Task Force Meets to Discuss Student Pharmacist Involvement in MPA

by Claire Lee, P4 student pharmacist, Wayne State University

My name is Claire Lee and I am a P4 student pharmacist at Wayne State University. I am here at the MPA on rotation right now. I can honestly say I’m enjoying myself and that I’ve learned a lot about the MPA and the practice of pharmacy in general.

I recently had the opportunity to act as chair of the second annual Student MPA Task Force meeting. A total of eight students traveled from all three of Michigan’s colleges of pharmacy to MPA’s brand new building in Lansing. Topics discussed included student programming at the Annual Convention and Exposition, Pharmacy Day at the Capitol, general student involvement, and communication between MPA and students.

The meeting was highly productive and an interest was expressed on both sides for improved communication between staff at the MPA and student pharmacists at all three pharmacy institutions.

During our discussions, we realized that a lot could be gained through collaboration between students at Wayne State University, Ferris State University and the University of Michigan. By sharing ideas for patient care projects and resources for advocacy events, we can all work together toward a common goal. By working smarter through the sharing of information, the ‘re-invention of the wheel’ process can be reduced, or even eliminated in some cases.

Pharm.D.(evelopments) was originally developed as a place for students to blog. However, lack of interest has resulted in a transformation to a sort of student newsletter. Our new goal for this forum will be for student pharmacists to periodically post information about innovative programs taking place at their respective college of pharmacy. The hope is to work together to achieve the goals we have all set as individuals.