University of Saint Joseph School of Pharmacy students received the Outstanding Professional Development Project Award from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) for their project on organ donation. The students initially designed their project for the annual Organ Donation Challenge, supported by the American Society of Transplantation (AST) Transplant Pharmacy Community of Practice (TxPharm COP).
AST members Barrett Crowther, PharmD and Jillian Descourouez, PharmD oversee the Organ Donation Challenge, which relies on collaboration with pharmacy schools and student chapters of professional pharmacy organizations. To participate in this AST challenge, students must design and conduct at least one organ donation event. The University of Saint Joseph students hosted three events during which they reached 559 individuals, registered 20 new organ donors, and raised nearly $600 in donations.
The students will present their project at the Student Society Showcase during the ASHP 2014 Midyear Clinical Meeting, where they will receive a winner’s ribbon. The students will also be recognized during the Pharmacy Student Forum Awards Ceremony.
The TxPharm COP created an Organ Donation Workgroup and the Organ Donation Challenge to stimulate competition between various pharmacy schools regarding organ donation projects. Materials were developed to outline strategic local and national resources to facilitate the process, and a transplant pharmacist liaison was provided to each college of pharmacy. With the support of AST, dozens of successful projects have been completed at various pharmacy schools and are ongoing since the inception of the Organ Donation Challenge in 2010. Projects completed by other participating schools have included creating of custom ice cream flavors to support organ donation, collaborating with local cupcake chains, educating local high school students, and even teaming up with a popular medication adherence tool website, www.mymedschedule.com. Pharmacy students have also reached out to other medical professionals, such as medical and nursing students, to include them in their organ donation efforts.
Read more about the Organ Donation Challenge.
Advertisements
