Meet NEOMED’s National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) student chapter! Read on as NCPA’s leaders and their advisor, Charles Cather, R.Ph., director of experiential education and assistant professor of pharmacy practice, share why the student chapter is important.
Tell us about NCPA.
The goal of our organization is to inform and prepare interested students who wish to pursue a career in independent pharmacy. Unlike retail pharmacies, such as CVS or Walgreens, independent pharmacies are privately-owned.
What can students look forward to this coming academic year?
We are planning to meet monthly. Our executive board plans to increase our community involvement and host speakers from different settings of independent pharmacy, like pharmacy owners and part-time pharmacists.
We are in a bit of a rebuilding period for our organization, so there will be ample opportunity to get involved and have your voice heard. Students in NCPA will have the opportunity to present a business proposal at the state level and compete against other pharmacy students through the Ohio Pharmacists Association (OPA) and NCPA’s annual business competition.
Why should current or incoming students consider joining NCPA?
Students can learn more about the field from the independent business owners we bring in as speakers. We also have a relationship with the Independent Pharmacy Cooperative (IPC) which sponsors two NEOMED students to attend its annual meeting. In fact, every year a NCPA student has represented NEOMED at the annual conference, we have placed in the IPC-sponsored essay contest. Last year, three NEOMED students placed in the contest.
“We are working with a new student management team that is very excited to get involved, grow membership and show an entrepreneurial spirit,” says Cather. If you have any questions about NEOMED’s NCPA chapter, please contact him at ccather@neomed.edu.