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By Sheila Roberson
roberson@rx.uga.edu
Tommy Johnson is an educator by desire and by predisposition. His family, including his grandparents, have been teachers; his mother was an art teacher and his father and brother are
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| Tommy Johnson demonstrates the use of a body-fat analyzer to Jackie McIntosh, a senior studying pharmacy at the university. The analysis is one of several tests conducted in the Wellness Clinic at the pharmacy school. |
former coaches who became school administrators. A high school science fair project comparing over-the-counter and prescription acne medications sparked his interest in pharmacy, but the teaching part came later.
After graduation from the University of South Carolina in 1987, Johnson took a job in a retail pharmacy. Conversations with diabetes patients made him realize how little many of them knew about their condition and its treatment. In 1995 he took advantage of an opportunity to coordinate the diabetes education program through the Anderson Area Medical Center in Anderson, S.C. During that time he also earned a Doctor of Pharmacy degree.
There is a trend for pharmacists to become more specialized in certain disease states, such as asthma, diabetes and anti-coagulation management, Johnson says. Up until now, diabetes education has been undertaken primarily by nurses and dieticians, but more pharmacists and physical therapists are now getting their credentials.
To be a certified diabetes educator, Johnson had to have 2,000 direct patient-counseling hours, in which he conducted individual patient assessments and developed plans of care.
“Certified diabetes educators assist patients in improving their clinical and personal diabetes outcomes,” Johnson says. “That could mean identification of foot problems, suggestions for medication adjustment or ways to improve nutrition. We do whatever we can to provide patients with the tools they need to improve their medical situation and obtain help from other health care providers.”
Johnson has expanded his role as a diabetes educator at the College of Pharmacy by establishing a Wellness Clinic and Patient Education Program for UGA students and employees. In this program, second- and third-year pharmacy doctoral students and graduate students in nutrition in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences provide health screenings and patient education on various topics.
The screening program, says Johnson, shows students how pharmacists can play a key role in identifying potential problems with obesity, cholesterol, blood pressure and bone density. They learn the value of ongoing monitoring of patients’ conditions to see if patient education, patient lifestyle modifications and medical therapy have achieved positive clinical outcomes. If patients do not achieve their goals, the pharmacist can notify the physician for possible changes in therapy.
“Our Pharm.D. students want to be more involved in patient care in the holistic sense; they want to do more than just dispense medications,” says Johnson. “We are able to show them that pharmacist care is more than just a concept, and that increased pharmacist involvement can benefit patients. Through working in the Wellness Clinic, students can see how their profession interacts with other disciplines in assisting patients with their health care. Upon graduation they will have the skills necessary to start disease management programs in their own community pharmacies.”
Wellness Clinic
Second and fourth Wednesdays
of each month
6:30-9 a.m.
260 pharmacy building
Call for appointment: 542-7400
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