“Why don’t you just take your meds?”
CIT Officer Wendi Shackelford
Anchorage (Alaska) Police Department
revised: August 2012
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OBJECTIVES

Participants will gain practical application and
working knowledge regarding medications which
they can use to train their CIT officers

Participants will begin to understand issues
regarding medication compliance

Participants will engage in hands-on activity that
increases empathy for mentally ill regarding
medications
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MEDI-SET INTRODUCTION
Day 1
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
The best time to introduce the medi-sets
exercise is about thirty minutes before
lunch on the first day of class


lunch hour to load their medi-sets
GOAL: maintain medication compliance, as
directed, for four full days of class
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MEDI-SET PREPARATION
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1. READING YOUR PRESCRIPTIONS
ABBREVIATION
a.c.
LATIN
TRANSLATION
ante cibum
am
WHAT IT MEANS
ABBREVIATION
before meals
WHAT IT MEANS
O.S.
LATIN
TRANSLATION
oculo sinistro
morning
O.U.
oculo utro
in each eye
post cibum
after meals
b.i.d.
bis in die
twice a day
p.c.
b.i.n.
bis in noctus
twice a night
pm
c
cum
with
cap
capsula
capsule
d
dies
day
daw
dispense as written
(no substituting
generic or brand
name drugs)
gtt
gutta
drop
h.s.
hora somni
bedtime
i
one dose
ii
two doses
iii
three doses
I.M.
into the muscle
I.V.
into the vein
mg
milligram
ml
milliliter
noxt
at night
O.D.
oculo dextro
right eye
left eye
afternoon/evening
p.o.
per os
by mouth
p.r.n.
pro re nata
as needed
pil
pilula
pill
qh
quaque hora
every hour
q3h
quaque 3 hora
every 3 hours
qAM
every morning
qd
quaque die
daily
q.i.d.
quater in die
four times a day
q.o.d
every other day
s
sine
without
s.l.
sub lingual
under the tongue
tab
tabella
tablet
t.i.d.
ter in die
three times a day
tsp
teaspoon
tbsp
tablespoon
ut dict
as directed by
doctor
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EXAMPLE

Seroquel 100 mg, po q iTID i prn for
agitation

TRANSLATION:

“Take your Seroquel 100 mg pills by mouth
(po) at the rate (q) of one pill (i) three times
(TID) a day plus one additional pill (i) as
needed (prn) if your symptoms of agitation
increase or become intolerable”
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2. MENTAL ILLNESS SELECTION
Allow people to pick their mental illness of
choice (from six common diagnoses)
 Distribute relevant mental illness sheet to
each person







Schizoaffective disorder bi-polar type
Bipolar I disorder MRE manic
Schizophrenia paranoid type
Bipolar II disorder
Major depression
Borderline personality disorder
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3. DISTRIBUTE MEDI-SETS
Medi-sets should have selected
prescription information already secured
to the bottom
 Skittles represent psychotropic and other
prescribed medications


Some illnesses may need two packets of Skittles based on the
number of medications to be taken and size of the medi-set

Use the Skittles that have mixed up flavors for best
impact
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3a. SELF MEDICATION

Jelly Belly candies represent all other
substances people might use to manage
their symptoms AKA “self-medication”
Discussion:


Why do people self-medicate?
What are some of the common substances
they might use?
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COMMON SUBSTANCES TO
SELF MEDICATE









Benadryl
Cocaine
Nicotine
Marijuana
Alcohol
Inhalants
Other people’s
prescription meds
Morphine
Ecstasy






Methamphetamine
Viagra
Steroids
Ambien
Heroin
Dextromethorphan




DM
Psilocybin mushrooms
K2/spice
caffeine
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
Allow students time to interpret their
prescriptions and then load their medisets with prescription medications (Skittles)

Allow students to add self medications to
their medi-sets at their discretion (Jelly
Bellies)

Provide unlimited access to self
medications throughout the entire course
and remember to keep them fully stocked
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REMINDERS

As the course instructor, provide regular, all day
reminders of…




“Remember to take your medications!”
“Are you medicated?”
“Have you taken your meds today?”
You simulate their caseworkers, doctors, care
providers, family members, nurses, neighbors,
first responders, and anyone else who has a
vested interest in their medication compliance
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4. DAY 1 HOMEWORK

Go to www.nami.org
Have students read about the following:



Common symptoms of your illness
Common medications used to treat your illness
Common side effects of those medications
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INCREASING MEDICATION
COMPLIANCE
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COMPLIANCE BY REWARDS

On day 2, ask who has been med compliant.
Reward with…


On day 3 or 4, ask who has been consistently
med compliant. Consider rewarding with…




Play money
Play credit cards
Special trips i.e. to the zoo, shopping mall
Other special rewards
On day 4 or 5, ask who has been consistently
med compliant. Consider rewarding with…


Pets
Their own room or apartment
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COMPLIANCE BY PUNISHMENT

On day 3, 4, or 5 publicly admonish one or
two students for failing to comply and
then withhold the reward that is publicly
bestowed on others

On day 4 or 5, take a reward from one or
two previously compliant students who
have not maintained continuous
compliance
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MEDI-SET DEBRIEFING
Day 5
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DEBRIEFING WITH YOUR STUDENTS
What is the purpose of this exercise?
 Why were you rewarded for compliance?
 Why were you punished for lack of
compliance?
 What did you experience as you tried to
maintain medication compliance?
 How hard was it to take your medication
as prescribed?

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










No money for medications
I ran out of medications
I substituted them for
another pill, substance, or
drug
I took them to please the
instructor, doctor,
counselor, etc
I don’t know how to take
them
I forgot them
I lost them
I swapped them with
someone else for theirs
I gave them to someone
else
My kids ate them
I didn’t feel like taking
them










I don’t know how to read
the prescription
I didn’t take them as
prescribed
I took them all at once
I don’t think I need them
Someone stole them
Medical issues that are
complicated by meds i.e.
diabetes
I dropped them under the
fridge, in the parking lot,
on the floor
I didn’t like the way they
tasted
I didn’t like the way they
made me feel
My dog ate them
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PRACTICAL APPLICATION
driving the point home
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18 minutes
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THE MEDICATION CHALLENGE
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I
am looking for 48 people willing
to “medicate” for the remainder of
the CIT International conference
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IF YOU ARE WILLING…

Pick up the following supplies at the
back of the room:
 One
medi-set with prescription
 One package of Skittles
 One package of Jelly Bellies
 One mental illness sheet that matches your
medi-set prescription
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THANK YOU!!!
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CONTACT INFORMATION
 Officer
Wendi Shackelford
Voice mail: 907-786-2692
 Email: wshackelford@muni.org

revised: August 2012
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