Do politicians in the midst of a legislative session have higher blood pressure?
Does testifying at the Unicameral make one’s blood sugar go low?
What about lobbyists? Any health concerns there?
Because of HIPAA laws, we may never know.
But thanks to students from the College of Pharmacy, the folks listed above will.
Pharmacy students recently set up shop at the state capitol in Lincoln to do health screenings for state senators, staff, lobbyists, testifiers and assorted passersby. The students saw more than 30 people in the health screening room, reported Ally Dering-Anderson, Pharm.D., assistant professor of pharmacy practice.
“The students organized it by themselves,” Dr. Dering-Anderson said.
The students tested blood pressure, blood sugar and bone density as an outreach activity through their work with the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists.
The students approached the Nebraska Pharmacists Association: It was important that pharmacy have a public face to lawmakers.
Because students can’t practice without the supervision of a licensed pharmacist, Dr. Dering-Anderson and Charles Krobot, Pharm.D., associate dean in the College of Pharmacy, also made the trip.
The students were encouraged that many who stopped by were already keeping tabs on their health. Some “patients” came in because they’d been told to keep track of their blood pressure – and, voila, there were (future) pharmacists.
There was UNMC.