Recognizing the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy’s (SOP) ability and desire to serve the public, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) requested a partnership initiative to address the growing epidemic of opioid abuse among adolescents.
As a result, Jessica Kerr, PharmD, SOP interim associate dean, and Chris Herndon, PharmD, professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, along with fourth-year students Jazmine Rosales of Elgin and Paris Smith of Chicago, developed curriculum. The program launched this month, and uses active learning to educate scouts on the dangers of misuse and abuse of prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications.
“Dr. Herndon has been instrumental in taking our vision to the next level by creating an online portal for the Boy Scouts to be able to take this five-module training,” Kerr said. “Boy Scouts in fifth through eighth grades can take the interactive training for a regional badge completion.”
“There are national resources available to educate youth on the dangers of prescription and over-the-counter abuse, but many agencies and organizations are at a loss as to how to address the issues,” Herndon said. “This program incorporates activities for troop leaders to discuss with their scouts, and has the potential to educate thousands of scouts and troop leaders.”
The training modules will take approximately 1.5 hours to complete in total at different times and will be coordinated with BSA den meetings. A facilitator’s handbook is available for den leaders, parents or pharmacy students to lead den meetings and provide the education to the scouts. Facilitators will learn how to create an atmosphere in the meeting to promote discussion about social/legal consequences of drug abuse. They will engage in a game to help further the discussion in a face-to-face manner.
The collaborative project received funding through a Meridian Society award. As an auxiliary organization of the SIUE Foundation, the Meridian Society invests in SIUE community-based projects.
The Boy Scouts of America provides the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training, which helps young people be “Prepared. For Life.®” The Scouting organization is composed of nearly 2.2 million youth members between the ages of 5 and 21, and approximately 960,000 volunteers in local councils throughout the U.S. and its territories. For more information on the Boy Scouts of America, visit Scouting.org.
Today’s pharmacists improve patients’ lives through the medication and education they provide. Dedicated to developing a community of caring pharmacists, the SIUE School of Pharmacy curriculum is nationally recognized as a model that offers students a unique combination of classroom education, research, community service and patient care. The School of Pharmacy’s areas of excellence include a drug design and discovery core; pediatric practice; chronic pain research and practice; and diabetes research and practice. As the only downstate Illinois pharmacy doctorate program, the SIUE School of Pharmacy is addressing the growing need for highly trained pharmacists in a rapidly growing field.
Photo (L-R): SIUE School of Pharmacy Interim Associate Dean Jessica Kerr and Chris Herndon, professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice.