American Lung Association Lung Force Expo

The San Diego American Lung Association (ALA) hosted its first annual Lung Force Expo on Friday, April 22, 2016, and CSHP-UCSD student pharmacists were eager to contribute. The day-long event featured several workshops geared towards two tracks: (1) asthmatic/COPD/lung cancer patients and their providers and (2) healthcare professionals specializing in these chronic diseases. During breaks in between the workshops, event attendees had the option to participate in a "passport activity" where they could visit different booths, master learning objectives at that booth, and get a stamp to be entered in a drawing. As part of the planning committee for this event, I worked with ALA staff, respiratory physicians, respiratory therapists and respiratory therapy students, and nursing students to develop learning objectives and a written script for each booth. Naturally, I focused on medication administration technique for metered dose inhalers (with and without spacers), dry powder inhalers, turbohalers, flexhalers, etc. On the day of the event, CSHP-UCSD student pharmacists manned the booths and educated attendees on proper technique for each inhaler. We enjoyed not only helping the community, but also applying the knowledge we learned from pharmacy practice! Many thanks ALA Lung Force Expo event coordinator Lisa Archibald and preceptor Dr. Timothy Morris for welcoming us on board and allowing us to put our skills into practice. Thank you to our fabulous CSHP-UCSD volunteers, Jenny Han, Justin Lin, Hien Huynh, Kaylene De Vries, Mahsa Malakootian, and Warren Yau for making this event possible.