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Student pharmacists help guard Lipscomb campus against flu virus

Janel Shoun | 

 

Last year’s national H1N1 flu virus scare prompted Lipscomb University’s health-care programs to join together to make sure the Lipscomb University community was protected from the virus.
 
The Lipscomb Health Center and the College of Pharmacy joined together in 2009 to hold several on-campus vaccination clinics and immunized hundreds more people than in years past.
 
To continue the momentum in 2010, the health center and College of Pharmacy cooperated to bring three flu shot clinics to campus on Oct. 12, Oct. 26 and Nov. 16.
 
The next on-campus flu shot clinic will be held Tuesday, Nov. 16, noon to 4 p.m., on the main floor of the Bennett Campus Center. Cost is $18 for the shot and can be paid by cash, check, or charged to Lipscomb student ID accounts.
 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that everyone over 6 months of age should get a seasonal flu shot this year.
 
Flu shots at the Lipscomb clinics are administered by student pharmacists.
 
Within the past 10-15 years, it’s become common for student pharmacists to become certified to provide immunizations, said Zac Cox, assistant professor of pharmacy practice.
 
“We are one of the few colleges of pharmacy that is housed on an undergraduate campus, so our students can be exposed to a population who normally is not diligent about getting flu shots,” Cox said. “With the new CDC recommendations this year, that opportunity allows us to take note of the students’ response to the CDC’s recommendation and explore how to market health-care information to this age group.”
 
Last fall, College of Pharmacy administrators received many compliments on the technique the student pharmacists used as well as the professional way they conducted the clinics. “I have heard numerous comments about the very professional and caring way in which your student pharmacists administered the shots. That’s the result of very intentional instruction and care from your faculty and administrations,” wrote one vaccine recipient.
 
For more information on the flu and vaccination, visit www.flu.gov.