Before the first tone of the morning, members of the Excalibur Science National Honor Society had a chance to meet and listen to guest speaker, Mr. Randall V. Schexnayder, RPh, MSPH. Schexnayder is the Assistant Dean for Professionalism at Xavier College of Pharmacy, here in New Orleans. Schexnayder reins from Vacherie, LA but spoke of his journey on how he got into medicine and pharmacy at Xavier University of Louisiana.
Schexnayder’s first interaction with pharmaceuticals was when he was a child and spent time at his mother’s work at a local pharmacy in town. This connection sparked a pathway for Schexnayder’s career choice later on. He was a part of the five-year program at Xavier University and Xavier College of Pharmacy. Xavier is a very special place for Schexnayder as he is an alumnus and current employee of the institution. A 1980 graduate of Xavier’s College of Pharmacy with licensure in the State of Louisiana, he also received an M.S. in Public Health from Tulane University School of Public Health.
Throughout the presentation, Schexnayder highlighted many key components and factors in being a pharmacist. He reiterated to the students that Pharmacy is an integral part of health care and the backbone of pharmaceutical health care is patient education. He spoke about medication compliance, nutrition, exercise, disease state management and many other focuses in pharmacy school.
Schexnayder shared with the Excalibur members a “sick model” that is taught during pharmacy school. The “sick model” teaches pharmacy students to learn how to be compassionate and to meet the patient needs first and foremost. He reminded them that, as a pharmacist, being able to communicate with your patients about their specific medication and their medical needs is crucial to the occupation.
Further explaining about healthcare, Schexnayder spoke how healthcare is a team effort. He listed the different career paths that are available as a pharmacist: community pharmacy, consulting, hospital pharmacy, clinical services, academia and long-term care/ hospice. Schexnayder had the full attention of all the students when he concluded with a great reminder, “never ignore any opportunity!”
We thank Mr. Randall Schexnayder, from Xavier College of Pharmacy, for coming to talk to our Excalibur members!
