The UTHSC College of Pharmacy chapter of the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) held its annual Patient Counseling Skills Competition in January. The goal of the competition is to encourage student pharmacists in their efforts towards becoming better educators. Fifteen students participated in this year’s competition, with Katelyn Wassell, Brandon Ladd, and Lauren Bode placing in the Top 3. Brandon represented the College in the National Patient Counseling Competition during the APhA Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA in March. When asked to comment on the event, chapter advisor Dr. Chasity Shelton stated, “This competition is a great way for our students to showcase their communication and counseling skills. Brandon Ladd will do an excellent job in representing us at the National Patient Counseling Competition this month at the Annual APhA-ASP meeting.”
The following student pharmacists also participated in the competition, listed in alphabetical order: Amanda Cavness, Mayuri Dharsandia, Stephen Duden, Christine Handy, Lisa Hayes, Aleia Judd, Courtney Manlove, Kem Nelson, Marcy Pilate, Sam Slaughter, Emily Triplett, and Jessica Walker. Special thanks to Drs. Shelton, Ray, and Hohmeier for helping plan and coordinate the event, as well as to the committee members, especially Daniel Jinks, Madison Iman, and Matthew Reddin in Memphis and Molly Hunt and Rebecca Wong in Knoxville, for assisting during the competition. Thank you to the standardized patients, the IPECS office, and the UT Center for Advanced Medical Simulation for helping facilitate, and to the three judges, Drs. Hohmeier, Airee, and Hagemann, for taking the time to provide their feedback. Also, thanks to Daniel Cox, Len Cleavlin, and Rick Frost for IT support.