“Students love this type of learning, come to class prepared, and are able to apply their learning to real-life clinical scenarios in the classroom. This leads to long-term retention and application of knowledge.”
Dr. Melton's teaching philosophy is concerned with the heart as well as the head of learners. The integrated series also includes experiences that foster greater self-knowledge and empathy in students by challenging them to focus on the patient before the disease. To this end, Dr. Melton hosts lunch and learns where students and patients from the community can talk and ask questions of each other. “By meeting the patient before learning about the disease, the patient is forefront in the student’s mind.” Though voluntary, lunch and learns are always very well attended. Students also read books written by or from the patient perspective in order to reflect on their own feelings and presuppositions about the disease or condition. They write and discuss how the book has changed their perspective.
These innovative teaching efforts and her many related service and research projects make Dr. Melton a highly regarded and sought after teacher. She is a local resource for TBL which she notes can be applied in many disciplines beyond pharmacy and medicine.