Pharmacy Perspectives - Winter/Spring 2015 - (Page 9)

WINTER/SPRING interactions, educating on drug allergies, or learning about concerns specific to the dental field (such as osteonecrosis from bisphosphonates), students quickly identify areas where they can contribute to the dental practice. "Students from both professions begin to recognize strengths that the other profession brings, and the collaboration is extremely valuable," says Nuffer. This appreciation carries out into practice, where the pharmacist or dentist may rely on one another when providing comprehensive care to patients. IMPRESSIONS OF A FORMER STUDENT AND 2014 GRADUATE, STEPHANIE DUNLAP D uring the second semester of the third year of pharmacy school we began interprofessional IPPE practices. Although most worked with physicians, a few students had the opportunity to visit with the School of Dental Medicine. Through these IPPE visits we were able to work with students to help them become more familiar with medications that they frequently see in their patient population. One of the major points we covered was interviewing patients on their medications to determine the best course of treatment. For example, a patient who was on warfarin and dealing with addiction may present concerns with compliance or malnutrition, which would have an impact on their risk of bleeding. By reviewing how this drug was affected by food and its duration of action in the body we were able to prevent an adverse outcome. We worked closely with the staff who taught us about reading X-rays, oral infectious disease, and provided knowledge of medication concerns experienced by dentists (such as osteonecrosis from bisphosphonates). We were able to see firsthand the effects of misuse of various drugs including anything from "meth mouth" to "aspirin burn." Overall, we found these experiences to be very valuable both for our learning and for the dental students. Continuing to collaborate between these two schools will help build interprofessional communications, serve as a tool to expand pharmacist relationships beyond strictly medical fields, and better integrate dentistry into the fold of healthcare providers. "IT IS IMPORTANT FOR STUDENTS FROM ALL DISCIPLINES TO COME TOGETHER AND LEARN. THIS COLLABORATIVE APPROACH HELPS TO PREPARE FUTURE HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS TO WORK AS A TEAM TO ULTIMATELY IMPROVE PATIENT OUTCOMES." - A M Y R O S I N K S Y , THIRD YEAR DENTAL STUDENT PHARMACY ROTATIONS U nique from the experiences of medical or physician assistant students, pharmacy students can elect to spend their spring clinical rotations at the dental school. Pharmacy students are given a choice of rotation sites throughout the community. During their semester-long rotation at the dental school, they see both the Dental Emergency and the Adolescent Clinic. Both of the pharmacy students listed below were P-3s during the rotation. Currently, they are in their fourth and final year of the curriculum. FOR RICHARD PREITE, PHARMACY STUDENT, THE CHOICE WAS EASY. "My Aunt Rosie was a dental hygienist, and wished for someone with pharmacy experience," he says. Preite ranked the dental option high on his list of preferred rotations. "I was lucky to get it." Of the experience itself, he says "It's been enlightening so far. Most people think dentistry is mostly teeth cleaning, but it's a lot more." Preite's seen tooth extractions, many dental procedures, and has been surprised by how intensive clinic and screening processes can be. If he sees a patient with dental issues in the future, he is much more likely to recommend appropriate dental care. COLLABORATIVE EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES MAKE THE DENTAL ROTATION A MUST FOR MYVI NGUYEN For pharmacy student Myvi Nguyen experiences in the dental clinics are among her most recent collaborative educational activities, and she enjoyed sharing knowledge of the relationship between medication and dental issues. Last summer Nguyen was involved at Indian Health Services in Parker, Arizona, an interprofessional medical center. During that experience, Nguyen witnessed a patient in the ER with jaw pain. Three days later, the patient passed away due to a stroke. "The telltale sign of that stroke was jaw pain," says Nguyen. "Situations like that we learn what we could have done better. The more different fields interact, the better." DENTAL STUDENTS ALSO FIND THE PHARMACY STUDENT ROTATIONS VALUABLE. "I think [these experiences] will make me a better clinician," says Amisha Singh, third-year dental student. For Darin Johnston, third-year dental student, being involved with the pharmacy students in the screening clinic and the ER has been enjoyable. "I wish they were over more often," he says. Johnston's utilized the interaction with pharmacy students to review head and neck exams as well as show the pharmacy students radiographs, while also learning about medication interactions. "It's great to be learning - and not waiting - between patients." The pharmacy student rotations are in their second year, and will continue in the future. www.ucdenver.edu/pharmacy 9 http://www.ucdenver.edu/pharmacy

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Pharmacy Perspectives - Winter/Spring 2015