Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy students Yasmyn Knight and Kathryn Elzerman won the Division 1 Clinical Skills Competition at the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) national conference in Arlington, Va.
The 50-team competition involved writing a pharmaceutical care plan, presenting their drug therapy recommendation to judges, answering questions to defend their case and a patient counseling session.
“Competing in national competitions, like the Clinical Skills Competition, builds the confidence of students and is a great opportunity to enhance their clinical and patient counseling skills,” said Dr. Lakesha Butler, clinical associate professor and SNPhA advisor. “Our students continue to represent SIUE in a way that has created national respect, recognition and exposure for our School.”
“SIUE School of Pharmacy’s strenuous curriculum proved to be award-winning,” said Knight, a P2 student from Glen Carbon. “During our first year in pharmacy school, the professors passed along their knowledge and guided us in gaining the skills we need to be successful.”
Elzerman, a P2 student from Athens, attributed a portion of the duo’s success to their friendship and work ethic. “Seeing our hard work pay off motivates us to continually strive for doing the best that we can while at the SIUE School of Pharmacy and beyond,” she said.
As first place winners, Knight and Elzerman were each awarded an Apple iPad mini tablet, a round trip flight voucher to any domestic location, a $700 cash prize, a $100 Kroger gift card, a Kroger/SNPhA National Clinical Skills Competition lapel pin, a one-year subscription to Lexi-Complete, a $175 Amazon gift card to purchase current resources and additional resource materials.
“I am extremely proud of Yasmyn and Kathryn,” said Butler. “They are both hard working, well-rounded students whose dedication and desire to learn is quite evident in the classroom.”