Faculty of Pharmacy visit to Nursing Home
The Faculty of Pharmacy at Tishk International University arranged a visit to a Nursing Home in Erbil on December 22nd, 2021. The activity was organized and supervised by Dr. Ali Omar and coordinated with the help of Dr. Zeynel Polat, Dr. Rozhan Arif, Mr. Ganesh Babu L, Mr. Tahir Swar, and Ms. Elaf Najat. Twenty second and fourth-grade students participated in this social activity.
Prior to this visit, a fundraising campaign was held to collect funds. With the generous donations of our staff and students, approximately 730,000 IQD was collected and used to purchase and package different types of gifts and necessities including three wheelchairs, a crutch, clothing, personal hygiene products, tissues, and some food. This was also achieved with the assistance of our student volunteers who wished to participate in this community project.
Faculty staff and students were welcomed warmly by the Nursing Home Director and members and engaged in a conversation together to discuss administrative matters concerning the elderly home. The team was then toured around the house and visited the rooms where senior citizens stay. The administration also introduced the TIU team to the Nursing Home residents and explained the health conditions that some of the elderly members face and the disabilities they have. Students had an opportunity to talk to them and enjoyed spending time with senior residents of the home, listening to their emotional stories which students found touching, informative, and effective.
A fourth-grade student, Mustafa Nadir presented a speech about the importance of compliance and adherence to the medicine prescribed to the elderly patients who suffer from chronic diseases ”, explaining why it is important to adhere to these drugs and the consequences of poor compliance on their overall health.
The elderly residents of the home were very pleased with the visit and enjoyed spending time with our staff and students. To keep them happy and assured, our team promised to visit them again and guaranteed to provide drugs for the elderly patients who suffer from chronic disease and are financially low. This visit was indeed a good experience for our students; all enjoyed spending time with the lovely home residents and sharing their hardship and pain. This community activity helped motivate our students to think about how to be a contributing member of the community, and how one can help others to enhance the lives of those in need and make a difference.
