Palm Beach, Fla. – The NACDS Foundation announced $235,000 in scholarships and grants through the 24th Annual NACDS Foundation Scholarship Program as part of an ongoing commitment to advancing patient care through pharmacy education. The recipients were presented with their awards tonight at an NACDS Foundation event during the NACDS Annual Meeting.
This year, the Foundation distributed six merit-based scholarship awards in the amount of $20,000 in order to fund patient-centered, community-based coursework or other curriculum innovations.
“Thanks to the commendable generosity of our benefactors, students and faculty at schools and colleges of pharmacy across the country have the opportunity to impact community health in a tremendous way.”
Additionally, two diversity scholarship winners were selected to each receive $15,000 grants. These scholarships support educational diversity by awarding institutions based on their current or proposed diversity programs to advance pharmacy education in under-represented populations.
The awardees of the 2019 NACDS Foundation Scholarships for excellence in education are:
Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy students will develop patient-specific health and wellness action plans for an underserved population in Alabama under the supervision of community pharmacists. Services include assessing immunization status, conducting biometric screenings and discussing health behaviors including weight management and smoking cessation.
University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy students will address rural health disparities in Nebraska by screening 500 rural patients for Hepatitis C under the supervision of faculty and pharmacist preceptors.
St. John’s University College of Pharmacy will collaborate with a community health center to provide outreach and preventive care screenings, immunizations and medication optimization services to those who need it most with its “MOBILE Clinic.” The MOBILE Clinic program sets up in nine temporary locations throughout the summer to serve the most vulnerable populations in Queens, New York, including the homeless and uninsured.
University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy will address the recent outbreaks of Meningitis B on college campuses by expanding its student-led “Operation Immunization” program to provide education and needed vaccines on the URI campus during the spring and fall terms.
Mercer University College of Pharmacy will provide 200 first-year student pharmacists with an immersive experience in cultural competency through a partnership with the Clarkston Refugee Clinic outside of Atlanta, which serves the most diverse one-square mile population in the nation.
Howard University College of Pharmacy fourth year pharmacy students will use videos and technology to communicate health information in multiple languages to an ethnically and racially diverse patient population at Washington D.C.’s Howard University hospital.
The awardees of the 2019 NACDS Foundation Scholarships for excellence in diversity programs are:
University of the Incarnate Word, Feik School of Pharmacy will provide its at-risk minority students with a “Pharmacy Readiness Program” during the summer prior to their first year in pharmacy school. The program features an innovative “group immersion” strategy followed by peer mentoring throughout the Doctor of Pharmacy program to increase retention.
East Tennessee State University Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy will develop an outreach program aimed at currently enrolled pre-health professional students from the Appalachian region who are the first in their families to attend institutions of higher learning.
The NACDS Foundation also awarded $2,200 scholarships to each of the other schools and colleges of pharmacy in attendance.
The NACDS Foundation Scholarship Program is designed to fund prospective projects that have the potential to significantly advance patient care. Accredited colleges and schools of pharmacy were asked to submit applications for projects that may include community-based research projects and patient-centered coursework, or other innovative curricula.
“Thanks to the commendable generosity of our benefactors, students and faculty at schools and colleges of pharmacy across the country have the opportunity to impact community health in a tremendous way,” said NACDS Foundation President Kathleen Jaeger. “We are so appreciative of our benefactors’ continued support and outstanding commitment to improving patient care through pharmacy education.”
The NACDS Foundation Scholarship Program began in 1997. Since then, nearly $4.5 million in scholarships has been provided for pharmacy education thanks to the generous support of the program’s benefactors.
Photos of all the 2019 NACDS Foundation scholarship awardees and presenters can be viewed on Flickr.
