EDWARDSVILLE - Faculty and students in Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s School of Pharmacy received multiple accolades from the Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists (ICHP) during its annual meeting held Sept. 13-15 in Chicago.
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Carrie Vogler, PharmD, clinical associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, was honored with the ICHP Shining Star Award. The ICHP Board of Directors selects the nominee and presents the award in recognition of an increased level of participation and initiative as an ICHP champion, division or committee member.
“ICHP is built on volunteer efforts to push the profession of pharmacy forward, and I enjoy working with other great volunteers in that endeavor,” Vogler said. “In my role as director of marketing affairs for ICHP, I have made efforts to increase involvement within our Champion Program by getting Champions more involved with recruitment, retention and volunteerism within the organization.”
Vogler spearheaded the “ICHP Why Pharmacy” marketing initiative, where individuals were encouraged to share on social media why they chose the profession of pharmacy. This social effort increased awareness about the value of pharmacy and emphasized why it is a great profession.
“ICHP has allowed me to connect with pharmacists, student pharmacists and technicians within Illinois, and has provided educational programming that enhances my work in internal medicine,” Vogler said.
The ICHP presented its Student Chapter Award to the SIUE Student Society for Health-Systems Pharmacists (SSHP). Chapter president Kaylee Poole, a fourth-year student from Rochester, expressed her excitement for the chapter’s achievement and noted its success in the “ICHP Why Pharmacy” effort.
“We worked incredibly hard this entire year to make our chapter a strong contender for this award,” Poole explained. “Our executive board members were key to keeping track of everything from submitting board reports, organizing community service events and continuously engaging our chapter members.”
“Our participation in the ICHP Why Pharmacy social media competition really made us stand out,” she added. “We shared the stories of why 22 students and faculty members chose to become pharmacists on our Facebook page. Those posts were viewed more than 25,000 times.”
The SSHP supports students seeking postgraduate training. The chapter’s faculty advisors are Lisa Lubsch, PharmD, clinical professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, and Jingyang Fan, PharmD, assistant dean of academic affairs and clinical associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice.
“Helping students along this path toward postgraduate training is one of the most rewarding pieces of my job,” Lubsch said. “We consistently have a great group of students who do wonderful work serving the SSHP. Beyond the collaboration and service, students grow their professional network through their involvement. Everyone says ‘pharmacy is a small world,’ so these connections truly impact a student’s career.”
“In addition to networking, professional organizations provide students ample opportunities for leadership development and involvement in health policy advocacy,” Fan added. “The recognition our SSHP chapter received is richly deserved. Our students put in a lot of work to make this a great organization not only for pharmacy students, but also community members through their outreach initiatives.”
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.
