Pharmacy Perspectives - Summer/Fall 2017 - 2

Welcome :

STUDENTS GET A TASTE
OF SMALL TOWN LIFE
BY STEPHANIE CARLSON

N
A

s we welcome a new class of doctor
of pharmacy candidates to the
school and send off the recent graduates into the workforce, it's time to reflect on
our achievements and the many activities and
people who comprise this great school.
In this edition of Pharmacy Perspectives,
celebrate in the accomplishment of
Department Chair Doug Fish in his recognition by ACCP with the 2017 Education
Award; learn about recent graduates - what
they've accomplished and their plans for the
future; discover the groundbreaking research
our faculty are conducting; get to know
pharmacist guests from Nigeria; catch up on
classmates, where they are and what they're
doing; and learn more about how pharmacists are an integral part of oncology practice
and UCHealth.
Make sure to check out our blog site
at www.cupharmacyperspectives.org and
remember to follow the school on our social
media channels listed below:
@CUpharmacy
@cupharmacy
/15098479
UCDSchoolofPharmacy
@cupharmacy
Sincerely,

Ralph J. Altiere, PhD
Dean, University of Colorado
Skaggs School of Pharmacy and
Pharmaceutical Sciences

CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

early two dozen students
from the University of
Colorado Anschutz
Me d i c a l Ca m p u s ,
including pharmacy,
recently visited Rio
Grande County in Southern Colorado for
Rural Immersion Week. The experience is
for health professions students who are interested in living and working in a rural area.
"I really enjoyed the Rural Immersion
Week! We got to meet with local community
leaders and learn what it was like to live in a
rural community," says third-year pharmacy
student Amanda Howard, who represented
the school along with Jhani Williams, Dario
Martinez and Nicola Maude.
The students were split into groups and
investigated what makes a rural community
work through different non-clinical topics.
The pharmacy students got the chance to
tour several local businesses in the Alamosa,
Monte Vista and Del Norte area. "We got
to meet many people from the community
and it became apparent that everyone who
was involved in the community had more
than one role and was very proud of the
town. We learned about the dynamics of
business and about some of the struggles
small business owners face. Being in a small
town you have to be resourceful and be able
to make do with what you have," explains
second-year student Jhani Williams.
One interesting business collaboration
they learned about was between a couple
breweries and a pig farm. The breweries
send the farm their leftover malt for the pigs
to eat. "Everyone seemed to work together
on everything. The level of collaboration
was very impressive," says Howard.
While it was mostly a non-clinical experience, community leaders still shared with the
students how healthcare works in their town.
"We were able to tour the hospital and clinic
and learned that they had doctors that would
come down to visit certain days of the month
to treat patients. I thought that was unique.
The town does not have the demand or

resources for a specialist to stay at the hospital, but they were able to work something out
so the people would have some opportunities
to see a specialist without driving to a bigger
city," Williams said.
Overall, the students say they enjoyed
the week and would recommend the experience. Howard grew up in a small town,
so knows a lot about rural life already, but
said she's still glad she went, "This was a very
refreshing week to hear about a different career path that isn't covered very often during
our curriculum. It is easy to get caught up
in becoming the most specialized/certified
pharmacist in a very specific area of pharmacy, however we learn that there are small
towns that desperately need a pharmacist
who is a "Jack of all trades"."

Rural Immersion Week students discover small town life in
Southern Colorado.

http://www.cupharmacyperspectives.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pharmacy Perspectives - Summer/Fall 2017