Cristina Easterling, UAMS chapter president, APA Academy of Student Pharmacists; left, with Rep. Mike Ross and Dean Stephanie Gardner. Nearly 200 UAMS College of Pharmacy students were provided lunch while U.S. Rep. Mike Ross spoke Oct. 28.

Nov. 5, 2008 | As the husband of a 20-year pharmacist and a former community pharmacy owner himself, U.S. Rep. Mike Ross spoke on a level playing field with more than 200 University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Pharmacy students and faculty members.

Sponsored by the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists, Ross took the podium Oct. 28 in the newly dedicated 43,000-square-foot I. Dodd Wilson Education Building with a clear message.

“When you leave this institution, leave here by being more than just a pharmacist,” Ross said. “Leave here ready to get involved in your communities and in the political process and help make this a better nation in which to live.”

Following a brief speech reflecting on his political career and legislation he’s introduced and sponsored to improve both state and national health care systems, Ross spent the remainder of the lunch hour taking several questions from pharmacy students.

Peter Dipple, a fourth-year student, asked what the next president’s top priority should be given the current state of the Iraq war, the economy and the environment.

“No doubt about it, the state our economy’s in has got to be priority No. 1,” Ross said. “How did we get here? We’re headed for the worst financial crisis anyone in this generation could have imagined, and it’ll still be another six months to a year before we hit the bottom. We’ve got to get our fiscal house back in order and I think it’s going to take a good five to eight years to do that.”

But it didn’t take long to veer back to the topic at hand, as Ross quickly stated the country’s No. 2 priority.

“Health care and education are by far the second-most pressing issues facing us,” Ross said. “You can’t help people if you’re not trained right to do it. It’s institutions like UAMS that will determine the state of health care moving into the future. Be proud of what you’re doing because you are a well-respected group. People will be looking to you to help take care of them and their loved ones.”