When you think of Miss America, you probably don’t think of a scientist pursuing her doctorate degree in pharmacy at Virginia Commonwealth University
Jul 30, 2021,09:00am EDT|132 views
Miss America Is A Pharmacist: How Camille Schrier Advocates For Change In The Opioid Crisis, Jessica GoldContributor
I write about mental health, the media, and everything in between.
When you think of Miss America, you probably don’t think of a scientist pursuing her doctorate degree in pharmacy at Virginia Commonwealth University, who speaks about the opioid epidemic and medication safety. Conversely, when you think of a pharmacist, you probably don’t think of a woman in heels and makeup, who enjoys fashion, just as much as science.
But, that is just who you get when you meet Camille Schrier, Miss America 2020 and an incoming second year pharmacy graduate student. In representing the balance of the two, and educating people about both roles, she has been able to break down many different stereotypes. She calls herself a “science princess” and perhaps this is best showcased by her unique talent from competition. She did a science experiment. Though the idea was to display her skills and talents, and the experiment itself came from YouTube, to Camille it really represents, “just being yourself in every situation.”?
Perhaps that attitude has allowed her to use her time as Miss America to compliment her education and future career in pharmacy in unexpected ways. Chief among them is using her advocacy platform for her social impact initiative, “Mind Your Meds,” which has a strong focus on combating the opioid epidemic. In other words, she used her newfound megaphone to try to make larger changes in her future field.
She explains, “One of the things that I started to really recognize in my role is how much pharmaceutical products can be misused in a way that leads to overdoses and substance use disorder, and that it's more than just, you know, someone deciding to pick up an illicit drugs out of the blue, and become addicted to that substance...Once I became a pharmacy student, I started to understand how...substances that people have found to be so beneficial, can also be dangerous for some people.
Camille on stage speaking about her social impact initiative, “Mind Your Meds,” which has a strong?... [+]?MISS AMERICA ORGANIZATION
Miss America also led her to new partnerships, like hers with?Safe Rx, a company fighting America’s opioid epidemic with its locking pill bottles, to help with medication safety in the home and safe storage. The locking pill bottles are kind of like safety locks on guns, or seatbelts in cars, and actually help put safety controls on medications via a combination lock.
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Camille holds SafeRx prescription bottles that help put safety controls on medication via a?... [+]?CAMILLE SCHRIDoing so prevents kids, for example, who are home right now from accessing them, especially unsupervised. Camille feels having a possible solution allows her to take a step beyond educating people about risks, and provides people with actionable steps. She can focus on prevention, which she believes increases her power as an advocate.?
Prevention is one key for change, as is actually talking about the epidemic out loud. This is sorely needed particularly right now as deaths in the United States due to drug overdoses are at an all time high. In fact, recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)?data, show that more than 93,000 people died from overdose in the last year, an increase of nearly 30% from 2019. Yet, if you turn on the television, the media rarely discusses it.?
Camille says, “The thing that really kind of breaks my heart is when I watch T.V. during Covid-19 and I hear about the Covid-19 death numbers, and I hear about the vaccines that are being quickly developed to be able to overcome this pandemic. There's a silent epidemic of addiction and substance use disorder that happens in our country, and has been continuing to happen for 10, 15, 20 years and has never gotten the type of publicity or action that Covid-19 has because of the stigma associated with it.”?
She points out that this remains true even as the numbers have increased and the conversation has become even more critical. However, the media silence has only increased her desire to be an advocate for change and to become a pharmacist.?
She says, “If we think of a commercial aircraft that would go down every single day, that's about the amount of people that die every single day from an opioid overdose right now. And, trying to do everything that I can in my power to be able to reduce that number, or keep that plane from crashing every day, is something that I'm really passionate about and will continue to be passionate about.”
Camille is looking forward to getting back to school in a few weeks from her 2-year hiatus. She just needs to dust off her white coat and heels for the occasion.
If you or someone you love is struggling with substance use and want to talk to someone, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357). It is a confidential, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, that provides referrals to?local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations.
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