1/12 Assignment

Interview

1. Some prescriptions filled here at the pharmacy as to be specifically filled by you, such as CIIs. What are some examples of this type of medication?

Answer -- "Major pain relievers and medicine prescribed for ADHD are filled by the pharmacist."

Reflection -- If these major drugs, which have major effects on people, were being filled by technicians and myself, that would honestly be scary. The medicine can kill people; therefore, it should only be handled by someone who actually has a degree in the pharmaceutical field.

2. Why are these particular medications only allowed to be counted and filled by you?

Answer -- "They are under control of the government."

Reflection -- In my opinion, the government is already too involved in the lives of American citizens, but this particular law seems reasonable and even helpful in terms of protecting people from drug abuse, addiction, and possibly death.

3. Do you believe that misuse of the heavy duty prescription drugs filled here happens often?

Answer -- "More than I would like to see."

Reflection -- This is disappointing, but pharmacists have no choice but to fill what is prescribed by doctors. The most they can do is consult with them.

4. In your opinion, why do people choose to abuse prescription drugs rather than street drugs? 

Answer -- "Prescriptions drugs are sitting around the house and don't cost extra money."

Reflection -- When medicine is purchased at the pharmacy, insurance usually handles most of the expenses. Street drugs are not as convenient. 

5. Do you think that teenagers are the main age group of people that abuses the power of strong prescription drugs nowadays? 

Answer -- "No, adults abuse them just as much if not more."

Reflection -- Recent studies show that teenagers abuse prescription drugs more than adults, but adults play their part, as well. 

6. Teenagers often have a hard time finding themselves while their childhoods end and adulthoods begin. Do you believe that stress is the primary cause of prescription drug abuse? 

Answer -- "No, the lack of family relationships triggers drug abuse."

Reflection -- I believe that family problems at home can cause people to want to abuse prescription drugs as well as issues with finding their place in the world and feeling important in society. 

7. Often times, people do not throw away medicine previously prescribed to them because they think that it is possible that they will need it in the future. What is your opinion on this issue? 

Answer -- "One of the highest contributing factors to this issue is that doctors often overprescribe medications to patients, which leaves them with excess."

Reflection -- I did not consider this factor before now, but it is obviously true. Why else would medicine be leftover? 

8. Do you think that parents not properly disposing of their medicine and keeping it out of the reach of their children is a large part of what causes the abuse of prescription drugs in the lives of teenagers? 

Answer -- "Yes, that definitely does contribute."

Reflection -- I really wish that something could be done about this. 

9. Do you put expiration dates or warnings to throw away the prescription bottles that you give to customers on the labels and/or tell them so verbally? 

Answer -- "Yes. By regulation, we print 'Discard after one year,' on every prescription bottle."

Reflection -- I knew this previously, but I am glad that it is done by regulation.

10. And for my final question, the essential question for my project: Why do people abuse prescription drugs, and how are pharmacies handling this issue?

Answer -- "For one, people can sell prescription drugs as well as use them, which brings in extra cash for users. The high, of course, is why people enjoy using prescription drugs. To handle the issue, laws have changed in regard to certain medicine, such as pain relievers, which are now under stricter control. Doctors don't like the changes being made, because they now have to hand write a new prescription for every refill of these particular medications instead of calling or faxing in a single prescription, which would have including the following refills, and being done with it. We obey the laws."

Reflection -- It's great that the government realizes what is going on and is trying to help out. The new regulations have helped immensely I'm sure. 

1/5 Assignment

I want to know why pharmaceutical drugs are so easy for teenagers to obtain. I need to know how many teenagers have been affected by illegal over-the-counter drug abuse. Why do people abuse prescription drugs, and how are pharmacies handling this issue?  It will be in my best interest to present my final project on a well-made website, such as a Weebly page. By doing this, I can create numerous tabs to direct and organize my information. I believe that my final inquiry will regard the statistics supporting prescription drug abuse, such as calculations of future use conducted using probability methods. 

12/8 Assignment

Here is the link to my final annotated bibliography for the article about drug abuse.

12/1 Assignment

To view my completed graphic organizer in accordance to my reliable article, click HERE.

Essential Question

My essential question: Why do people abuse prescription drugs, and how are pharmacies handling this issue? 

Prescription drug problems are not uncommon, and learning about their existence and the reasons behind their use is interesting among teenager, adults, and quite frankly anybody. I have learned a lot from Mr. Dan, the pharmacist at Longstreet Clinic, about the medicines that people easily get addicted to. What I have not yet learned is why. Why do people enjoy overusing drugs? Why put forth the effort and struggle to receive medicine that the body does not need? Because of my deep intellectual thought and curiosity, I wish to evaluate on the issue of drug abuse. Because of my connection with the pharmacy where I pursue my mentorship, I also wish to perform research in order to assess how pharmacies (including the pharmacy where I intern) handles the issue of drug abuse. I know some information about their procedures, but I am sure that there is much more to learn. Learning about medicine, its effects, and learning about why/how people abuse medicines excites me as much as it intrigues me. I believe that determining factors and causes as to why additions to pharmaceutical medicine/prescription drugs will accurately meet my needs and desire to learn more about this particular topic.

11/10 Blog Post

Every Monday and Thursday when I go to my mentorship, I am greeted by the pharmacist, technicians, and other students. I jump right into work by handling prescriptions given to the pharmacy by patients straight out of the pediatrics center on the other side of the lobby or another facility within Longstreet Clinic. Usually, the prescriptions that the Longstreet Pharmacy fills are from inside the building. Because of this, my mentor is aware of doctors' names and how to easily contact them using the extension codes assigned to phones throughout the building. After receiving a prescription, whether it be transmitted to Mr. Dan over the phone or handed to me directly, I input the data given on the prescription into the computer. By doing this, I can print the labels for the pill bottles, directions regarding the use of the medicine, and an additional label to put on the back of the prescription. If the prescription is received electronically, the additional label is put on the side of the paper so that it can easily be folded in half and put into the stack with the other written prescriptions. After filling and printing the prescription, I count the pills that I am allowed to count (certain medicines are only allowed to be handled by Mr. Dan). I then take the bag with the medicine, directions, and sometimes a syringe inside to the cash register where I call the patient or customer's name to checkout. I then scan the bar-code given on the piece of paper stapled to the outside of the bag with the cash register's scanner and check the person out. I repeat this process many times.

Chemistry had helped me the most in terms of understanding the names of medicine, what the medicines contain, and what they do. In Chemistry, I learned the elements of the periodic table and how they react with each other. Ions are also an important factor in pharmacy, because ions create compounds. Compounds create medicine; therefore, Chemistry really helped me develop a deeper background of what medicine really is. For example, one compound that everyone knows, H2O, forms water. I have one course of Honors Chemistry behind me and I am now in my first year of I.B. Chemistry. Next year I will take I.B. Chemistry Year 2, which will deepen my understanding of medicine and how it is created even more.

Growing Leaders 11/3

The First Soft Skill to Develop in Students by Tim Elmore

http://growingleaders.com/blog/first-soft-skill-develop-students/

Students fresh out of college applying for jobs are often too loud, too full of themselves, too forward, and lack self awareness. These problems lead to poor work ethic. Social intelligence begins with making a remarkable first impression. Daniel Goleman's book regarding social intelligence says that the topic includes empathy, attunement, social cognition, concern, self-presentation, and influence. The deeper social relationships are, the more people's physical health is affected; for example, social relationships affect blood flow, breathing, moods, and immune systems. Because of the effects that come along with social influence and the way that it makes a mark on people's personal judgements of others, social influence is extremely valuable and important.

Personally, I had never read or heard anything about social intelligence before reading this article. I knew that first impressions were very crucial in the work place, but I did not retain a deeper insight as to why that is other than people always judge others based on what they see and feel. Because I was uninformed, Daniel Goleman's thoughts and research regarding social influence really interested me. Also, it made me realize that I am getting a touch of social influence in the work place through Honors Mentorship, which seems to be beneficial in consideration of my future.  

Personal Profile

Profile --
My name is Madison, and I attend West Hall High School. I currently am a Junior participating in the Honors Mentorship Program. The medical world interests me, but I am not sure which particular field I would like to permanently engage in. To help figure out what my specific interests are, I am interning at the pharmacy inside the Longstreet Clinic. This gives me real life experience in the field of medicine.

Internship --
Through the Honors Mentorship Program, I am able to gain experience in a job that I could possibly obtain in the future. This program helps me decide whether the career that I am interning with is actually a realistic choice for me. I do what I can as an intern at Longstreet Clinic's pharmacy and am able to watch other pharmaceutical technicians do their jobs, as well. The pharmacist that I have the pleasure of shadowing, Dan Lorenzen, has the strongest influence on my internship and provides the most knowledge to me.

Future --
In the future, I plan on attending college at a large school somewhere in Georgia. Later, I hope to begin medical school at Emory and continue my residency there regarding whichever field I choose to pursue. I believe that the Honors Mentorship Program is the first step toward making a decision about my future career.

Pharmacist Dan Lorenzen (left) and Madison Tasker (right)

10/14 Assignment

My perception of pharmaceutical careers changed slightly since I began my internship with Dr. Lorenzen. I now see pharmacy through my own lens instead of other people's lenses, such as those who write about their profession on the internet or pharmacists who seem to like their job. I now believe that pharmacy is not exactly for me, because I want to learn more about patients (not just the medicine prescribed to the patients). I want to get to know patients personally and work with them to help them, not just hand them a bottle of pills without saying more than two words to them.

This internship surprises me because of the profession's continuous growth. Pharmacies continue to grow, the world of medicine continues to grow, and patients continue to grow older and older. Because of this, a career in pharmacy would not be a bad choice. New medicine is always being developed and dispensed. Because of this, people are living longer. The longer people live, the longer they need to come and receive their filled prescriptions at their local pharmacies. It is surprising to me that the profession of pharmacy in itself has not advanced more than it has, in terms of machinery and technology inside the pharmacy. Everything is still handled personally, at least in the pharmacy where I am interning.

In terms of improving my performance, I believe that I can become quicker at the cash register and quicker with filling prescriptions. After I figure out where most of the medicine is kept, I can find the bottle I need without asking the pharmacist or a technician which pills I need to count for the prescription. Once I get faster on the cash register, I can move more quickly from customer to customer without being rushed or facing difficulties. Although I endure these hardships and am less experienced than the other employees in the pharmacy, I am still considered to be helpful.

Partner in Education, Goals, and Routine

My internship plays a large role in terms of partnership with my education, because it gives me the opportunity to get real experience in the pharmaceutical field before making the decision in college to begin pharmaceutical study without any real experience. I also consider this internship my first job, because it is currently giving me my first general experience in the working world. I am learning things outside of what I normally learn in school, which is continuously interesting, though my internship/mentorship site.

In regard to my previous and current goals -- I currently feel that pharmacy is not the career that I want to pursue because of the late hours and repetitive work that comes along with being a pharmacist. The Honors Mentorship Program has helped me cross one profession that I was considering off my list, which helps me narrow down my choices of interest. My goals of becoming a pharmacist have changed, and I currently have my mind set on gaining experience in the realm of medical oncology.

The daily routines in the pharmacy is rarely differentiate from each other. The pharmacy receives the prescription physically or via fax, profiles the prescription, prints the prescription and the corresponding labels as well as directions for the consumer, counts the pills twice, dumps the pills into a pill bottle, labels the bottle, puts the bottle and its matching directions and prescription into a paper bag, staples the piece of paper containing the barcode to use at the register to the outside of the bag, and allows the pharmacist to check the pill count, label(s), and corresponding warnings and directions before transferring the medicine to the patient. It is a boring process, but it is easy to catch onto with the exception of the code used when filing information into the computers and looking up insurance for the customers. Through this process, I have learned the basics of how a pharmacy runs itself.