4.4 - Dr Nkiruka Umaru. Tea, cake and medicines.

A real pleasure this week to welcome one the Pharmaceutical Journal's ‘Women to Watch in 2022’ Nkiruku Umuaru.

Nikkie is currently the Pharmacy Foundation Head of School, Interim Education and Training Lead at Health Education England as well Postgraduate Pharmacy Lead at the University of Herefordshire.

We chat to Nikkie about medicines in older people, and in particular how to have good conversations with them about their medicines. Nikkie tells us about how ‘Community Conversations about Medicines’ (often involving tea and cake) help patients understand their treatment, and also the MedCAM tool - a pre consultation aide-memoir that prepares people for their conversation with healthcare professionals.

Our Micro-discussion continues the theme of medicines in the elderly when we discuss the paper ‘Is polypharmacy associated with mortality in the very old:Findings from the Newcastle 85+ Study’ https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bcp.15211. Does each additional medicine really cause a 3% increase in mortality?

As with all our guests we ask Nikkie to pick a career influencing drug, anthem and a book that has influenced her work. For once Jamie hasn’t read the book choice!

Jamie references Dr Brian Goldmans Ted Talk - Drs Make Mistakes - Can we talk abou that; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUbfRzxNy20

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