SOP students share gift of time, experience
Recording patients’ medical and medication
history is an important part of medical
missions. At RAM, students and
professionals conduct much of their work
outdoors, protected from summer sun and
storms by giant tents.
Talk about community engagement! School of Pharmacy students are all over it, both at home and abroad. Evan Sisson,
associate professor, reports that 67 pharmacy students applied to participate in the Remote Area Medical and Mission of Mercy teams this year.
“Student participation in these events is important for many reasons,” says Sisson. “Obviously, we help meet patient needs in our community, but the students themselves also gain from the experience. Beyond the clinical interventions are the life lessons learned by students communicating with people who come from different cultures, ethnicities and socioeconomic status.”
Although only in her second year of pharmacy school, Nellie Jafari is an old hand at medical missions. She has participated in two winter trips sponsored by the Dominican Aid Society of Virginia and, last summer, was part of VCU Cares. This summer, she’ll join classmates and faculty on the SOP’s annual trek to Remote Area Medical.
“I do these medical mission trips because they give me the chance to immerse myself in clinical opportunities, allow me to work in an interdisciplinary team and enable me to practice the skills we learn in class,” she says.
“I believe as student pharmacists, it is our responsibility to seek out these opportunities to participate in medical mission trips so that we can improve our skills and make a difference in the community, whether it is locally or internationally.”
It can be hard work, but the rewards can last a lifetime for participants and patients.
The following teams were selected using a blinded application process. The 2013 application review committee comprised
student team leaders from each event (listed below) in addition to Sisson and assistant professors Dave Dixon and Diana Mack.
This will be the seventh summer the School of Pharmacy has participated in RAM, which takes place in Wise County, Va. Last year marked the debut for VSU Cares in Petersburg.
For more about MoM/VCU Cares projects, click here. To learn more about RAM, click here.
MISSION OF MERCY – Charlottesville (April 19-20)
Brian Case (P2), team leader
Liz Budko (P3)
Dejan Bratcher (P2)
Jessica Cerrulo (P1)
Aziza Dang (P1)
Vivien Shum (P3)
Jacob Tsegaye (P3)
VSU CARES (June 14-15)
Shae George (P3), team leader
Lauren Grecheck (P2), team co-leader
Martha Alemeyahu (P1)
Abbie Arches (P3)
Linda Barstow (P2)
Lauren Bennett (P3)
Caroline Droste (P2)
Raymond Lai (P2)
Mi Lim (P2)
Malone McGinn (P2)
Katelyn Nguyen (P2)
Andi Scott (P3)
Pritpal Singh (P3)
Ashley Street (P1)
REMOTE AREA MEDICAL (July 19-21)
Natalie Nguyen (P3), team leader
Erika Lambert (P2), team co-leader
Sara Ayele (P2)
Mimi Baker (P1)
Sarena Barden (P1)
Melinda Ellis (P2)
Nellie Jafari (P2)
MaryBeth Jones (P1)
Kelly Miller (P3)
Jenna St. Pierre (P1)
Margaret Robinson (P2)
Rebecca Saunders (P2)
Allison Smith (P3)
Keshia Ward (P3)
MISSION OF MERCY – Roanoke (Sept. 13-14)
Tuan Pham (P2), team leader
Kelsey Billups (P2)
Shelby Evans (P2)
Zaneera Hassan (P1)
Sarah Park (P2)
Ruby Sandhu (P3)
Thuy Tran (P1)
Courtney Wren (P2)
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