Hundreds of pharmacists and learners from across the country gathered for the 54th American Society of Heath System Pharmacists Midyear Clinical Meeting and Exhibition in Las Vegas in early December.
During the conference, ASHP honored pharmacy teams and individuals for their extraordinary achievements and contributions to the pharmacy field.
This year, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy faculty and students were honored with four awards: the Best Practices Award, the Distinguished Service Award, the Outstanding Professional Development Project Award, and first in the National Clinical Skills Competition.
The Best Practices Award, which is sponsored in cooperation with Amgen, was established in 1999 and recognizes pharmacists who demonstrate leadership and innovation in enhancing patient care and other areas of pharmacy practice.
This year, six teams were honored with the award for innovative approaches to patient care. Awardees from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s partner UNC Health Care include Mary-Haston Vest, Pharm.D., M.S., BCPS; Ashley Pappas, Pharm.D., M.H.A.; Evan Colmenares, Pharm.D.; Scott W. Savage, Pharm.D., M.S.; Timothy Weber, B.S.Pharm., M.B.A.; and Rowell Daniels, Pharm.D., M.S., FASHP.
“These pharmacist-led teams applied bold thinking and creative approaches to address critical medication-use issues,” said ASHP CEO Paul W. Abramowitz, Pharm.D., Sc.D. (Hon.), FASHP. “This award is a fitting recognition of their inspiring work to improve the quality of care patients receive in all healthcare settings and expand the pharmacist’s role on the healthcare team.”
The Distinguished Service Award, given to six practitioners, recognizes an outstanding member from each pharmacy practice section and the New Practitioners Forum, honoring pharmacists whose efforts have helped to advance the profession.
UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Jill S. Bates, Pharm.D., M.S., BCOP, FASHP, secured the Distinguished Service Award for the Section of Clinical Specialists and Scientists. Bates is an Oncology Precision Therapeutics Pharmacist at the University of North Carolina Medical Center in Chapel Hill. She is also the national PHASeR Pharmacy Program Manager for pharmacogenomics with the Department of Veterans Affairs and an Associate Professor of Clinical Education at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
During the conference, the ASHP Pharmacy Student Forum also acknowledged Student Societies of Health-System Pharmacy groups for their exceptional work by highlighting outstanding professional development projects.
This year’s Outstanding Professional Development Project award winners include UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy students Michelle Yi, Sara Scott, Erin Mays, and Henry Clark.
Students Mary “Catie” Cash and Sara Scott also clinched top honors in the ASHP National Clinical Skills competition – the first overall win in the competition for the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in 15 years.
Congratulations to all award winners!