The University of Tennessee Health Science Center's Student Pharmacy Group Wins Top Honors at National Convention

PRESS RELEASE

Memphis, Tenn. (Aug. 13, 2013) — The University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s chapter of the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) was named Chapter of the Year at the organization’s 2013 National Conference, which was held in New Orleans July 26 through 29.

The UTHSC chapter also won the Rite Aid/Chauncey I. Cooper Excellence Award for the Large Chapter of the Year. The awards earned the UTHSC group $5000 and $1500 to go toward SNPhA registrations in the future. UTHSC student pharmacist and SNPhA member Samantha Adams was inducted as the National Immunization Chair.

The SNPhA is an educational service association of pharmacy students who plan and execute programs to improve the health, education and social environment in the community. The organization aims to develop leadership and professional skills in students, promote participation in national health care issues, increase the role and image of the minority health professional and educate communities on better health practices.

“Our SNPhA students demonstrated high intellect, dedication, perseverance and determination … 4 traits that gave them the competitive advantage,” said Marie Chisholm-Burns, PharmD, MPH, FCCP, FASHP, dean of the College of Pharmacy at UTHSC. “Their presentation and video highlighted the hard work they put into consistently achieving significant goals. The faculty and staff in the College of Pharmacy congratulate them on a job well done. We are so proud of them.”

The UTHSC chapter, which has more than 200 members, submitted a 10-minute video detailing this year’s efforts to increase membership, heighten attention to diversity, strengthen community involvement and boost health education. The video cited work by members at student health fairs, smoking cessation programs, blood pressure screenings, immunization programs, diabetes screenings, blood glucose screenings, HIV awareness programs, and other health education events locally and overseas.

“The University of Tennessee SNPhA chapter has exceeded expectations in reaching out to underserved populations and fulfilling SNPhA’s mission,” said Idris Yakubu, SNPhA national public relations liaison. “Therefore, we are very grateful to them and we honor their excellence.”

As Tennessee's only public, statewide, academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care, and public service. Offering a broad range of postgraduate and selected baccalaureate training opportunities, the main UTHSC campus is located in Memphis and includes six colleges: Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. UTHSC also educates and trains cohorts of medicine, pharmacy and/or allied health students -- in addition to medical residents and fellows -- at its major sites in Knoxville, Chattanooga and Nashville. Founded in 1911, during its more than 100 years, UT Health Science Center has educated and trained more than 56,000 health care professionals in academic settings and health care facilities across the state. For more information, visit www.uthsc.edu.http://www.uthsc.edu