The University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s chapters of the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) and the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) were both named Chapter of the Year at their national meetings this year. This marks the first time both organizations have received top honors within the same academic year.
“I am extremely proud of these students,” said UTHSC College of Pharmacy Dean Marie Chisholm-Burns, PharmD, MPH, MBA, FCCP FASHP, FAST. “Winning both of these chapter awards shows that we have the best of the best students training at UTHSC to enter the pharmacy profession. They worked very hard, and I am so glad they are being recognized for their hard work and dedication.”
Both SNPhA and APhA-ASP are premier student pharmacy organizations with more than 100 chapters across the country. The UTHSC chapters include students from the College of Pharmacy’s Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville campuses.
The SNPhA chapter won the Overall Chapter of the Year Award and the Chauncey I. Cooper Excellence Award for the Large Chapter of the Year during SNPhA’s most recent virtual national convention. This is the ninth time the chapter has received the Overall Chapter of the Year Award. The APhA-ASP chapter was named Chapter of the Year at the Virtual APhA2021 Awards Program in March. This is the fifth time the chapter has received this distinction. Both chapters also received numerous regional and individual awards and had student pharmacists selected to serve in national roles within the organizations.
“Our APhA-ASP chapter’s momentous year would not have been possible without the hard work of all 573 student pharmacist members, the chapter leaders, and chapter advisers,” said Elizabeth Hall, PharmD, BCPS, BCPPS, director of assessment and assistant professor in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Translational Science, who serves as the statewide adviser for the APhA-ASP chapter.
Tyler Kiles, PharmD, assistant professor of clinical pharmacy and translational science and adviser for the SNPhA chapter, said the chapter awards were a result of hard work and dedication to service.
“I am so excited by the success of our SNPhA chapter,” Dr. Kiles said. “We look forward to being an excellent example of the profession in our communities for years to come.”