Pacific Pharmacy Students Represent at National Skills Competition

Each year the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) holds the Clinical Skill Competition, giving student pharmacists the opportunity to compete with other students and develop a patient-care plan from provided cases. The competition is designed to mimic real-world patient cases, allowing students to practice skills learned in classes and on rotations, as well as enhance their skills in collaborative practice with other healthcare professions when providing direct patient care.

This year, Pacific University School of Pharmacy had two P3 students, Arika Sandbach and Heather Beugli, win first place in the interactive, team-based analysis of a clinical patient case for the Local Clinical Skills Competition.  This means that they will be representing Pacific University in December at the National Skills Competition during the Annual ASHP Midyear Meeting. 

Heather and Arika competed against eight other student groups, where each team developed a treatment plan for a neonate patient. “This year’s case was a very challenging neonate patient,” Heather said. “It was important not only to think about the neonate, but also the mother’s current medical conditions, disease states, current illicit and prescription drug use, etc.” Erika and Heather mentioned that they relied on skills they learned on APPE experiences, as well as different drug compendia and guidelines to create a plan utilizing evidence-based medicine. 

Erika emphasized that this competition “is an excellent opportunity,” and she encourages all students to participate as it “is a great way to develop critical thinking skills and gain exposure to clinical scenarios.”