Alison Van Dyke, PharmD, is a 2024 graduate of the Binghamton University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (BUSOPPS) and Ashton McCormack is a final-year PharmD candidate at BUSOPPS.
BUSOPPS welcomed its inaugural PharmD class in August 2017, and since then has significantly advanced its APhA–ASP Chapter through patient care outreach, policy and advocacy efforts, social media presence, professional development, and collaboration with internal student pharmacist organizations and external organizations throughout the Binghamton area. Coming out of the pandemic and for the first time facing no restrictions, our Executive Board was ambitious and prepared to strengthen our chapter during the 2022–2023 academic year.
We are so honored to have been the recipient of the APhA–ASP Most Improved Chapter Award presented at APhA’s 2024 Annual Meeting & Exposition in Orlando this past March.
Impactful, innovative events
With the leadership of our entire E-Board, including Alison Van Dyke, APhA–ASP Chapter president during the award-winning 2022–2023 period, the chapter started the year strong with a goal of not only hosting more events, but more innovative events with a larger impact on student pharmacists and local community members. Throughout the year, our chapter hosted 48 events, collaborating with 31 external organizations and 16 internal student organizations to provide opportunities for patient care, professional development, and advocacy.
Notable patient care achievements came through our OTC Medicine Safety campaign which aimed to focus on educating for appropriate storage, disposal, and uses of OTC medications, as well as special populations. The fall semester was dedicated to pediatric populations, collaborating with local elementary schools to educate on the importance of discerning medication from candy and the roles of a pharmacist. The spring semester was dedicated to aging populations, collaborating with the Broome County Office for Aging, local senior centers, and The Rural and Underserved Service Track to provide medication safety seminars on important questions to ask pharmacists and prescribers, medication adherence, reading drug labels, storage and disposal, and risks of interactions.
From the success of these events and leadership of Alexandria Ocker and Grace Vaca, final-year PharmD candidates and OTC Medicine Safety co-chairs during the award-winning 2022–2023 period, our chapter was honored to receive the OTC Medicine Safety Award for Region 1, presented at the 2023 APhA–ASP Midyear Regional Meeting last November.
Advocacy a top priority
Another major improvement involved policy and advocacy efforts with events focused on impact and importance, how to go about it, and opportunities to participate. In collaboration with Binghamton University’s Center for Civic Engagement, our chapter held the “Policy & Advocacy How To and Voter Registration Drive,” where student pharmacists improved their policy knowledge on voter registration, submitting an absentee ballot, effectively contacting state legislators, and the APhA–ASP policy proposal process.
Additionally, Kenneth McCall, PharmD, BCGP, FAPhA, a clinical professor at BUSOPPS, hosted “Pharmacy Advocacy: Promoting Your Profession.” This session discussed how policy and advocacy impacts pharmacy practice, our careers as health care professionals, and our care for patients and the communities we serve.
Chapter advisors paved the way
The E-Board would like to extend our gratitude to our chapter co-advisors—Dr. McCall and Emily Leppien, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP, a clinical assistant professor at BUSOPPS—for their guidance and past leadership in paving the way for us. We are excited for what the future brings and hope to continue inspiring future generations of pharmacists through our innovation and engagement.