Awesome in Austin

UHCOP Students Earn Leadership Position, 3rd Place in Patient Counseling and Scholarships at 2016 TPA Conference & Expo

UH College of Pharmacy students scored several successes at the Texas Pharmacy Association 2016 Conference & Expo July 15-17 in Austin.

Third-year Pharm.D. student Shawn Ahmad was installed as 2016-17 TPA Student Leadership Chair-Elect of the Student Leadership Group, which serves as a liaison between the TPA leadership and the student chapters and their respective members among the state's colleges and schools of pharmacy.

"During my term as a junior representative for UH on the Student Leadership Group, I became passionate about TPA, not only for students but also for the profession," Ahmad said. "I'm eager to promote activities such as 'Day at the Dome' (TPA's annual event at the Texas State Capitol), not only in attendance but also encouraging active participation by educating and exciting fellow students about the legislative process and how bills can affect our profession."

In the TPA Patient Counseling Competition, Pharm.D. candidate Erin Moody tied for a third-place finish. Moody won the UHCOP Chapter of the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) Patient Counseling Competition in February and represented the college in the National Patient Counseling Competition in March. Also competing in the TPA Patient Counseling Competition were fellow Pharm.D. candidate Pari Wafayee, who finished in third place at TPA last year, and third-year student Thao Tran.

Among the 22 UHCOP students and two recent graduates attending the TPA meeting, Pharm.D. candidates Nick Panayi, Caitlin Le, Caroline Root and Krutina Garcia represented UHCOP in the Student Pharmacist Self-Care Championship.

In addition, UHCOP students were awarded four scholarships from the Texas Pharmacy Foundation: Moody – TPF General Scholarship; Lauren Puckett – TPF Larry "Neal" McClaugherty Scholarship, which is named in memory of the late son of UHCOP alumnus Larry McClaugherty, R.Ph. (B.S. '72), MPH; and Ahmad and Stephanie Crowley – Professional Recovery Network Scholarships. Both Ahmad and Crowley attended the APhA Institute on Alcoholism and Drug Dependencies June 3-6 in Salt Lake City, Utah.