January 6, 2021
UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Pharm.D. students Jennifer Schweiger and Katelynn Granger worked together to secure second place in the American Society of Heath-System Pharmacists (ASHP)’s National Clinical Skills Competition, held virtually Dec. 5-6.
The Clinical Skills Competition is an interactive, team-based analysis of clinical scenarios for hospital and health-system pharmacists. It is designed to provide pharmacy students the opportunity to enhance their skills in collaborative practice with physicians in providing direct patient care. This year was the first time the competition was held completely virtually.
“What a fun experience this was! I would encourage all students to consider participating in the future,” Granger said.
Schweiger added, “We had a great time participating! I think finishing amongst the top of the 139 competing schools speaks to the high-quality training we receive from the excellent teachers and preceptors at UNC.”
The competition consists of a two-hour written assessment by all entered teams in which students pair up and analyze a patient case, followed by an oral presentation for the top 10 teams.
The preliminary round of the competition takes place at students’ local schools, where they compete against their own classmates.
UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Phil Rodgers, Pharm.D., is the faculty advisor of the School’s ASHP Student Societies of Health-System Pharmacy group, which hosts the local round of the competition.
Each school’s winning team then advanced to compete on the national level. There, they competed in a semi-final, then final round.
During the national competition, Granger and Schweiger were faced with a case involving a geriatric patient with septic shock secondary to hospital acquired pneumonia, as well as several other medical problems.
“Jen and Katelynn emerged as an excellent team from a crowd of great student teams during our local competition. I had great confidence in their preparation and ability to compete nationally. They make a great team! We are very proud of their performance and representation of our School at ASHP,” Rodgers said.