UC Winkler College of Pharmacy Graduate Brings Vitamin and Pain Management Courses to Communiversity

With vast amounts of health-related products on the market today, wading through all the information to know which ones are best can be quite confusing.

“There are so many products available today and so many things that can be acquired easily even through the internet that it is imperative to help people choose wisely the substances they take and to understand the possible consequences and benefits of these agents and choices,” said James Kiffmeyer, a registered pharmacist and graduate of the University of Cincinnati's James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy.

Patients often ask him which products are best and which vitamins and minerals are essential for people their age. Kiffmeyer said people want to know if vitamin and mineral supplements are necessary and if vitamins and minerals help or harm.

This summer, Kiffmeyer will bring his expertise from the College of Pharmacy to Communiversity with two new courses:

Pain Management

and Drug Therapy

and

Vitamins, Minerals and You.

In

Pain Management and Drug Therapy

, Kiffmeyer will cover the most important and commonly used substances for pain management, their clinical uses, proper dosage, adverse effects and potential drug interactions. He also will explain safety considerations in choosing substances to treat pain, proper use during pregnancy and age-appropriate uses, among other issues.

The course will look at both prescription and non-prescription medication, including opioids and other medications used for pain management such as corticosteroids, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), lidocaine patches, acetaminophen and herbal and dietary supplements used to manage pain.

Pain Management and Drug Therapy

takes place on July 18 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on UC's Victory Parkway Campus. The course fee is $35.

Vitamins, Minerals and You

will cover the most important and commonly used vitamins and minerals. Kiffmeyer will provide descriptions of the various plants or natural resources used as supplements, clinical use and dosage information, potential drug interactions and adverse effects, the risks versus benefits, use during pregnancy and with specific age groups, and additional links to important resources.

Vitamins, Minerals and You

takes place on August 8 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on UC's Victory Parkway Campus. The course fee is $35.

“Many people would like to know more about these topics and Communiversity provides a platform for this kind of presentation,” Kiffmeyer said. “I am excited to bring my pharmaceutical background, training and practice to share with the Communiversity community.”

Kiffmeyer continued his education after graduating from the College of Pharmacy, receiving a master's degree and embarking on a career in teaching. He has taught chemistry and pharmacology at the high school and college level, including the UC Blue Ash campus. Kiffmeyer’s practice of pharmacy mostly has been in the independent retail setting. Additionally, he is the director of member services for the Veteran Apothecaries Association of Cincinnati (VAAC) and a member of the UC College of Pharmacy Alumni Council, Ohio Pharmacists Association and the TriCounty Pharmacists Association.

Communiversity

offers fun and innovative continuing education courses to enrich the lives of those around Cincinnati and beyond. With locations both on UC Victory Parkway Campus and around Cincinnati, Communiversity makes it easy for working professionals, retirees, and other lifelong learners to develop new skills and hobbies.

To register for Kiffmeyer’s courses, visit our

website

or call (513) 556-6932 and press 2.

UC and UC Health employees receive 50% off the fee of one course each term.

Cassie Lipp earned her BA from UC in English and Journalism, with a concentration in poetry. She is the recipient of the 2016 Jean Chimsky Poetry Prize and her work has been featured in UC's undergraduate literary journal Short Vine. She is the founder of the independent publishing company Naturalized Publishing and the author of the 2017 book Queen City Records, which tells the history of Cincinnati's record stores.