Pharmacist Association Raises Money to Benefit Pharmacy Students

More than 300 pharmacy students, technicians, and pharmacists helped raise nearly $6500 at the 2015 Mid-Year Conference of the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association.

The money will enable the PPA Educational Foundation to support research grant programs and student programs, such as competitions and student poster presentations, according to a PPA press release.

One competition that the PPA hosted at its conference is the Know Pain, Know Gain program, where pharmacy students participate in Q&A session on pain management. The top 3 finalists then competed in a patient counseling scenario, in which they provided counseling advice to a pretend patient, and the winners received cash prizes.

The conference, which was held in late February 2015 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, featured silent auctions, raffles, and a breakfast where attendees learned more about the foundation.

The foundation also recently awarded grants of up to $1000 each to 5 students for their studies of innovative and best pharmacy practices. They will each have 1 year to complete their research and submit a report to the foundation with their findings.

This year’s winners were:

· Hailey Choi, PharmD, an academic and research fellow with Duquesne University Mylan School of Pharmacy, for her study, “Medication Discrepancies in the Dental Record: Implications on Oral Health.”

· Gale Garmong, PharmD, a PGY-1 community practice resident with University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy and Rite Aid Pharmacy, for his study, “Impact of Pharmacist Coaching on Targeted Medication Review Completion.”

· Michele F. Hebda, PharmD, TTS, an academic and research fellow with Duquesne University, for her study, “Evaluation of the Impact of Pharmacist-run ‘Courage to Quit’ Group Tobacco Cessation Classes on Abstinence Rates in Patients Prescribed Varenicline or Bupropion in a Patient-Centered Medical Home Practice.”

· Kyle McCormick, PharmD, a community practice resident at Gatti Pharmacy and the University of Pittsburgh, for his study, “Patient Activation as a Measure of Medication List Accuracy.”

· Michelle Myers, a student pharmacist at the University of Pittsburgh, for her study, “Pharmacist—Led Improvements to Care Coordination for Patients on Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotics Transitioning from Hospital to Home.”