Cedarville Magazine, Fall 2013

14 | Cedarville Magazine When you think about your pharmacist, what comes to mind? Perhaps you think of swinging by a neighborhood CVS for monthly prescriptions or scheduling regular diabetes checkups. Four professors from Cedarville’s School of Pharmacy are working hard to change the pharmacy stereotype. In the following vignettes, they (and one student) demonstrate how pharmacy can exemplify Christlike service toward underserved people, whether at a neighborhood pharmacy or around the world. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the term “underserved” refers to people with little or no access to health care services. In regions that don’t have adequate doctors’ offices and specialists, or a Walgreens on every corner, access is a matter of geography. But access can also be a matter of poverty. Services and medications may be locally available, but patients lack the ability to pay for them, or they may lack transportation to get to the clinic or pharmacy. Aleda Chen Cambodia The mission of Cedarville’s School of Pharmacy is to develop “exceptional pharmacy practitioners focused on meeting the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of patients through servant leadership.” Though still a young program — the first class won’t graduate for another two years —Dr. Aleda Chen said many students are interested in either part- or full-time global missions, so she and her peers try to find opportunities for them to engage in a global context while completing their education. She has led by example, ministering in places as far away as Phnom Penh, Cambodia, building on strategic relationships Cedarville staff previously developed there. On a recent trip to Cambodia, she met with staff at the Mercy Medical Center (MMC), a mission hospital she hopes will become a practice site for pharmacy students in their final year. At MMC, students would work with physicians on evaluating medical problems and deciding the appropriate medication. Since medical supplies are often donated, there’s an inconsistent roster of available medicine. In many cases students will need to think on their feet if the first choice of medication isn’t available and choose a viable alternative. This will provide a unique challenge for students to put into practice all they’ve learned in class the previous three years. Chen said as many as 50–75 percent of her students have expressed interest in spending at least part of their careers with underserved people, in an urban setting or even a Third World country. She says while it’s not unusual for pharmacy students to want to help people — the nature of the work lends itself to altruism — but Cedarville students are set apart because of the biblical integration they experience across the curriculum. “We may have an educational mission similar to secular institutions, but here, we integrate faith into everything,” said Chen. “It unifies us and changes our driving force. Our faith puts us on the same field with a different purpose — to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of patients.” Tracy Frame Los Angeles, California Dr. Tracy Frame has noticed that in many underserved rural and urban areas, patients are unable to obtain the care they need. “Underserved areas are a very important part of the health care system and an area where health care professionals, specifically pharmacists, can be a huge asset to help improve the care of these patients,” she said. She has also worked with many of Cedarville’s pharmacy students providing free diabetes, blood pressure, and cholesterol screenings in surrounding counties. From the screenings, they have had to send numerous patients directly to emergency rooms due to very high blood pressures or blood sugar. “It is such a joy to see my students work with these patients and realize they may have helped decrease the risk of one of these patients having a heart attack or stroke,” said Frame. Frame recently took some pharmacy students to develop relationships for future ministry at the Los Angeles-based Dream Center, a volunteer-driven organizationmeeting the needs of locals by providing food trucks, shelter, education, job skills training, Bible studies, and more. In coming years, she hopes to continue to take students there over spring break to offer diabetes and blood pressure screenings and provide health education to the people of these underserved areas in L.A. Frame believes this not only allows students to minister effectively but also apply what they’ve learned in the classroom to real-life scenarios. “Ultimately, I hope these experiences give students a burning passion for people and a desire to have a servant’s heart, as Christ calls us to,” she said. The Pharmacy Is Open by Nicole (Hanson) Russell ’04