ASHP honors the Wisconsin Society of Pharmacy Students for video series showcasing the impact of pharmacists

By Katie Ginder-Vogel

For the second consecutive year, a PharmD student group at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Pharmacy has won a national award for their commitment to the profession. The Wisconsin Society of Pharmacy Students (WSPS) has earned the 2022–23 Outstanding Professional Development Project Award from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).

Out of 128 student chapters nationwide, WSPS is one of just 25 honored by the ASHP Pharmacy Student Forum with the award in recognition of exceptional work showcasing service and outreach, crucial content, and resourcefulness. 

WSPS’ award is recognizing its 2021 Talk to Your Pharmacist Tuesdays (TYPT) video series, broadcast weekly on Facebook Live during American Pharmacists Month in October. The videos featured PharmD students and pharmacists from a variety of specialties, speaking about over-the-counter medication safety, transplant pharmacy, substance use disorders, and proper medication disposal. Through the series, WSPS members were able to engage and educate the community about how pharmacists provide patient care.

“These awards are representative of the innovation, passion, and effort of everyone within WSPS. It is an amazing feeling to know that your own efforts on a project are truly impactful.”
—Taylor Shufelt

“What I think makes this event so unique is that it actively engages pharmacists within the community and allows the public to engage with them in real time,” says second-year PharmD student and current WSPS secretary Nora Pecha. “Posting this project on Facebook allows us to reach diverse populations, who may not have easy access to healthcare professionals.” 

Last year, WSPS earned the same award for a social media campaign during the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin’s Month of Advocacy, and they also received this honor for the 2018–19 and 2017–18 academic years.

“These awards are representative of the innovation, passion, and effort of everyone within WSPS,” says fourth-year PharmD student Taylor Shufelt, who organized the winning 2021 series. “It is an amazing feeling to know that your own efforts on a project are truly impactful.”

Making the series

In 2020, former WSPS secretary Brianna Groen (PharmD ‘22) came up with the idea of Talk to Your Pharmacist Tuesdays and launched the series during American Pharmacists Month to increase public awareness of the different areas of pharmacy practice, like acute care, academia, research, and outpatient pharmacy.

“It was Brianna’s creativity and careful planning that initiated this successful project,” says Shufelt. “Brianna provided guidance and the framework for me to be able to continue this initiative in October 2021, during my year as secretary of WSPS.” 

In planning the 2021 events, Shufelt worked with PharmD students Hope Schier, WSPS Student Senate representative; Ziting Zhang, American Pharmacists Association liaison; and Judy Zheng, WSPS public relations chair. The group secured guest speakers, promoted the events using social media and email, and alternated hosting duties each week. 

The final lineup featured several of WSPS’ operations — which are specialized patient outreach initiatives — including MedDrop, Substance Use Disorders, Organ Donation, and Over-the-Counter Medication Safety operations. A breadth of pharmacists and faculty members also joined the conversation: Professor Denise Walbrandt Pigarelli (BS ’91, PharmD ’93), Professor Mary Hayney, and Professor Beth Martin (BS ’90, MS ’03, PhD ’06), all of the Pharmacy Practice and Translational Research Division, and Suzy Wu, clinical pharmacy practitioner at the William S. Middleton Veterans Memorial Hospital.

“Since the videos were livestreamed, anyone who was watching on Facebook could ask a question and get an answer in real time,” says Shufelt. “It helped get the audience engaged in the conversation, which I think is very unique.” 

The videos were recorded and saved to the WSPS Facebook page, so viewers could return to the videos or new viewers could watch them afterward. In total, the videos reached about 4,000 people.

“I think what made our project worthy of national recognition was the large impact it had on the community. Members of our organization are truly dedicated to advancing the pharmacy profession and creating unique opportunities to do so,” says third-year PharmD student Tess Pribyl, WSPS ASHP liaison. “Through hosting these events, our organization advocated for the pharmacy profession by educating the public on the many essential ways pharmacists provide patient care.”

Continuing the mission

In October 2022, Pecha continued the TYPT initiative, working with other members of the WSPS Executive Council to invite WSPS Operation leaders to host pharmacists from diverse specialties to feature new topics, such as women’s health.

“TYPT is something that can be different each year and continually improved, which has allowed for several successful years of the project,” Shufelt says. “I am so proud of WSPS and the leadership team I worked alongside throughout my time in WSPS.”

As Pecha looks forward to the 2023 series, she hopes WSPS will build on the series’ strong foundation.

“I hope to maintain this event and continue spreading knowledge to the general public about how pharmacists can have a positive impact on community health.”
—Nora Pecha

“I truly owe Taylor Shufelt for doing such a fantastic job in providing me with an outline to continue making this project a success,” Pecha says. “I hope to maintain this event and continue spreading knowledge to the general public about how pharmacists can have a positive impact on community health.”

After graduating this spring, Shufelt plans to complete PGY1 and PGY2 ambulatory care residencies, with a career goal of expanding access to pharmacist-based primary care and preventative medicine services in underserved communities. Her experience leading the award-winning TYPT series will help her meet this goal.

“The TYPT project helped me improve my ability to lead a team, pushed me to be creative, and taught me a lot about reaching the community with health education and promotion, which are all valuable takeaways I will bring into my future career in pharmacy,” she says.