Call to Action: Theme for Presidential Scholars

As you may know, interprofessional education (IP) is the topic of MUSC’s quality enhancement plan (QEP) titled, “Team Up for Better Health," and it is something our university excels at. This is evidenced by our recent SACSCOC (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges) accreditation reaffirmation. Our QEP seeks to expand the quality and reach of IP educational offerings at MUSC over the next 10 years and is focused specifically on enhancing IP teamwork skills among our students.

There are countless opportunities for MUSC students and faculty to participate in these experiences, but the Raymond S. Greenberg Presidential Scholars Program (PSP) may top the list.

The PSP is a two-semester program that has students from each of MUSC’s colleges, as well as from Charleston School of Law. Students must apply to the program and the PSP advisory committee carefully examines each application and makes recommendations on which students to accept.

Traditionally, only about 50 students have been admitted to each cohort, but the number of applicants greatly exceeds that. Additionally, faculty scholars from each of MUSC’s colleges, the MUSC Library and Charleston School of Law work with the students as advisors and mentors. Hazel Breland, Ph.D., MUSC College of Health Professions, serves as the program director. Under her leadership, the program has flourished and continues to be a highly sought-after experience for students to participate in.

Some student members of the 2018 MUSC Presidential Scholars Equity Group gathered in February to kick off their Medication Take-back Tour project. The group collaborated with Charleston County Sheriff’s Department and MUSC Public Safety to help the public dispose of unused and expired medications.

This year’s cohort chose the topic “A Call to Action: Collaboration, Equality, Inclusion, Advocacy, and Policy” as its theme. Students were divided into groups based on self-identified interests and then worked to define what the Charleston community needed to make a difference.

Advocacy

Contributed by Millie Thomas, doctor of pharmacy candidate, Class of 2019

Our Presidential Scholars (PS) group has paired with the MUSC Transplant Center and We Are Sharing Hope SC to advocate for the registration of individuals in our community as organ donors. In collaborating with previous PS groups that worked to register donors, we saw a barrier to organ donation with individuals in our community having incorrect information about the process. To remove this barrier, our group has created a survey to determine what the most common misconceptions regarding organ transplantation are in our area. In administering the survey throughout the Charleston area, we hope to determine the leading misconceptions regarding organ donation so that educational tools debunking these misconceptions can be developed.

Policy

Contributed by Katy Wray, doctor of pharmacy candidate, Class of 2019

This year, the policy group decided to pursue a project to help alleviate the opioid epidemic that is occurring throughout the country and in the Charleston community specifically. In June 2016, an amendment to the South Carolina Overdose Prevention Act authorized pharmacists to dispense naloxone, the life-saving opioid reversal agent, without a prescription to anyone at risk of overdose or a caregiver of such a person. Despite this change in law, however, very few pharmacies in the Charleston area are currently dispensing naloxone via a standing order. The goal of our project ultimately is to increase naloxone access in the community. First, we held an educational seminar to educate students on the policy changes, as well as how to administer naloxone in the case of an opioid overdose. Now, we are in the process of visiting local pharmacies and encouraging them to carry and distribute naloxone to high-risk patients. Ultimately we hope our interventions will help to improve community awareness of the state policy changes that have occurred in an effort to combat the opioid crisis.

Inclusion

Contributed by Danielle Pett, doctor of pharmacy candidate, Class of 2020

Our group worked together to advance inclusion within the immigrant community. We teamed up with Lutheran Services Carolinas (LSC) for our Presidential Scholars project. LSC is a non-profit organization that welcomes and supports refugees and migrants entering the United States. Assimilating into the United States as an immigrant or refugee is a difficult and confusing process for both the clients and their volunteers. There were no substantial resources for volunteers to consult information on how to navigate the complicated immigrant process. While LSC has the resources and instructions for volunteers to prepare for refugees, they were lacking in many areas. The current model was information heavy and the delivery of the information was long and dry. Our task was to revamp its website and instructions to make them more appealing, user-friendly and streamlined. We divided the content into modules allowing users to access the information they wanted. Videos were created to deliver information in an entertaining and innovative way. With these changes, volunteers and clients can navigate the website easier while accessing relevant information.

Collaboration

Contributed by Sydney Hammond, College of Health Professions, doctor of physical therapy candidate, Class of 2019

The Clemente Course in the Humanities is a program that focuses on breaking educational barriers nationwide by offering free tuition and education. Recently, the Charleston Clemente program has partnered with MUSC to provide access to information regarding health care, but these courses are not available at other Clemente locations. Our group has partnered with Clemente with the goal of making information regarding health care available to students in other Clemente programs nationwide. We developed three presentations focused on smoking cessation, physical activity and interpersonal violence to promote health literacy and encourage healthy lifestyles.

Equity

Contributed by Albany Cromer, College of Health Professions, doctor of health professions candidate, Class of 2019

The equity team led the recent MUSC Medication Take-back Tour in collaboration with the Charleston County Sheriff’s Department and MUSC Department of Public Safety, Feb. 3 through 24. The medication take-back tour kicked off on the MUSC campus in the Portico on Feb 3. A take-back event was held every Saturday in February at the New First Missionary Baptist Church in Edisto, Awendaw Town Hall and Hollywood Town Hall. The events were advertised, reported on by local news stations and broadcasted on local radio stations. At each stop, there was representation from the MUSC Presidential Scholar equity team and Charleston County Sheriff’s Department. The take-back participants were provided flyers and education about drug donation boxes in Charleston and rural areas. In addition to education, thanks to the South Carolina Foundation Pharmacy Association, the teams were able to give away medication deactivation bags for safe medication disposal at home. MUSC Public Safety also provided the group with marketing giveaways for the public. At the conclusion of the take-back tour, the equity team and their service partners collected four pounds of unused and expired medications. This year’s Presidential Scholars worked hard to uphold the program’s mission of “exploring complex social, political, and human issues of broad interest.” While the academic year may be winding down, the work of the 2017 to 2018 cohort of Presidential Scholars is moving into full swing. The annual Raymond S. Greenberg Presidential Scholars Day event will be held on April 10 at 3:30 p.m. in the Institute of Psychiatry Auditorium. All are welcome to come hear the groups present on the projects they’ve been working on this year and to see the posters they’ve prepared showcasing their work.