Pharmacy students serve while they learn

FAMU Pharmacy students operate four pharmacies throughout the state to gain practical experience while earning their degree. At the same time, the students also help the the indigent in need of medication.

The four FAMU pharmacies are located in Jacksonville, Tampa and two Tallahassee.

FAMU's Angela Massey Hill is a professor and interim director of Tallahassee's pharmacy practice campus. She said facilities throughout the state and at the Bond Health Care and Lincoln Neighborhood centers are a new phenomenon.

"We're probably pioneers," Hill said.

While other state university schools offer pharmacy as a major, students are usually required to get internships.

The pharmacies help students fulfill a certain number of course hours under the watchful eyes of the pharmacy managers and faculty. During their training, students learn prescription dispensing, pharmacy management, pharmacy law, patient interaction and interaction with co-workers.

Doctoral students get a chance to complete rounds - or work at different hospitals and clinics.

"They get a chance to convert classroom knowledge to practical experience," said Frank Emanuel, division director for the Jacksonville pharmacy. "They are getting exposure to various practice areas. They get to see where their interests may lie."

Patients who qualify for reduced medications by offering their salary pay scale receive greatly reduced medications. According to Pharmacy Manager Andrea Brown-Slater, the patients at the Bond Clinic get greatly discounted prices through a federal program. Brand-name drugs such as Lipitor, which manages cholesterol, normally costs $150, she said. With the discount, a patient would only be required to pay $24, Brown-Slater said.