CAPS Mission Statement and Vision

The vision of CAPS is to be the premiere organization for student pharmacists at UNC ESOP whose members make significant contributions to the community and the pharmacy profession.

The mission of CAPS is to serve student pharmacists by fostering professional development, providing direct patient care opportunities, and promoting awareness about the pharmacy profession.

Upcoming Events

See the CAPS Calendar Link in the sidebar for a schedule of events!

Confused?  Check out our CAPS Dictionary for an explanation of terms and what it means to be a member of CAPS!

An Introduction to CAPS

CAPS members and prospective CAPS members,

You as student pharmacists are entering at an exciting time for our profession and for our school as we are at the cusp of shaping the future of our profession. I am sure you are eagerly awaiting the start of the life-changing experience ahead of you and on behalf of the Carolina Association of Pharmacy Students (CAPS), I would like to welcome you to the Doctor of Pharmacy program at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.

As you begin to familiarize yourself with what the school has to offer as well as upcoming events such as orientation, I encourage you to find out more about CAPS and consider how we may help you to make your mark on the pharmacy profession. We are the largest student organization at the school with over 400 student members.  Furthermore, we represent a broad variety of interests within the profession of pharmacy - including but not limited to hospital, community, and industry.

Membership in CAPS provides you with student membership in three professional pharmacy organizations: APhA-ASP (The American Pharmacists Association – Academy of Student Pharmacists), ASHP (The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists) and NCAP (The North Carolina Association of Pharmacists). Additionally, you will have opportunities to travel to national and regional meetings, including one in Raleigh this fall that we will be hosting.

This is an incredibly exciting time for CAPS, as last year the great work of our members led to our national recognition by APhA-ASP for both overall chapter achievement as well as excellence through our Patient Care Projects. Continually in pursuit of excellence, we will not be resting on our past successes.  We aspire to create new and exciting opportunities in pursuit of our mission to serve student pharmacists by fostering professional development, providing direct patient care opportunities, and by promoting awareness about the pharmacy profession.

CAPS provides the resources to allow you to forge your own path through your education and your future profession. Here are just a few highlights.

• CAPS offers opportunities for early immersion into the world of patient care. Through CAPS, you can participate in health fairs across the state, screenings for heart health and diabetes, and medication take-back events. For example, last year CAPS members administered a total of 2,700 immunizations to members of the community and in total we directly provided patient care through clinical services to almost 4,000 members of the surrounding community. This year we are bringing new initiatives to increase our role in patient care within UNC Hospitals.
• CAPS fosters your professional development in a variety of ways. We host panel discussions with both hospital and community residents as well as industry fellows so as to give you insight on how to best prepare for residency/fellowship. We also have workshops to help you create a great CV, manage your online presence, and network effectively. Our leaders bring in speakers to expose you to a variety of careers in pharmacy to allow you to gain perspective, find the perfect place for you, and allow you to set forth on a path to be a new leader of pharmacy.
• CAPS members are also making an influence at the legislative level. By working with other legislative groups and politicians, CAPS members have a say in the future of pharmacy and the laws that affect our profession.

Please browse our website to learn more about our organization. Also, feel free to Feel free to contact me if you have further questions about CAPS or pharmacy school in general.

Todd Knepper
todd_knepper@unc.edu
UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy
Class of 2014
Chair, Carolina Association of Pharmacy Students

Check out our CAPS Introduction Video!