Meet the Student Finalists in the Next-Generation Pharmacist Awards

The new Next-Generation Pharmacist Program, sponsored by Pharmacy Times and Parata Systems, is saluting the best and brightest in the pharmacy profession. The research portion of the program will provide an intimate snapshot of the current state and future vision of the practice of pharmacy, and identify the qualities and values of those who are leading the way. The second component is a national awards program that will recognize and honor those pharmacists, technicians, and student pharmacists who embrace and embody the future vision of the industry.

Meet the Student Finalists in the Next-Generation Pharmacist Awards

The Future Pharmacist Award is designed to honor a pharmacy student who demonstrates spirit and passion for the profession through academic achievement and one or more of the following criteria: industry advocacy, patient advocacy, technology innovation, civic leadership, and environmentalism. For the inaugural year, 3 exceptional pharmacy students were chosen as finalists: Timmellyn Buchanan, Adrienne Giddens, and Kathryn McDonald.

The 2010 Future Pharmacist will be named on October 25, 2010, at an awards banquet held concurrently with the National Community Pharmacists Association’s annual meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. To find out which of these excellent candidates is the 2010 Future Pharmacist, and to learn more about the Next-Generation Pharmacist Awards Program, visit www.PharmacyTimes.com or www.nextgenerationpharmacist.org.

Timmellyn Buchanan

A student at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City, Buchanan balances her time between a rigorous academic schedule and her passion for community service. Buchanan’s community service activities involve helping underserved populations who rarely receive quality health care. In her first semester, she organized a collection drive for the City Rescue Mission Homeless Health Fair and Safety Blitz and worked with other volunteers to provide screenings and other health services for individuals at the mission. Buchanan also volunteers at Manos Juntas, a free indigent clinic where she sees patients in need of pharmaceutical services. She often sees more than 100 patients in 3 hours on a Saturday morning, filling their prescriptions and providing patient counseling. Buchanan has participated in medical mission trips to Peru and Haiti.

Buchanan serves as the vice president and senate chair on the executive board of the Health Science Center Student Association, which is an interdisciplinary body consisting of delegates from the schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, allied health, public health, and pharmacy, as well as the graduate college. She is president of the Phi Lambda Sigma Pharmacy Leadership Society and chapter president of Christian Pharmacists Fellowship International. She is also a member of the National Community Pharmacists Association.

Adrienne Giddens

Adrienne Giddens works to raise the standards of professionalism in the field of pharmacy on the local and state levels and is actively involved in breast cancer awareness and fundraising campaigns.

A student at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Eshelman School of Pharmacy, Giddens serves on the professionalism committee. She has worked to revise the way standards of professionalism are assessed at the school and helped to modify the requirements for graduation. Giddens was selected as a teaching assistant for the pharmaceutical care laboratories, a high honor at the school.

Giddens is a student representative on the Vision 2015 Task Force for the North Carolina Association of Pharmacists. This task force is working to develop a plan for the future practice of pharmacy in North Carolina, based on the vision statement from the Joint Commission of Pharmacy Practitioners.

Giddens is also president of the UNC chapter of the pharmacy fraternity Kappa Epsilon (KE), whose national service project is breast cancer awareness. Under Giddens’ leadership, KE began an outreach program with cancer patients in local hospitals and initiated an education program for undergraduates. Through her creative fundraising, the UNC chapter of KE was able to significantly increase their donations to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in 2010.

Kathryn McDonald

Kathryn McDonald is committed to educating herself and her fellow students about diabetes and to helping patients living with this prevalent disease state. Currently pursuing coursework at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, with the intention of graduating with a dual Master of Business Administration/Doctor of Pharmacy degree with a Diabetes concentration, McDonald still finds time to do volunteer work in the community.

McDonald’s commitment to diabetes education begins with her own focus on learning as much about the disease as possible. Her diabetes concentration requires 10 hours each of focused coursework and clinical advanced practice. As chair of Operation Diabetes for the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) for the past 2 years, McDonald secures speakers to educate her fellow students on the disease and the importance of blood glucose monitoring.

In her APhA-ASP role, McDonald also organizes diabetes screening events, during which she and other volunteers perform blood glucose screenings and educate patients about the disease. McDonald has also been instrumental in raising funds for the American Diabetes Association and Camp Herkto Hollow, a camp for Iowa children with diabetes. She served as a preceptor at the camp, fulfilling her clinical practice hours while helping children learn about and manage their disease.