Pharmacy Clinical Professor Virginia Lemay focuses on prevention, wellness, holistic health
Pharmacists in today’s health care environment need to be do more than provide pills, patches, or creams for customers in the pharmacy. They need to be full-service healthcare providers, examining a patient from a whole perspective, and helping them understand not just their medications but their overall health.
“It is more than just giving them a pill to fix X, Y or Z,” said Ginger Lemay, clinical professor in the URI College of Pharmacy. “I wondered what can I do to make them feel better in their body, mind and spirit? Thinking of the whole person. Our health care system is missing this, so I believe our pharmacy students should learn more than just which drugs to prescribe. What else can I do to support this patient?”
It’s a perspective Lemay has held since her early career as a community pharmacist, one she continues in her community practice at Walgreens and the Visiting Nurses Association, and has brought into the classrooms in Avedisian Hall. She integrates standard, Western health care with more holistic wellness methods, including yoga, meditation, massage therapy, acupuncture, and more. Such whole health methods are the focus of a new course she created in Integrative Health, which teaches pharmacy students to think about different ways to care for patients.
“This unique class teaches students how to take care of a patient other than just giving them a patch or a pill,” Lemay said. “A patient may be prescribed medicine for their blood sugar, for example, but they may not like the way it makes them feel, which may lead to feelings of depression and anxiety. We think of our patients receiving chemotherapy. The medication may be curing their cancer, but we need to think of all the other things they’re dealing with in their body that we don’t always properly address. I started thinking what else do I have to offer them? We’re teaching students how to take care of other people, but it’s also a reminder to take care of themselves.”
Lemay is helping faculty, staff, and students do just that with weekly wellness programs in and around Avedisian Hall. In addition to organizing immunization clinics in the college and around the Kingston Campus, she leads yoga classes in the Youngken Medicinal Garden. She also works with the students to organize meditation sessions, therapeutic painting classes, and pet therapy sessions, among other programs.
“I believe everyone in this college knows wellness is part of our culture,” Lemay said. “We understand it is a very demanding curriculum and profession. Many of our faculty members have clinical practice sites, so we know their responsibilities and stress levels are high. And we also know that if faculty are in a good place, that can translate into students being in a good place.”
Lemay’s efforts have drawn substantial recognition in the College and the community. The former president of the Rhode Island Pharmacist’s Association and “true advocate for health” was named a Healthcare Hero by the Providence Business News, which noted “her research on stress reduction to her holistic approach to patient care.” And last year, graduating students voted for Lemay as the College of Pharmacy Faculty Member of the Year.
“I was surprised by the faculty of the year; I never thought I would achieve that,” said Lemay, who serves as an advisor to students as well as a preceptor to 6th year PharmD students on clinical rotations and Residency Program Director for her postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) residency program. “It really meant a lot the students saw me that way. I started my career as a pharmacist and wanted to share the joy I have of pharmacy and caring for people with the students, and wanted to inspire them to be that way, too.”
Lemay teaches on a variety of topics including integrative health, cardiovascular health, and self-care, in addition to guest lecturing throughout the college on wellness, mindfulness and holistic care. She continues to organize immunization clinics, recently vaccinating students, faculty and staff against the flu, COVID, RSV, Pneumococcal, Shingles, Tdap, Mpox, Meningitis B and HPV.
“I am an advocate for vaccination. I see it as preventative healthcare, like the wellness initiatives,” Lemay said. “We need to invest in taking care of patients before things are broken, really have a more proactive approach instead of fixing things when people already feel sick, sad or defeated. I’m trying to prevent that by educating people and showing them additional ways of doing things for themselves and their patients.”