College of Pharmacy Class of 2023 Receives Pins, Transitions to Patient Care
| The UAMS College of Pharmacy held its annual Academy of Student Pharmacists Professional Pinning Ceremony on March 4, celebrating third-year students as they transition from in-class instruction to direct patient care for their final year of pharmacy school.
After two years of virtual festivities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students masked up and gathered in person at locations in Little Rock and Fayetteville for the joint ceremony.
Third-year student Claudia Raffo receives her pin. Flanking her are John Vinson, Pharm.D. and Cindy Stowe, PharmD.Evan Lewis
“Today marks our third-year students’ transition from an intensive, didactic curriculum to an experiential curriculum,” said College of Pharmacy Dean Cindy Stowe, Pharm.D. “This is one of the most critical transitions they will experience in the professional program. I am so proud of our Class of 2023 as they take on the challenging but rewarding task of caring for patients.”
As upcoming fourth-year students, the Class of 2023 will receive hands-on experience and begin advanced practice rotations to participate in various types of patient care while applying the skills and knowledge they’ve gained during their three years of didactic coursework.
“We are incredibly proud to celebrate this significant milestone in the academic career of our Class of 2023 students, as they transition from didactic to direct patient care phase of the curriculum,” said Ashok Philip, Ph.D., associate dean for student services.
Ashlyn Curry, a fourth-year pharmacy student, served as emcee and read out the names of each student as they came up to the podium to receive their pin. Students posed for pictures and placed their pins on their white coats, or they were pinned by faculty or fellow classmates.
Ashok Philip, Ph.D., speaks to students at the ceremony. Behind him is a video feed of third-year students in Northwest Arkansas.Evan Lewis
“Congratulations on making it this far in your journey,” said Cate Halloran, Pharm.D., the keynote speaker for the ceremony. Halloran, a College of Pharmacy Class of 2021 graduate, is a pharmacist at Community Pharmacy in Springdale. “I know at times it may have felt like this day may never come, and this is something that you should all be truly proud of.”
Halloran said a pharmacy student’s fourth year can be their most challenging.
“Your fourth year is a time for you not only to decide what kind of pharmacist you want to become, but where you’ll end up in your practice sites,” Halloran said. “I encourage all of you to keep an open mind, and remember that a variety of rotation experiences will help you become a well-rounded pharmacist.”
Halloran’s fourth-year experiences included acute care, infectious disease, anticoagulation, compounding, nutrition, wound care and experiences in intensive care units and emergency departments. By working at many locations in different areas across the state and having many different experiences, it made her fourth year much more enriching.
“Fourth year is a time to grow more than you ever have,” Halloran said. “Now is your time to learn what you don’t know.”
The return to an in-person ceremony raised the spirits of those in attendance and underscored the themes of community and togetherness, alongside individual growth.
“I thought this year’s ceremony was special for several reasons, especially being together again and connecting our Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas students in a single ceremony,” said David Caldwell, Pharm.D., associate dean for academic affairs. “Dr. Halloran did a great job of encouraging the P3s to rise to the challenges of their P4 year.”
The Arkansas Pharmacists Association sponsored this year’s ceremony. The association’s CEO, John Vinson, Pharm.D., is a College of Pharmacy alumnus and attended the ceremony to welcome and congratulate the students.
College of Pharmacy Class of 2023
| Elma Abdullah
Colton Andrews Laura Beaudreau Tony Blagg Jamie Bourland Emily Campbell Riley Caraway Grant Cathey Minh Chu Taylor Connor Danielle Cook Lindsey Cooper Tanner Cooper Brendon Coughran Darren Crymes Caleigh Currington Kaitlin Davis Alex Day Taylor Deen Vidya Desai Justin Dino Sarah Dobbs Kennedy Dodson Abigail Dunn Bethany Dunn Samuel Eddington Preston Eubanks Kellyn Foster Michael Frederick Krupali Gandhi Marissa Gates Bailey Gossett Elizabeth Harmon Jayden Hart Michelle Hernandez Davonte Hokes |
Hannah Howard
Hannah Hunt Kiran Kaur Nicole Kile McKenzie Koch Michelle Le Stephanie Mahaffey Madeline Malloy Holley Maness Derek Mauldin Charles McCormick Malynn McKay Gale Menotti Brendan Midkiff Marco Morris Abigail Parker Evan Parks Siddhi Patel Michael Pham Claudia Raffo Caleb Reinhart Justice Rice Darrin Roland Mike Sasca Mattie Schanandore Erica Smith Victor Tanthaphengxay Morgan Tracy Angel Vu Anh Vu Brias Watson Jasiha Welch Mark White Nathan Wilson Jake Wingfield Lindsey Worthington |