Maria Newlon receives national pharmacy scholarship
Second-year pharmacy student Maria Newlon is one of only 21 student pharmacists from across the country selected to receive the CVS Health/AACP Community Pharmacy Health Equity award. According to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, the $20,000 scholarship supports students who will “advocate for the needs of patients, the profession and the public, both within and outside health care settings.”
An active member of the NEOMED community, Newlon is P2 NEOMED Student Council Representative, a peer mentor, an academic tutor, and member of Phi Lambda Sigma, APhA and NCODA. She currently holds two internships at CVS Health and University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center. In her spare time, she is also a high school cheerleading coach!
Newlon shared her thoughts on receiving this recognition from CVS Health and AACP with The Pulse.
What does the award mean to you?
This award means the world to me, and I am deeply honored to be selected as a recipient. As an employee of CVS Health for over 3 years now, I am grateful for their generous support and belief in me as a future pharmacist. Their partnership with AACP, a national pharmacy organization that promotes advocacy, collaboration and professional development, truly shows how dedicated current members of the pharmacy field are to supporting future leaders. This scholarship will open doors to educational opportunities, reduce financial stress, and allow me to make a smoother transition into the workforce. It signifies a movement toward a system where everyone can thrive, which is what I hope to foster as a future health care provider.
Can you share your thoughts on health equity and pharmacy?
Health equity and pharmacy are interconnected in several key ways. Pharmacists play a crucial role in ensuring equitable access to medications and health services, addressing disparities in delivery of care, and promoting effective patient education. By advocating for underserved populations, pharmacists help bridge gaps that exist in the system and support policies that enhance access to essential medications. It is up to us as pharmacists to use our education to help understand and mitigate the social determinants of health that impact medication adherence and health outcomes.
Applicants were asked to describe their vision for improving health care through advocacy in the future. How did you respond to that question?
My message to anyone listening is that you have a voice to be heard. As health care professionals, we are important, we are influential and we are powerful. We have such a unique opportunity to be the change we want to see in our system. My vision or hope for our health care system is that we create an environment where patients are not afraid to seek care. I want to see a system where doctors, pharmacists, nurses, etc. are not only providers but advocates for their patients' needs.
The truth of the matter is that no two patients are the same. Each and every patient we see requires different strategies for care and, therefore, different interventions. I hope that through our own education of government aid, local resources, etc., we as providers can not only treat our patients physically, but also create plans for them to access and afford the care we give them. To have knowledge about our patients' disease state is to provide, but to help them obtain it is to be a provider. This is what I believe is at the core of who we are and what we should represent. I understand that the only way to make this ideation a reality is through advocacy, and I hope to put that at the forefront of everything I do as a future pharmacist.
Anything else you'd like to add?
I want to thank CVS Health, AACP, NEOMED and my family and friends for their unwavering support of my academic and professional success. I am excited to see what the future holds!