February 28, 2023
With a focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), this year’s Asheville Summit challenged attendees to provide equitable care for all.
“We all left the Summit challenged to go out in the world and be active participants in our relationships, workplaces and classrooms. We were reminded, it is not enough to be “anti-discrimination” – we must stand against injustice and inequity when we see it. Our speakers armed us with facts, experiences and connections to help us in our charge,” said Karen Hughes, associate director of student affairs.
The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy hosted the ninth annual Asheville Summit on Feb. 25 at the Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC). The event focused on DEI topics in pharmacy and health care—reinforcing Priority 1, to create the most engaging culture, in the School’s strategic plan, BEYOND.
“Throughout the day, I watched many attendees critically reflect on their biases and prior understandings, and how to take back what they learned throughout the day to their practice sites and schools,” said McKenna Knock, chair of the Asheville Summit.
The Summit is planned by pharmacy students for students, pharmacists and other members of the health care field. This year, 90 students and pharmacists came together for the event to engage in conversations about innovations in health care. Attendees left with new ideas, new relationships and the motivation to share and advance the knowledge they gained.
This year, the summit provided the opportunity to learn from and engage with DEI leaders in health care and strong advocates in pharmacy. Topics included LGBTQ+ health care, American Indian and Alaskan Native health, reproductive justice, Cultural Authenticity: Putting DEI at the core of strategies and performance, intellectual and developmental disabilities and health care access.
“Speakers from across the country inspired participants to take an active role in improving access and quality of care for vulnerable populations. Creating space for conversations about marginalized populations allowed our students to further develop empathy and gain additional skills as they care for diverse patient populations,” said Mollie Scott, Pharm.D., regional associate dean on the School’s Asheville campus and associate professor in the Division of Practice Advancement and Clinical Education. “I received so many compliments from attendees and speakers alike about the professionalism of our student planners and about the positive impact of this year’s summit.”
The keynote speaker was Paul Walker, Pharm.D., FASHP, FMPA, clinical professor and assistant dean of experiential education and community engagement, College of Pharmacy, and manager, Department of Pharmacy, Michigan Medicine, at the University of Michigan. His keynote address inspired pharmacists on pharmacoequity.
“Dr. Paul Walker closed out our day with a powerful call to action on how we as pharmacists must work to promote pharmacoequity by acknowledging our limitations, work to be an anti-racist and how we must come together,” said Knock.
Other speakers included Kenesha Smith, Pharm.D., pharmacy manager at The Free Clinics in Hendersonville, N.C.; Tim Brown, Pharm.D., BCACP, FASHP, University of Georgia College of Pharmacy; Irene Ulrich ‘12, Pharm.D., BCACP, clinical pharmacist at MAHEC; Eric Metterhausen, Pharm. D., BCPS, CPP, CPH, advanced clinical pharmacist supervisor at Cherokee Indian Hospital; Simran Jain and Lori Rodriguez from SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective; Carla White, Pharm.D., associate dean for Organizational Diversity and Inclusion at UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy; and Rebecca Putnam, M.D., family physician in Asheville, N.C. and member of the North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities.