This year members from the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) student chapter, the American Pharmacist Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP), the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR), Kappa Psi, and the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) were all recognized nationally.
This year a team of four AMCP students competed in the 17th Annual National Student Pharmacist P&T Committee Competition in Denver. Our students placed among the top 8 teams nationally.
During the APhA-ASP Awards Ceremony at the 2017 APhA Annual Meeting in San Francisco, Mercer's chapter received the prestigious Policy and Legislative Award, one of only seven specialty awards given on the national level. In addition, the immediate past APhA-ASP Region Three Speaker of the House and rising P4 student, Jason Gaines, was elected by the APhA-ASP delegates to serve as National Speaker of the House. Gaines will be one of only five national officers to serve on the APhA-ASP National Executive Committee.
Each year ISPOR student chapters in the United States and abroad apply for the Outstanding Chapter award. There are currently 94 active chapters globally. This year, Mercer University was recognized as the first place chapter by the ISPOR Student Network. Awards are based the chapter's impact in the community through educational events, networking events, community outreach, social events and contribution to the student network.
The Gamma Psi chapter of Mercer University was recognized as the top collegiate chapter of 2016 by the national Kappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity. The fraternity was judged on participation in Kappa Psi regional and national events and in other pharmacy associations, member academics and community outreach.
During the SNPhA national conference in Atlanta, Mercer was recognized as a top-three large size chapter. A four student team won a $10,000 award for the College's chapter for their community service project from SNPhA and Walmart/Sam's Club. Also, two Mercer pharmacy students received awards, and four students received scholarships. Helen Mitchell, immediate past president of Mercer's chapter, was named the J. B. Hills SNPhA Chapter President of the Year; Soumya Vishwanath, 2016-2017 president, received the Future Leaders Scholarship Pharmacy Award; Jacqueline Alvarez received the $1,000 NPhA Foundation and Kroger Scholarship; and Michelle Vu was awarded the $1,000 Walgreens Diversity Advancement Award Scholarship.
At the spring meeting of the Georgia Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Meron Mezegbe received the Best Student Research Project award.
Post-Graduate Residency and Fellowship
According to the most recent national data, the graduating class match rate to PGY1 residencies was 14 % for all colleges and schools of pharmacy. Out of 156 students in the Mercer graduating class of 2017, 50 (32%) applied for an ASHP accredited PGYI residency and 30 (19%) matched. Of the Mercer students who applied for residencies, 60% matched. These students will pursue residencies at some of the most prestigious hospital institutions in the country, including Emory, University of Alabama-Birmingham, Vanderbilt and Yale.
In addition to clinical post-graduate training within a health system, students may pursue post-graduate training with national associations, the pharmaceutical industry and managed care providers. These post-graduate training opportunities provide novel experiences for those with a PharmD degree. Five members of the graduating class of 2017 are completing a residency and/or fellowship in each of these unique areas.
In total, of the 55 members of the class of 2017 who applied for a residency or fellowship, 64% will pursue this post-graduate training.
