Monday I spent three hours at the pharmacy after school and I got my power point presentation completed! It really wasn't too hard, I just had to make myself sit down and work. So I got my power point done, and ironically enough the pharmacist who works the most with ChecKmeds NC at Moose Pharmacy was working in Mt. Pleasant and counseling patients about ChecKmeds NC.

Today, I gave my presentation on ChecKmeds at my church to the senior adults. They were very receptive to the presentation and the program. I'm not sure that they had ever heard about ChecKmeds before. I told them the information on ChecKmeds NC and they asked some questions about it and some questions about the graduation project. Grayson Price's grandparents go to my church and they were there and they were like "oh yes, we know how much work he put into it." So, it was good that someone knew a little bit about the graduation project. They all thanked me for coming and told me that I did a good job, so I believe it was an overall success. Now, I just have to finish my brochure/pamphlet before next Tuesday!

(with the senior adults at my church after the presentation)

1 part down, 2 more in the works

On Thursday I spent a couple of hours at Moose Pharmacy after school. I completed the first part of my product and counseled patients over the phone. The patients I counseled were part of a program called
checkmedsnc, which is offered by the state of North Carolina to senior citizens (65 years and older). Through the program, senior citizens are offered a free drug consultation with their pharmacist, where their medicines are reviewed to make sure that they're getting the best quality for their money and the pharmacist may make suggestions on a medicine that could be changed. For example, a pharmacist could suggest to change from a brand name to a generic because the generic works the same exact way and would be much cheaper for the patient. After making these suggestions, the pharmacist then talks to the doctor about what would be best for the patient and if the doctor and pharmacist agree, the suggested changes are made. Once a person is introduced to the program, the pharmacist develops a more personal relationship with the patient and monitors their medicines. The pharmacist makes sure to talk to the patients whenever they get a prescription filled at the pharmacy, making sure the patient is following the prescription directions and not having any side effects to their medicine. The pharmacist also does follow up calls with the patients to make sure that their health condition is impoving and/or remaining stable while on their medicine, that they're taking the prescription as directed, and that they are not experiencing any adverse reactions. I did the follow up calls to make sure that patients were doing ok. I reinstated how they should be taking their medicine, talked to them about their health condition that the medicine was prescribed for and made sure that it was at least slowly improving and that they weren't having any side effects. I would also help answer their questions if they had any and I would ask for Whit's help if they needed it. After each call, I documented each phone call; what was said while talking to the patient and, as required, I entered it into their Outcome Patient Profile, through checkmedsnc.
I also began working on the two other parts to my product, the pamplet and the power point. With Whit's help, I made the outline that I would be using and figured out what my main points would be. Next I must create the hardcopy of the power point and the pamplet.

(photo of me counseling patients on the phone.)

beginnings...

I have began spending time with my mentor, Whit, in the pharmacy, learning about prescription drugs. I am learning about the chemical make-ups of the drugs and what condition the drugs are normally prescribed for and how they work within the body. I also observe Whit counseling patients, which will come in handy for me when I counsel patients as part of my product. I now am starting creating my product, the patient handout on the importance of following the instuctions given by a doctor or a pharmacist when taking your medicine. I will also begin counseling/advising patients and start the powerpoint that I will use when teaching on the misuse of prescription drugs.