N479 Professional Activity Evaluation Form

Your Name: Mackenzie Flaherty Date of Activities: 2/25 & 3/31 Faculty name: Beverly Bias

Describe the community service/professional activity/s you attended or participated with (be

specific about the purpose and your role):

The first professional activity that I participated in was the Asthma/COPD IPEP. The purpose of

this activity was to use an interdisciplinary approach to assess elders for symptoms of chronic

pulmonary diseases, provide appropriate health education regarding any assessment finding, and

make recommendations to a panel of MDs and DNPs regarding possible interventions and future

medical care. My role was to work in collaboration with students of medicine, pharmacy, and

dietetics, in order to accomplish these goals. I performed physical and verbal health history

assessments, reviewed the elders medication lists, taught about the signs and symptoms of

COPD/asthma exacerbations, and taught about interventions, such as proper oxygen and inhaler

use, as well as sleeping positions and accommodations for exercise. Finally, I presented my

findings to the panel. For the second professional activity, I was taught by an RN at the

Medication Management center about the work that the center does. She taught me about how

they conduct their research and the ongoing studies that are occurring, as well as the general

services that they provide. For the remainder of the time, I was involved in conducting phone

calls to CareMore customers. During these calls, I simply went over the patients medications

with them and made sure that they were taking them correctly and answered any medication

related questions that they might have.

Where was this held and what was was program/activity length?
The IPEP activity was held at St. Lukes Home in the dining area, and lasted from orientation at

7:30 to the end at 11:30. The Med Management experience occurred at the Medication

Management center and I shadowed Kate from 8:00 to 9:30 and shadowed the Medication

Management employee from 9:30 to 12:00.

Discuss the value of this experience to you (be specific).

The IPEP was valuable because it allowed me to practice reporting assessment findings to an

MD/NP. I have had many opportunities to practice assessments and health teaching, but have

significantly less opportunities to practice delivering this information to healthcare providers

higher up the chain, especially in an environment where I could receive feedback regarding the

quality of my report and ways to improve the effective conduction of the information. I was able

to receive feedback on my recommendations and learned about further methods of diagnosing

COPD, and the initial steps that an MD/NP would take with the given diagnosis and situation.

The Medication Management experience was valuable because it allowed me to practice

anticipating medication adherence issues and identifying solutions.

Would you recommend this specific communnity/professional experience in the future; why or

why not? (Describe)

I would recommend both activities, but the IPEP more highly. As I discussed above, it was a

unique opportunity for a nursing student to practice a much needed skill, communicating

assessment findings and recommendations to an MD, in a supportive environment and gain

feedback. Medication management was less educational, but it was helpful in learning about the

common barriers to medication adherence that people face, so that I can prevent them later on.

Brochure or proof of attendance obtained? Yes. Signature on validation of clinical hours form

obtained? Yes.