EDWARDSVILLE - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy students received national accolades during the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists’ (ASHP) Midyear Clinical Meeting including all Student Societies of Health-System Pharmacy (SSHP) held Dec. 3-4 in Las Vegas.
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Fourth-year pharmacy students Abby Buchman, of Springfield, and Jessica Lorenson, of Chatham, earned third place in the Clinical Skills Competition among 129 teams from across the country. Competing teams were given a complex patient case, with two hours to formulate a complete care plan, followed by a brief presentation, and a question and answer period with a panel of judges.
“Abby and I were fortunate to compete in this competition last year in New Orleans, which gave us invaluable experience and confidence coming into this year’s competition,” said Lorenson, whose interests are in both critical care and emergency medicine.
“This experience has given us the opportunity to apply our classroom knowledge to real-life patient scenarios,” added Buchman, who aspires to be a psychiatric pharmacist in an outpatient clinic. “Working in teams has prepared us for collaborative environments, as pharmacists are becoming integral members of healthcare teams.”
Students also represented the School of Pharmacy during the ASHP-SSHP recognition program where the group was awarded the Outstanding Professional Development Project Award. The award honors the success of the student organization’s Pharmacy Practice Model Initiative (PPMI) that provides education and guidance for pharmacy students prior to starting their required Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPE).
“This is an impactful project, because not only does it increase pharmacy students’ knowledge about the PAI (formerly known as PPMI), but it also may indirectly improve patient care through promoting the PAI at our hospital experience sites,” said Lisa Lubsch, PharmD, clinical associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and faculty advisor for the SIUE SSHP.
“My involvement with SSHP has given me vast insight into the world of health system pharmacy,” added Mallory Belcher, third-year pharmacy student and president of SIUE SSHP. “I've also been able to develop my leadership skills and make great connections through this organization since my first year. My involvement with the PPMI project has enhanced my knowledge of the ASHP Practice Advancement Initiative, so I can work towards bettering patient care in the hospital setting in the future.”
According to Lubsch, the PPMI project will continue for all students during their experiences. Additionally, the SSHP will begin a new professional development project with the goal of increasing knowledge about end stage renal disease.
SIUE School of Pharmacy: Today’s pharmacists improve patients’ lives through the medication and education they provide. Dedicated to developing a community of caring pharmacists, the SIUE School of Pharmacy curriculum is nationally recognized as a model that offers students a unique combination of classroom education, research, community service and patient care. The School of Pharmacy’s areas of excellence include a drug design and discovery core; pediatric practice; chronic pain research and practice; and diabetes research and practice. As the only downstate Illinois pharmacy doctorate program, the SIUE School of Pharmacy is addressing the growing need for highly trained pharmacists in a rapidly growing field.
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