Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy (PCSP) will be well represented at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) National Conference, which will be held on December 3-4 in Las Vegas.

Third-year pharmacy students Jennifer Carter and Alan Rusnak will compete with other teams from across the country in a clinical skills competition. The competition is very involved, as participating students are challenged to perform at the highest levels in a limited amount of time.

Each team receives an in-depth clinical patient case; in a two-hour period they are required to evaluate the best medical management strategy for the patient. Their final assessment and recommendation will be presented and judged in written form. Those selected will then move on to the final stage of competition and deliver a verbal presentation of their case assessment.

Carter and Rusnak earned the right to represent PCSP at the National Conference by winning the school’s competition, which was held on October 13th, and then representing PCSP at the South Carolina competition held on October 25th.  Also recognized at the state competition were Kelly Dye and Lyndsay Gormley, who placed second in the school’s competition.

“The purpose of the competition is to provide students with the opportunity to apply their knowledge in a simulated patient case as they would in private practice,” said Dr. Nancy Goodbar, Faculty Advisor for the Presbyterian College Student Society of Health-SystemPharmacists (SSHP).  “This is a great chance for them to experience what it takes to be a pharmacist.”

This is the second year of participation in the national competition for PCSP. Carter and Rusnak represented the school last year, and while they did not place, their scores were impressive.

“We are extremely proud of their performance last year and excited to have them represent the school again this year,” said Dr. Richard Stull, Dean of PCSP.

PCSP will have a strong presence at the conference this year.  Four groups of students will be presenting research posters highlighting their research projects. Also, the SSHP was selected to showcase their “Thank a Preceptor” project. The project was an initiative to encourage all pharmacy students to personally thank their preceptor during “Pharmacy Week.”