Patients waited in a long line to receive health care from the Global Brigades team. Nicholas Paulson: “Student pharmacists gave medical students a crash course in pharmacy workflow. In no time, they were naturals.”

This year, during the first week of June, 37 students from the Thomas Jefferson University (TJU) Jefferson College of Pharmacy (JCP), Sidney Kimmel Medical College (SKMC), and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) traveled to Nicaragua with Global Brigades, an international organization dedicated to providing health care and stability to underserved communities across the globe. Global Brigades organizes student-led trips to ensure dozens of communities receive health care services several times per year. Providing regular health care allows communities to focus on establishing a sustainable infrastructure. 

The organization strives to empower these communities to become completely self-sustainable, and has been successful in 11 communities since 2007. 

You may not give a second thought as you dispense an antihypertensive medication to an elderly patient. It makes sense, nothing out of the ordinary. But what goes through your mind, however briefly, when a woman asks for emergency contraception? When a gentleman cannot afford his opioid replacement therapy? When a young man presents a new prescription for an antiretroviral? When a mother is taking multiple antipsychotics? When an individual begins their gender transitioning process and asks about the adverse effects of their hormone replacement therapy? 

I trust that the majority of you will maintain your professionalism and deliver the care these patients need. However, on a deeper level, some of these situations might make you uncomfortable. Our minds become defensive whenever we are uneasy and attempt to restore normalcy.  If we allow our judgments and preconceived notions to go unchecked, we can unintentionally create a barrier between us and patients, the people whom we took an oath to care for.

In October, Daniel Galipeau (fourth from right) participated in the 2017 APhA 5K Fun Run/Walk at APhA headquarters in Washington, DC.

It is safe to say that pharmacy school is stressful. When you add life, work, family, and finances into the mix,  stress can become overwhelming. 

When I am overwhelmed, I think about my stressors, which makes me more stressed. Does that happen to you? What I have found is that one of the best methods to manage stress effectively is through group activities. Here are my top five ways to de-stress for success.

Group exercise

Exercise is a great way to relieve stress. However, it can get pretty boring running or biking by yourself, especially if you plan on anything longer than 20 to 30 minutes. Why not bring along an exercise buddy or two? After I joined a running group, I found that not only was my motivation easier to keep up, but I could push my workout even further. If you don’t like to run or bike outside, many gyms and health centers have group classes for everything, from Zumba to cycling to yoga. Shedding your stress while shredding some dance moves to Shakira or Bruno Mars is a great way to get in shape and have a great time, too!