Student National Pharmaceutical Association Hosts Regional Meeting

More than 275 students and pharmacists meet in Baltimore for continuing education and networking

By Kenneth Thomas
March 16, 2010

Following two historic snowstorms which shut down the Baltimore area for nearly a week, the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy’s Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) chapter charged ahead with hosting the association’s Region 1 and 2 meeting in the city’s historic Inner Harbor Feb. 27-29. The meeting’s theme of “Accepting the Challenge, Docking into Success” was front and center throughout the entire weekend, as the School of Pharmacy chapter’s hard work was on display from the opening session to the closing bell. With an attendance of over 275 student members and pharmacists, the meeting set a national SNPhA attendance record. The meeting was a collaborative effort of SNPhA, the National Pharmaceutical Association,(NPhA) and the Maryland Pharmaceutical Society, which helped deliver the continuing education programming for the pharmacists in attendance.

At the opening session on Friday evening, Natalie D. Eddington, PhD, dean of the School of Pharmacy, spoke about SNPhA’s accomplishments and challenged the audience to return to their home institutions with a renewed commitment to the profession. “Each of you represents the next wave of clinical pharmacists,” she said. “We need to prepare you to be outstanding clinicians and help advocate for expanding pharmacy. I hope the information shared at this year’s regional meeting will inspire you to return to your home school with renewed vigor for helping those in need and with a new enthusiasm for our wonderful profession.”

Maryland State Delegate Shawn Z. Tarrant was the keynote speaker for Friday’s dinner and delivered a very charismatic speech. Immediately following dinner, students were able to network with pharmacists from NPhA along with pharmaceutical company representatives at a dessert social sponsored by Wal-mart, all while listening to the smooth sounds of the Morgan State University Jazz Ensemble. “It was a wonderful atmosphere for both networking and socializing and was an overall great event,” said Dominick Bailey, public relations and social chair for the local SNPhA chapter and a second-year student pharmacist.

Saturday was filled with workshops aimed at non-traditional careers in pharmacy and financial literacy, providing some tools for the future pharmacists at the conference. Dr. Sybil Richards, vice president for professional affairs for Wal-mart Pharmacies, delivered the keynote address for Saturday’s luncheon and spoke about the importance of following your dreams.

“The weekend was a tremendous success,” said Kenneth Thomas, president of the School of Pharmacy’s-SNPhA chapter and a second-year student pharmacist. “This was truly a chapter effort and an event of this caliber could not have been accomplished without everyone’s support.”

SNPhA is an educational service association of pharmacy students who are concerned about pharmacy and health care-related issues, and the poor minority representation in pharmacy and other health-related professions. The group plans, organizes, coordinates and executes programs geared toward the improvement for the health, educational, and social environment of the community.