5/2/2023

Xavier University of Louisiana College of Pharmacy

New Orleans, LA

Project Description

Instead of focusing on one specific event, we decided to implement an important theme for the 2022-2023 academic school year as the Louisiana Society of Health-System Pharmacists (LSHP) Xavier Chapter. This year we embraced the theme "Monkeypox Unfolded". In light of the monkeypox outbreak, we decided to educate the students, faculty, and administration of Xavier University of Louisiana, College of Pharmacy on all there is to know about monkeypox. We provided resources that explained the disease in terms on symptoms, transmission, what to do if you expect exposure or positivity, testing, treatments and vaccines, and prevention! We also provided the students, faculty, and administration with a list of local locations offering monkeypox vaccines and clinics available for testing if needed. To this day, the monkeypox information sheet, monkeypox vaccine location cards, and monkeypox symptom cards remain on our LSHP bulletin board. We then released an anonymous survey to all students, faculty, and administration that evaluated their basic knowledge of monkeypox to assess how we as an organization could best provide information and teach our academic community about this important topic. Using the information gained from the survey, we hosted a meeting, for all LSHP members and non-members, to make an opportunity for an in-person presentation on monkeypox. Dr. George Nawas (PharmD, BCPS, AAHIVP), our very own LSHP Co-Advisor and College of Pharmacy Clinical Assistant Professor, gave an insightful presentation on Monkeypox. The presentation included information and recommendations from the most recent guidelines. This presentation and open discussion proved to be a wonderful opportunity to learn and ask questions! It was a great turnout and a very successful event. Monkeypox is a rare infection that abruptly invaded our nation, inciting fear of the unknown, especially after the catastrophic COVID-19 pandemic. Learning from mistakes made in waiting during the COVID-19 pandemic, we wanted to act quickly and educate our academic community on everything there is to know about monkeypox; therefore, better preparing them to take an active role in decreasing the incidence. It was especially important to educate and provide resources to our College of Pharmacy as we all are frequently rounding in clinical and community pharmacy settings. It was an honor to serve our academic community and I am happy to say that it was a huge success overall!

Did you utilize any ASHP resources while planning this event?

ASHP was utilized when researching and preparing the presentation for the in-person meeting. ASHP proved to be a helpful source when trying to findaccurate, reliable, and up-to-date information regarding monkeypox.

How did your SSHP Chapter promote the project?

We promoted the event through email, the school e-bulletin, and X-Connect I made a flyer for the meeting and included information about the presentation in an email to promote the event. I sent the email 2-3 days a week, for 3 weeks leading up to the event. We also sent it to our Assistant Dean for Administration & Student Academic Support Director to promote the event through the e-bulletin. Lastly, we uploaded the event on X-Connect, a platform for organizations to promote events so that all students, faculty, and administration looking for opportunities to get involved can find events to attend.

When was the event held?

All events occurred during the Fall semester 2022.

Did you include any outside guest to complete this event?

No, just Dr. George Nawas (PharmD, BCPS, AAHIVP), our very own LSHP Co-Advisor and College of Pharmacy Clinical Assistant Professor here at Xavier University of Louisiana College of Pharmacy.

What advice do you have for SSHP's attempting to replicate the project you described?

My advice would be to pick a relevant and important topic that directly affects you and your community.

Additional commentary regarding your event

I would recommend conducting a survey before hosting a presentation on your topic so you can assess what needs to be emphasized based on your community's needs.

SSHP Leadership