July 21, 2016

By Sydney DuPriest

OXFORD, Miss. – In late June of 2016, PY4 student Caroline Bobinger traveled to Peru with ten people, including four other PY4 students from the School of Pharmacy and a preceptor from Jackson. The mission of the trip was to deliver and administer medicine and medical supplies to people of Peruvian and Quechuan descent living in the Peruvian Andes mountains. First Baptist Church of Jackson sponsored the trip, so the group also shared messages of faith with the people they met. The School of Pharmacy spoke with Bobinger about her experiences while in Peru.

 School of Pharmacy: What made you decide to go on this trip?

Caroline Bobinger: I had a deep desire to go on an international medical mission trip and to use the knowledge I have gained in pharmacy school to help those in need. I am a devout Christian and saw this mission trip as an opportunity to share my faith with unreached villages.

The group traveled through Huascaran National Park near Huaraz, Peru.

SOP: Where were you traveling, and how long were you there?

CB: The mission trip began as the team boarded a plane in Jackson, Mississippi and traveled for the next 12 hours to Lima, Peru. The second day we navigated through traffic in Lima and traveled ten hours in trucks to Huaraz. The third day was the most challenging travel day of the trip as we drove another ten hours over the narrow rocky roads up the mountain to Pomabamba. During this leg of the trip, we drove 150 miles over bumpy switchback roads with steep, sharp turns only wide enough for one vehicle. We were stationed in Pomabamba for five days with four days of clinic and one day of rest. During these five days, we traveled an hour or so each day outside of Pomabamba to different villages to host medical clinics. Then at night would we travel back to our base in Pomabamba where we had nightly devotions and meetings to discuss the events of the day. After five days in the Andes Mountains, we headed to Huaraz and then finally back to Lima. The entire trip lasted approximately 12 days.

SOP: Can you describe a typical day on the trip?

PY4 student Caroline Bobinger attends to Peruvian villagers waiting to receive medical care.

CB: On a typical clinic day, we would get up at 7:00 a.m. and eat breakfast around 8:00 or 8:30 a.m. Then we would travel in our trucks to different remote villages outside of Pomabamba where we would host medical clinics. Once we arrived at the village we would unload the medical supplies stored in 12 large containers and set up the different workstations. The first station was for evangelism where the people of Peru would hear the gospel in their language. Then they would see a physician and have their medical conditions diagnosed and have medications prescribed. Next, the people would pick up their medications at the pharmacy and be counseled on how to take their meds. At the medical clinic they also had the opportunity to get eyeglasses and receive Chapstick and worm medication. The pharmacy students would rotate stations throughout the four days of clinic so they had the opportunity to work at each station.

SOP: What was an extraordinary experience you had while you were there?

CB: One day, one of the Peruvian women came up to me and had a basket full of roasted nuts that she had just prepared. She had a big smile on her face and offered me some of the nuts. This meant so much to me because she did not have many material possessions, but she still wanted to give me something in return for what we had done to help her people.

Another day, we arrived and expected to set up clinic in a local school. When our trucks arrived, we found the school locked and we had no tables or chairs. We had a quick change in plan and set up the clinic, pharmacy and the eyeglasses station under the porch of the school. We built a church with three trucks, two tarps and zip ties, and attached the tarps to the side of the school. That particular day, we saw 152 people in the clinic, filled 477 prescriptions and fitted 123 villagers with reading glasses. It was amazing to see the people come from all directions to receive assistance at our makeshift clinic.

SOP: Can you speak about the people you met?

CB: The Peruvian people gave me so much more than I gave them. Everyone was so grateful that we made the journey to his or her village. They all had big smiles on their faces and were so grateful for everything we did for them. I will never forget their joy they expressed to us. One particular day, the village children picked wildflowers for the ladies on the trip and gave us gorgeous bouquets of flowers to express their love and appreciation.

Bobinger gives lollipops to Peruvian children. Photos courtesy of Caroline Bobinger.

SOP: How will your work help the people you met in Peru? 

CB: We gave every person we saw at the clinic some type of medication. Many adults had back pain due to carrying heavy items daily, and we gave them pain medication to relieve the pain. Also, many had indigestion problems, so we gave them Tums. Because they live so high in the mountains, many had sunburns on their faces. We gave them face cream to soothe the burns. While the medications will not last them forever, it was our hope that these acts of love and kindness would be something they would always remember. Also, because we also shared the gospel with them, we hoped this would change lives of the villagers for many generations to come.

SOP: How did the trip affect your point of view?

CB: This trip made me so feel so blessed that I grew up in a nation with basic everyday conveniences such as clean water and food. I am more aware of and grateful for the small things that we as Americans take for granted each and every day. I was amazed at the generosity of the Peruvian people and how grateful they were that we were there to serve them. I will always remember these people and what they taught me. I would encourage upcoming PY3s and PY4s to consider going on this trip. It is a life changer!

To find out more about global pharmacy opportunities in summer 2017, contact Dr. Kris Harrell, Director of Experiential Affairs for the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, at kharrell@umc.edu. An interest meeting will be held in December of 2016.

This interview has been edited for length and content.

Meghan Wagner. Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Communications

July 12, 2016

University of Mississippi pharmacy student Meghan Wagner has been named a 2016 Fellow of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, which recognizes academic excellence in higher education.

This marks the second year in a row that a student from the University of Mississippi has won a fellowship from Phi Kappa Phi, which is the oldest honor society that recognizes all academic disciplines, honoring 57 students each year from around the country.

Wagner, who is pursuing a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, also receives a $5,000 scholarship as part of the fellowship. She will use the award money to pay for books and class fees, and to lessen her need for student loans.

“I was extremely grateful to be chosen for this fellowship,” said Wagner. “I know the list of potential candidates was stellar, so to be first chosen by the University, then by Phi Kappa Phi, I felt honored. For me, to have such a distinguished group of people find my hard work to be worth the recognition and financial support helped validate that I have been working hard in the right direction.”

Applicants for the fellowship must first apply within their local chapter of Phi Kappa Phi in hopes of being selected as the sole applicant to the national chapter.

Dr. Michael L. Warren, clinical assistant professor of pharmacy practice and recent former president of the University’s chapter of Phi Kappa Phi, knows Wagner through a course she took with him in the pharmacy school.

“She is a gifted student with a positive attitude and professional demeanor,” said Warren. “Meghan is actively engaged in community service, both on and off campus. She is passionate about having a positive impact on children’s lives after graduating from pharmacy school. I cannot speak for the national committee, but her passion to help others was likely evident in her application materials and led to her selection.”

Wagner hopes to go into pediatric pharmacy. Past Phi Kappa Phi fellows include notable names such as poet Rita Dove, Youtube co-founder Chad Hurley and two NASA scientists. Marcus Daniels of the University of Mississippi won a fellowship in 2015 for his work in biology.

“My dream job would be to work in an oncology wing of a pediatric hospital as a clinical pharmacist, and I am very grateful to both the school of pharmacy and Phi Kappa Phi for supporting me in this endeavor,” said Wagner.

Faculty and students from the pharmacy administration department wrote letters of recommendation that outlined the department’s diversity initiatives.

July 5, 2016

By Sydney DuPriest

OXFORD, Miss. – The department of pharmacy administration received the 2016 Excellence in Promoting Inclusiveness in Graduate Education Award at the doctoral hooding ceremony in May. The award, which includes $2,000 for the recipient to continue the inclusiveness efforts, was established by the University of Mississippi Graduate School in 2004 to recognize individuals or programs that demonstrate a strong commitment to promoting a diverse and welcoming environment in graduate education.

The department of pharmacy administration includes faculty and students from six countries and a majority female faculty, a diversity that was highlighted in nomination letters from within the department. According to the letters from faculty and students, differences of opinion are welcomed and encouraged within the classroom and research, as well as during social activities that celebrate the diversity of the department.

“I believe the faculty in the department [of pharmacy administration] set the tone and encourage openness to new ideas and cultures,” said Soumyajit Majumdar, associate dean for research and graduate programs in the Pharmacy School. “All students are treated with respect. With the leadership’s commitment to inclusivity and respect, students quickly adapt to this culture, which encourages the sharing of diverse ideas.”

In addition to a welcoming atmosphere, the department hosts regular events for members of the school to share food and holiday traditions from their different home countries, creating a culture that extends to the work and research of the department.

“It helps that some members of our program have research interests in understanding and addressing health care disparities, specifically with respect to medication use,” said John P. Bentley, professor of pharmacy administration. “These research areas often require an understanding of the issues surrounding important topics in health care such as the role of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, location, gender, disability status and sexual orientation.”

Going beyond faculty efforts, graduate students in the department of pharmacy administration work to foster open-mindedness, often sharing offices with students from other backgrounds and participating in a peer-mentoring program that smooths the transition for non-American students.

“As an international student myself, I can speak at length to the challenges of acculturation and toll it can take on a new student,” said Sujith Ramachandran, a pharmacy administration graduate student from India. “However, my acculturation process in the United States was made easy due to the familial atmosphere in this department.”

June 17, 2016

By Sydney DuPriest

The University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy honored four of its faculty members for their excellence in and commitment to research, teaching and service at its annual faculty retreat in June.

Left to right: Robert Doerksen, Katie Barber, Ikhlas Khan, Donna West-Strum and Dean David D. Allen.

Dr. Donna West-Strum, professor and chair of Pharmacy Administration, won the Faculty Instructional Innovation Award for her role in creating and implementing the teaching tool Educating Pharmacists in Quality, or EPIQ. This resource uses cutting-edge techniques to train pharmacists and pharmacy students to measure and improve quality in pharmacy practice.

Along with two other pharmacy quality experts, she received a grant from the Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA) to answer the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy’s call for increased education on pharmacy quality.

The program is made available for free on the PQA website, and has been incorporated into over 20 doctoral curricula, including her own. In October of last year, EPIQ won the Duncan Neuhauser Award for Curricular Innovation from the Academy for Healthcare Improvement.

Donna West-Strum receives the Faculty Instructional Innovation Award from Dean David D. Allen.

Dr. Robert Doerksen, associate professor of medicinal chemistry, was awarded the Faculty Service Award for going above and beyond to support the school through service. He participates in a large number of dissertation committees each year, and advises students on their career paths and research. He peer-reviews roughly one journal article per month, and is also a resource for Taiwanese students with the Mississippi Taiwan Students Association.

At the University, he is a faculty advisor to several organizations, including the local chapter of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, and has represented the School of Pharmacy to the Undergraduate Council. As chair of the Scholastic Standards Committee, he participated in reviewing applications to the school of pharmacy and interviewing prospective students.

Dr. Ikhlas Khan, associate director of the National Center for Natural Products Research Center, won the Pharmacy Cumberland Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Research Award. Dr. Khan is also the director of the FDA Center of Excellence, a research professor in the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, professor of pharmacognosy and director of the Sino-US TCM Research Center. Additionally, he serves as the coordinator of the National Products Research Center for Water and Wetlands Research and the director of the University’s Center of Indian Systems of Research of Indian Systems of Medicine. Dr. Khan conducts research that contributes to ensuring the quality and safety of botanical dietary supplements. He has contributed to more than 600 research articles and presented over 100 invited lectures all over the world. He has won many prestigious awards, including one for Outstanding Contribution in Natural Products Research from the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Dr. Katie Barber won the School of Pharmacy New Investigator Award for her work with infectious diseases. Dr. Barber has completed two ASHP residency programs in infectious diseases and contributed to 20 peer-reviewed publications. In 2014, she won the Young Scientist Travel Grant Award from the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

Ralph Didlake was the keynote speaker for the retreat. He is the Associate Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs and the Chief Academic Officer at UMMC.

The Associate Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs and the Chief Academic Officer for the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Dr. Ralph Didlake spoke as a guest to the faculty about his specialty of bioethics and medical professionalism.

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Team Rural Health In-House Pharmacy won the UM on-campus portion of the Blueprint Mississippi Social Business Challenge. The team includes (from left ) Nicholas Keeling, Stephanie Sollis, faculty adviser Erin Holmes, Andrew Smelser and Sonja Falvey.

A student team from the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy is taking its plan to provide rural Mississippians with better access to affordable medications all the way to the finals of a statewide business challenge.

Team “Rural Health Clinic In-House Pharmacy” won first place in the university’s on-campus portion of the Institutions of Higher Learning Blueprint Mississippi Social Business Challenge, conducted Nov. 7.

The statewide competition is slated for March 12, 2015 in conjunction with Universities Day at the Capitol. Read the team’s full proposal below. For more information on Blueprint Mississippi Social Business Challenge, visit the website at http://www.mississippi.edu/msbc/.

Rural Health Clinic In-House Pharmacy

Our business plan seeks to establish in-house pharmacy services within rural health clinics. Establishing in-house discount pharmacies in rural health clinics of this state and others can provide patients immediate access to affordable medications for their chronic conditions and create a lasting relationship between the pharmacist and patient. A pharmacy in a rural health clinic would allow an ambulatory care pharmacist to provide Medication Therapy Management (MTM) and other clinical services to the patient and patient specific medication therapy recommendations to the physician through a Collaborative Practice Agreement (CPA), as well as maximizing effectiveness of therapy and cost savings. A study showed that ambulatory care pharmacists are effective and can save on average $185 per intervention when implemented in clinics. The total savings equated to four times the salary of a pharmacist. This business plan not only benefits ourselves but potentially millions of other lives that could be positively impacted through greater personal health.

The services offered at this site are numerous:

• Basic pharmacy services, such as medication filling, will be provided.
• The pharmacy will not stock hundreds of drugs that are currently on the market to keep costs at a minimum. It will, instead, focus on those drugs that are more often filled, such as chronic disease medications, antibiotics, and contraceptives.
• Through a CPA with the physician, the pharmacist will offer diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension management in order to control these disease states.
• The pharmacy will also offer MTM to make sure that the patient’s medication regimen is appropriately managed and understood and, therefore, compliance is not an issue.
• Basic screenings (blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose) as well as vaccinations and proper prenatal care will be offered.
• Medication and disease counseling, health fairs, community involvement, and patient follow-ups (after visits) will be provided as well.

One examining room or other adequate space is acceptable to house shelves for medications, a refrigerator for temperature-controlled medications, and a desk for the pharmacist with sitting space for the patient. This pharmacy would work closely with physicians to provide the best care for patients and build the patient-provider relationships.

Market and Financials

The market opportunity for our pharmacy business is quite large. Any rural health clinic that does not currently have a pharmacy in-house would be a target. We will focus our initial efforts on areas that have been identified as lacking in health care providers and quality. To inform our population of our establishment, a health fair will be coordinated with the city to demonstrate the services we will be offering and to begin to foster a relationship with the community. The only space need would be one examination room with shelves for medications, a refrigerator for temperature-controlled medications, and a desk for the pharmacist with sitting space for the patient.

Revenue streams will come from a variety of sources. Our primary source will be from prescription dispensing services. Based on estimates that a single physician can prescribed approximately 17,000 prescriptions in a year, prescription revenue could be anywhere between $85,000 to $161,000. These figures are dependent on the type of insurance your population has and the reimbursements and dispensing fees (vary by state). We feel as though these are conservative estimates based off of largely government sponsored reimbursement values.

Additional revenues will come through MTM services for individuals and employers, transition to care services for local hospitals, and from immunizations for influenza, pneumonia, herpes zoster, and hepatitis for those considered at risk. Occasionally insurers will not provide reimbursement for pharmacist administered vaccinations. For those that do not, the pharmacist and physician could establish a contract by which reimbursement flows through the physician’s contracts but the workload is handled by the pharmacy. This would be an attractive selling point to rural health clinics considering implementing our in-house pharmacy.

In conclusion

The ultimate goal for this business is to establish numerous in-house pharmacies in rural health clinics across the nation. We will begin our venture in Mississippi as we know that some of our nation’s worst health outcomes can be found right here at home. However, this idea is quickly adaptable to various situations and types of clinics and we will push to see it expand across the Southeast and further. As our business and revenues grow, economies of scale will provide us with the lower cost and smoother entrance into new markets through increased contracting power.