by Alana Rigby
Candy or medicine? The difference between colourful pills and tasty treats was the subject of much discussion when pharmacy students Sarah Blythe and Katie Gammage reached out to the community as part of the Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA) Kids and Medicine program.
Blythe and Gammage spent their co-op term with CPhA in Ottawa. As part of their work term, they led Kids and Medicine workshops aimed at elementary school students. Kids and Medicine connects pharmacy students with classrooms to promote safe medication use.
“It felt great to reach out to the community!” said Gammage. “It was amazing to see how interested the kids were in pharmacists and medicine safety and it was nice to get the chance to hear and answer their questions about medicine.”
Second year students Blythe and Gammage presented at Vincent Massey Public School, instructing and entertaining an audience of kindergarten students.
“This was a very interactive presentation where students could learn and share their experience with medicine, talk about their allergies, stay safe… and ask about what pharmacists can do to help people,” commented Bettina Desbordes, a senior kindergarten teacher in the early French immersion program at Vincent Massey.
But the program benefits more than just the audience. As Blythe indicates, it’s an educational experience for presenters as well.
“Presenting Kids and Medicine is a very rewarding opportunity that makes me proud to be a future pharmacist.”
