Pharmacy students join battle against influenza
Third-year pharmacy student Elizabeth Breeden administers a flu shot to UMKC Chancellor C. Mauli Agrawal, Ph.D.
The Centers for Disease Control estimates that influenza was responsible for nearly 80,000 deaths in the United States during the last flu season. Students at the UMKC School of Pharmacy have been busy doing their part to help patients across the state of Missouri battle the flu this season.
As part of their curriculum, the students participate in an introductory pharmacy practice experience that includes learning to administer immunizations. This year, nearly 155 third-year students on the school’s campuses in Kansas City, Columbia and Springfield have taken their new skills and administered 2,171 flu shots through the school’s immunization delivery program.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to get involved representing pharmacists and how we as professionals can contribute to the public health,” said Valerie Ruehter, Pharm.D., clinical associate professor and director of experiential learning.
School of Pharmacy recognizes mid-year graduates
UMKC School of Pharmacy graduates who participated in the 2018 Mid-Year Commencement ceremony included Asmaa Alsousi, Zhen Zhao, Mary Joseph Ngatuni, Stephani Stancil, Alex Owiti and Abhriup Mandal.
The School of Pharmacy recognized six students who participated in the UMKC Mid-Year Commencement Ceremony on Dec. 15 at Swinney Recreation Center.
Students graduating with degrees from the school’s I-Ph.D. program were Asmaa Alsousi, Mary Joseph, Abhirup Mandal, Alex Owiti, Stephanie Stancil and Zhen Zhao. Three fall graduates did not participate in the ceremony. They include Akshay Jain, Ashutosh Barve and Hao Liu.
School of Pharmacy team places second in national business plan competition
Heather Lyons-Burney, faculty advisor, Kayla Shaw, Kayla Copeland, Aaron Hunsaker and Dylan Detlor.
A team of University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy students won the runner-up prize in a national business plan competition sponsored by the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA).
Aaron Hunsaker, Kayla Copeland, Dylan Detlor and Kayla Shaw, all from the school’s Springfield campus, presented a plan for an innovative approach to community pharmacy at the 15th annual Good Neighbor Pharmacy NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition. The contest took place on Oct. 7 at the NCPA 2018 annual convention in Boston.
Heather Lyons-Burney, clinical assistant professor, served as the team’s faculty advisor.
“I am extremely proud of this group of students and their determination to succeed on a national stage,” Lyons-Burney said.
