Spectacular SNPhA

UHCOP Chapter Wins 4 Awards for Health Programs, Team Wins Clinical Skills Competition Division at National Convention

Nov. 30 — The UH College of Pharmacy Chapter of the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) brought home four national awards for its local outreach efforts on mental health, diabetes, stroke and chronic kidney disease, while a two-person team clinched a division of the Clinical Skills Competition, at the 2020 SNPhA Virtual National Convention Nov. 4-6.

In the SNPhA Kroger Clinical Skills Competition, chapter members Will Chollett and Lauren Lee won the P2 (second-year Pharm.D. student) division against 14 other teams across the U.S. Competing teams are given a patient case and medication profile to identify pharmacy-related issues, present an appropriate pharmaceutical care plan, and conduct a counseling session. 

Among the chapter-implemented national health education initiatives, the UHCOP chapter secured national awards in four categories for programs completed during the 2019-20 academic year:

The Fighting Diabetes Initiative, led by student Masa Abdo and Sue’ad Elchehimi, educated nearly 300 community members about prevention and disease state management of diabetes through wellness screenings and presentations at 24 events;  

The Mental Health Initiative, led by students Michell Nguyen and Irene Huang, focused on combating the stigma around mental health through nearly 600 interactions with individuals across a range of age groups, including college and high school students; 

The Power to End Stroke Initiative, led by students Anh Tran and Madison Clark, and Smoking Cessation Initiative, led by Priyanka Kochuparambil and Harleen Singh, brought stroke risk and prevention awareness and smoking cessation and tobacco/nicotine abstinence education to nearly 1,000 individuals;

The Project Keepsake Initiative, led by students Monica Nguyen and Jessica Gonzalez, provided screenings and education on chronic kidney disease to more than 500 individuals during 30 health fairs and other events.

Students Ndidi Chiedu and Faith Awoniyi were members of the first runner-up team in the 2nd Annual SNPhA L.E.A.P. at Lilly Business Plan Competition, which included a team prize of $2,000 and professional development resources. The competition encourages students "to apply their clinical knowledge, clinical experience and problem-solving skills to address real-world business challenges faced by the pharmaceutical industry, with an emphasis on proposals that combine Lilly’s mission of improving diversity and inclusion to drive innovation with SNPhA’s mission of serving the underserved," according to the program guidelines.

Student Emily (Emy) Cooper, who serves as 2019-20 National Recording Secretary, was awarded a national Kroger/National Pharmaceutical Association (NPhA) Foundation scholarship. In addition, Cooper — who led the UHCOP chapter in 2019-20 — was among the finalists for the National J.B. Hills Chapter President of the Year Award.

In addition to the awards, the UHCOP chapter was among the Top 3 Chapters in overall scoring for the Chauncey I. Cooper Chapter of the Year Award for its community outreach and membership support. 

"Although our UH SNPhA chapter did not win the Chapter of the Year Award this year, we are proud to have been recognized as one of the top three chapters nationwide as we continue to set a high bar for excellent community service," said Idris Yusuf, 2020-21 SNPhA Chapter President. "Words cannot explain how proud we are of this special team that the UH SNPhA chapter is honored to have."