Making the World a Better Place - Touro College

that to really be effective, we have to address
multiple audiences about this problem.”
The most important relationships, though,
are the ones with students in high schools.
Dr. Kovera says, “Ideally, students will begin
to open up to us as well as to their teachers
and guidance counselors.”
They are also seeking to recruit and train
“ambassadors”—high school students who
want to take leadership positions in combating
this public health issue. Dr.
Kovera says that as the
program develops, the Touro
team will begin to measure the
ambassadors’ levels of selfefficacy
and the inroads they
make toward promoting the
anti-drug abuse message with
their peers.
For Dr. Kovera, the best
outcome would be getting
feedback from a student who
– Dr. Craig Kovera, Department of
was in peril. “If a student
Pharmacy and Health Outcomes
comes back and says, ‘You
really helped me,’ I can’t think
of a better result.”
Though Sandy affected program activity in
Tottenville, which was turned into a shelter
post-storm, the Touro volunteers are eager to
“Touro students are role
models for high school
students. These are
motivated students
who really want to
participate in community
interventions.”
get back to work, and have been contacting
the schools to arrange events. They’re also
exploring ways to raise awareness by
partnering with hospitals. Since the program
is new, the Touro students are also creating
a living archive, with detailed records
conveying the exchanges between high
school students and Touro students.
Now in its second year, the program has
attracted great interest from Touro students,
with approximately 55 students expressing
interest for approximately 20 available
volunteer spots. An added benefit is that the
Touro students are role models for high
school students who might be interested in
pursuing careers in public health. Dr. Kovera
says of the Touro volunteers, “These are
motivated students who really want to
participate in community interventions.”
As the program develops, Patel is
thoughtful about the effect this work has on
the students. “If, in every educational
meeting, we have at least one student who
decides to stop abusing prescription drugs,
or realizes that ‘I can guide my friends who
are abusing’ or at least retains the message
that prescription drug abuse is harmful, that
would definitely be very beneficial and
meaningful.” n
30 TOURO LINKS I SPRING 2013