MO Pharmacist November 2022

ACADEMIA NEWS U M K C S C H O O L O F P H A R M A C Y

Celebration of Successes

gree program coupled with the complexities of life. NAPLEX pass rates for graduating classes are yet another measure of success. Once again, we are proud that our NAPLEX pass rate for first time takers averaged 90% over the past four years (not including 2022 graduates as data not yet available). It is important to also note that over the same period, an average of 97% of students passed the NAPLEX by the end of the calendar year. Our students continue to succeed because of the hardwork, mentorship, and instruction they receive fromour outstanding faculty. It is not surprising that our faculty have enjoyed many successes this past year. In the Division of Pharmacy Practice andAdministration, Dr. SarahOprinovich was recently recognized by theMissouri PharmacyAssociation as the 2022MPAFaculty Member of the Year. In addition, Dr. Kendall Guthrie recently received the NCPA Foundation award for Outstanding Faculty Liaison of the Year. Research continues to be a major focus of our faculty, and many received excellent awards this year. Dr. XiangmingZha was awarded a new$2,000,000 National Institutes of Health R01 Grant to study blood brain barrier dys function resulting frombrain ischemia. Drs. Yifei Liu and MarkPatterson received appointments in the newUMKCHealthcare Institute for Innova tions inQuality (HI-IQ).This is a newcollaborative effort andnew institute at UMKC led by Dr. John Spertus, a Kansas City cardiologist and UMKC School of Medicine faculty member internationally known for his work in implementation science and outcomes research. Alsonoteworthy, Dr. Taylor Mize, community pharmacy resident workingwith Dr. SarahOprinovich, was awarded anAPhAFoundation IncentiveGrant to encourage innovation in pharmaceutical care. It is impossible to communicate all faculty accomplishments and accolades, however, it is important to recognize those receiving promotion in faculty rank. ElizabethEnglin and SarahCox were promoted toClinical Associate Professor, and Drs. CydneyMcQueen, EricaOttis, and Andy Smith achieved the rank of Clinical Professor. Our student pharmacists recognized Dr. Eric Wombwell as the Rho Chi Teacher of the Year and Dr. Diana Tamer was recognized with the UMKC Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Lastly, we are most happy to announce new faculty who have joined our school including Dr. AustinCampbell inColumbia, Dr. NicoleMoreno in Springfield and Dr.MichelleDeGracia inKansas City.We look forward to the many ways in which these faculty will contribute to the profession and the health of our communities.

October is American Pharmacists Month and what better way to show appreciation for current and future pharmacists than by celebrating the multitude of successes displayed by our students and faculty. We are very fortunate and proud that UMKC students continue to excel, earningmany honors and awards during the 2021-2022 academic year. Our UMKC Chapter of the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) received significant national recog nition. Our chapter had received top honors as the chapter of the year in 2012, 2018 and 2020, and every year in between and after they have been recognized among the top seven chapters in the country.This past yearwas no exception to the top seven streak, and they also won first place in the OperationDiabetes andOTCMedicine Safety competitions.Many thanks to their advisors Drs. Brandi Bowers, Angela Brownfield, Lisa Cillessen, Sarah Cox, KathrynHolt, Cameron Lindsey, and Jordan Rowe for all the mentoring provided to our APhA-ASP chapter. These awards help signify our commitment to serving the community and improving patient care. Dr.Heather Lyons-Burney continues tomentor students in entrepreneurship and innovation, and in 2021 and 2022, her teams of students placed in the top ten in the Good Neighbor Pharmacy National Community Pharma cists Association Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition. For 2022, the top ten student team included Madeline Clark, Molly Moore, and Ally Lenker . Our students also earn recognition for their knowledge and clinical skills as well as their ability to effectively counsel patients. We our very proud of Allison Baker, Austin Dockins and Zach Carroll for reaching the quarter finals of the 2021 ACCP Clinical Pharmacy Challenge. Sam Halleck and Elli Nazzoli finished in the top 11 teams at the ASHP National Clinical Skills Competition. Some other significant awards won by our students include Kevin Cokely who received the United States Public Health Service Excellence in Public Health Pharmacy Award in 2022 marking the fifth consecutive year that UMKC studentswere recognized by theUSPHS. MadelineClark was chosen the Missouri Pharmacy Association Student of the Year and recognized at the 2022 MPA annual meeting in Osage Beach. Perhaps the number one measure of student success is graduation. The average on-time graduation rate over the past six years for our program has been 93%, which is great considering the rigor of the professional de

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