Brianna Pritchard is a third-year PharmD candidate at the Southwestern Oklahoma State University College of Pharmacy and is the 2021–22 APhA–ASP Regional Member-at-large for Region 6.
Saturday night of this year’s APhA Annual Meeting & Exposition was a highlight for student pharmacists to see all the hard work that has been put in over the past year. The APhA–ASP Awards Celebration is a time for all schools to come together and acknowledge the accomplishments of one another and what we have all worked for over the last year through this continuing pandemic. So many student pharmacists, chapter advisors, and student leaders shared the spotlight on this memorable evening!
Getting it started
The outgoing APhA–ASP National Executive Committee (NEC) has done an amazing job over the past year at leading APhA–ASP, and this evening was no exception. They started by dancing to “BANG!” by AJR and getting all students pumped for the celebration! Congratulations to NEC members Juan Rodriguez, Kennedy Erickson, Sidrah Alam, Neha Nadkarni, and Brooke Kulusich for all their hard work they put into the academy and our 2022 Annual Meeting.
Patient care project awards
Between projects that focused on everything from Operations Diabetes to substance use disorder to OTCs, more than 70,000 student pharmacists were involved and more than 60.9 million people were reached through public relations initiatives. All regional winners were recognized for each operation before announcing the winners as listed below.
OTC Medicine Safety National Winner: University of Missouri–Kansas City (OTC Medicine Safety is supported by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc.)
To support their members, this chapter hosted an OTC jeopardy game for student pharmacists to test their knowledge. This information was used to craft an educational highway billboard on safe medication practices that caught the attention of millions of drivers. This group also collaborated with their Operation Substance Use Disorders and Operation Heart committees to deliver presentations both virtually and in-person to multiple elementary schools, a local YMCA, and student pharmacists.
OTC Medicine Safety First Runner-up: University of Tennessee Health Science Center
OTC Medicine Safety Second Runner-up: University of Pittsburgh
Operation Substance Use Disorder National Winner: University of Tennessee Health Science Center (Operation Substance Use Disorders is supported by Walmart)
This chapter formed a new partnership with a local health network to create a needle exchange event in which student pharmacists were able to provide clean injection supplies as well as educate patients regarding proper injection techniques to reduce the risk of acquiring HIV.
Operation Substance Use Disorder First Runner-up: East Tennessee State University
Operation Substance Use Disorder Second Runner-up: University of Wisconsin–Madison
Operation Diabetes National Winner: University of Missouri–Kansas City
The chapter added a new outreach program targeted to students majoring in education at a local college. Futures teachers were provided education about diabetes, signs/symptoms to monitor in kids, and ways to assist their students if a hyperglycemic/hypoglycemic event occurs. They also helped these future teachers understand the importance of testing blood glucose, the dangers of not being able to test at school, and the safety risks of not having access to a snack.
Operation Diabetes First Runner-up: University of Pittsburgh
Operation Diabetes Second Runner-up: Lipscomb University
Student Pharmacists Got Talent
The first Student Pharmacists Got Talent presentation of the night was by Katie Bohannan from the University of Missouri–Kansas City, who put on a beautiful dance routine complete with flag twirling and rifle spinning. Her finale was complete with the donning of her white coat. It was a very symbolic and strong performance.
The other participant was Katie Novenario from the University of Washington, who read a powerful and inspiring poem about how we go through life and how we might interpret our life. She certainly has a talent for writing and delivering beautiful poetry, and you could tell the whole room was blown away.
I was impressed by both of these performances, and it was so great to see student pharmacists succeeding outside of pharmacy school!
Pharmflix winners
There were three winners among the Pharmflix participants in the categories of Most Humorous, Most Inspirational, and Best Overall. The Most Humorous went to The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for their TikTok series incorporating the popular trend of “bones/no bones day” into the Vaccine Confident theme. The Most Inspirational went to the University of Kentucky, who featured adorable young children giving answers to what they want to be when they grow up. Lastly, the Best Overall went to Purdue University for their State Pharm parody commercial re-enactment presenting a student pharmacist always available to help answer questions about COVID-19 vaccination.
There were so many other great videos, and I highly encourage you to check them out at https://pharmacist.com/Membership/Student-Pharmacists/ASP-Projects-Programs/APhA-ASP-PharmFlix-Video-Contest.
Chapter and individual awards
Outstanding Dean Award: Marie Chisholm-Burns, PharmD, University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Linwood F. Tice Award: Michael B. Doherty, University of Cincinnati
GenerationRx Award of Excellence: Heidi N. Eukel, PharmD, North Dakota State University
National Patient Counseling Competition (NPCC) Winner: Cheng-Yu Wang, University of California, San Diego
NPCC First Runner-up: Vivian Lee, Chapman University
NPCC Second Runner-up: Megan Baccus, University of Florida
Division AAA Winner: Lipscomb University
First Runner-up: South Dakota State University
Second Runner-up: Union University
Division AA Winner: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
First Runner-up: University of Michigan
Second Runner-up: University of Pittsburgh
Division A Winner: University of Florida
First Runner-up: University of Wisconsin–Madison
Second Runner-up: University of Missouri–Kansas City
Chapter of the Year: University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Pharmacy
Congratulations to all award recipients and chapters recognized! You have made a lasting impact on the academy, and I hope you continue to inspire all student pharmacists to shine for years to come!
I also want to acknowledge 2021–22 APhA–ASP Awards Standing Committee members Veronica Guastella, Vanessa Rivera, Olivia Waters, and Maggie Davis for their dedication and the long hours they put into reviewing chapter reports and putting on this Awards Celebration.