High school students explore field of pharmacy
Upper St. Clair High School students in Laura Marks’ honors organic chemistry class recently had the opportunity to participate in an interactive, hands-on patient simulation provided by the
University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy.
The presentation included the use of a high–fidelity human simulator, a mannequin with life-like functions that offers realistic medical training, as well as presentations by Pitt Pharmacy
Rx Ambassadors, who are currently enrolled in the program. Among the class of nearly 30 students, five were selected to perform the roles of physician, pharmacist, nurse and two emergency medical technicians in order to experience managing a patient with a heart attack as well as an opioid overdose.
“It was really neat to watch,” Mrs. Marks said. “The patient woke up disoriented and combative as would be in a real-world situation.”
The Pitt Pharmacy team was led by
Dr. James Coons, associate professor. He was assisted by Rx Ambassadors Addie Brown, a 2012 USC graduate; Shannon Ye, a 2013 West Allegheny High School graduate and daughter of Mrs. Kang who teaches Mandarin Chinese at USC High School; and Marissa Postava, a 2014 Montour High School graduate.
