Awarded to a student pharmacist who demonstrates spirit and passion for the profession, primarily through academic achievement, in conjunction with one or more of the following criteria: industry advocacy, patient advocacy, technology innovation, civic leadership and/or environmental stewardship with regard to pharmacy.
As a result of a tie, this category had 4 finalists in 2016.
Melissa Nelson, now an executive fellow for the Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA), chose the pharmacy profession because of the versatility it provided in finding ways to improve health care quality. Nelson, who previously worked in the restaurant business, said there are a lot of similarities between pharmacy and the service industry. Both emphasize quality, employee development and retention, inventory management, and sales.
Christina Andros, who will graduate in June 2017, wants to positively impact patient care through medication delivery techniques, safety procedures, and optimized pharmacy workflow. “Pharmacists, as some of the most accessible health care professionals, are able to make significant impacts on people’s health through education.”
Kelsey Turcotte’s parents, who work as a chemist and a nurse, swapped stories from the lab and hospital at the dinner table. These conversations led Turcotte to develop a passion for science, as well as an appreciation for acts of kindness. Pharmacy was a perfect hybrid of her interests: science and compassion for others.
Salematou Traore, a postgraduate year 1 resident, seeks to educate the public and other health care professionals on the importance of pharmacists to patient health. Although Traore was given a diagnosis of end-stage renal failure when she was 15 years of age, she has refused to be defined by the condition and has succeeded despite it.