Student Pharmacist

                               Megan Alhadeff

For many college students, health is not often prioritized amidst a robust academic, social, and extracurricular calendar. For Megan Alhadeff, a third-year PharmD and MBA student at the Oregon State University (OSU) and Oregon Health and Sciences University College of Pharmacy (CoP), women’s health is too important to overlook. 

A 2021 recipient of the APhA Foundation’s Pharmacists Mutual Community Pharmacy Scholarship, Megan has noticed that there are not a lot of opportunities for pharmacists to gain experience in health issues that are of particular importance to women. In 2019, she co-founded the OSU / OHSU CoP Operation Women’s Health (OWH) to promote the education of women’s health at various levels: community, campus, and to current student pharmacists.

“I haven’t had the best experience with my own reproductive and feminine care,” says Megan.  “To be a part of creating opportunities for future practitioners to get it right means the world to me, and I hope it makes a difference for someone else.”

The well-received Operation Women’s Health platform at OSU/OHSU CoP is aligned with the APhA-ASP’s Operation Women’s Health Campaign and implements a range of activities from breast-cancer screenings to programs on reproductive health education. Megan adds, “Operation Women’s Health provides opportunities for student pharmacists to learn and have practical experiences educating and caring for women.”

Current Operation Women’s Health at OSU co-chairs are P2 students Anna Tang and Teresa Sorenson

 

 

 

 

Operation Women’s Health at OSU Events

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Community Events:
    • Breast cancer screening education with a synthetic model (New 2020-2021!)
    • Self-examination education
    • Mammograms matter (pen-light shows non-palpable lumps)
    • Writing Letters to Grace Center: A local specialized health and social adult day center for seniors and adults with disabilities. 
  • Campus Events: 
    • Reproductive health education: (2019-current)
      • Women’s health virtual resources guide on:
        • Contraceptive Care (CCARE):  This allows Student Health Services to provide reproductive health care and contraceptive services to women and men who meet certain income criteria.

·     HPV vaccine education and HPV vaccination clinics 

·     Family planning information and resources 

  • Opportunities for Pharmacy Students:
    • Counseling sessions on Over the counter (OTC) & Prescription (Rx) meds specific to women’s health (New 2020-2021!)
  • Brief description of projects P1s (first-year pharmacy students) can be involved in: 

o   Article presentation: practice public speaking - present on an article focused on a women's health topic (New 2020-2021!)

o   Posters creation and distribution: currently have HPV poster, opportunities for other topics such as vaginal mutilation, chronic pain disorders in women, endometriosis, etc (2019-current)