{"id":131839,"date":"2026-05-05T01:58:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T06:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=131839"},"modified":"2026-05-04T11:59:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T16:59:50","slug":"131839","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/05\/131839\/","title":{"rendered":"Counseling-pharmacy collaboration fosters new level of training"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"panel body-content\"><div class=\"panel__container\">\n<p>When third-year pharmacy students asked for more challenging patient scenarios as part of the UNMC College of Pharmacy\u2019s series of pharmacotherapy skills labs, faculty sat down and thought about what an especially challenging scenario might be. Many scenarios came up in the discussion, with one standing out that faculty felt was one of the most vital and necessary skills:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Serving as a pharmacist who is working with a patient who might be having suicidal thoughts or expressing mental health crises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s one of those scenarios that a lot of us have had, that the first time you are caught off guard. We wanted to help our students feel more prepared and capable of having this difficult conversation in a safe space before encountering it in the real world,\u201d said Kristen Cook, PharmD, clinical associate professor of pharmacy practice and science and director of the pharmacotherapy skills labs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s a tough situation. A pharmacist might be seeing a patient for diabetes or high blood pressure \u2013 and realize they need another kind of help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs someone who is looking at going to work in a rural community where mental health professionals are scarce, I know at some point I will probably have to deal with this situation,\u201d P3 Maddie Moore said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In rural areas, pharmacists are sometimes one of the few health care providers in the community. They also are likely to know and be known and trusted by their patients. They can be there to make a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But how can UNMC prepare these future pharmacists? Dr. Cook reached out to Jeff Knapp, director of UNMC Counseling and Psychological Services. The result was an exciting new interprofessional collaboration and one of the biggest jumps in confidence among students, according to pre- and post-exercise surveys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI went into this training feeling a bit nervous because of how serious and unfamiliar the topic was, but the CAPS counselors were great at breaking things down and walking us through how to recognize warning signs and respond appropriately,\u201d said Andrea Lopez Mercado, another P3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>CAPS first conducted an introductory training session for students. Then, the following class, CAPS team members played the role of patients during simulation exercises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI found the mock patient activity very valuable,\u201d Lopez Mercado said, \u201cbecause this is a heavy topic that may require asking uncomfortable questions, and practicing these conversations in a realistic setting helped me feel more comfortable and prepared to handle them in real life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An additional benefit was having therapists and counselors right there if the students were affected by the serious topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis subject can be difficult to approach, but with this experience, I feel prepared to handle it with empathy, understanding and compassion,\u201d Moore said. \u201cAs the most accessible healthcare professionals, pharmacists are uniquely positioned to make a difference for patients experiencing mental health problems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPharmacists are in a very unique and accessible position to identify at-risk patients,\u201d Lopez Mercado said, \u201cand this training helped me feel more prepared to approach those situations with the appropriate tools and care.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New, challenging patient scenarios in skills labs for the UNMC College of Pharmacy took students beyond the prescription.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":98123,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"38404,60876,106768,128349,63536,49116","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","topic-wellness","department-college-of-pharmacy","department-unmc-today-todays-headlines","author_override-kalani-simpson-unmc-strategic-communications"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - 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