Following the virtual commencement ceremony for Samford University’s McWhorter School of Pharmacy, the school’s faculty and staff held an online awards ceremony for its Doctor of Pharmacy, Class of 2020.

Though virtual, the event still included traditional elements, including a speech from a faculty member voted upon by the class. This year, the honor was given to professor Bruce Waldrop.

In his remarks, Waldrop explained that a great pharmacist must demonstrate three important elements: commitment, community and compassion. “For years, pharmacy has been at or near the top of the list for the most respected professions. The respect pharmacists earn from their patients goes beyond them identifying a potential drug interaction or serious side effect; I believe pharmacists are so respected because of their visibility and involvement outside the pharmacy,” he said. “A great pharmacist must be trustworthy, honest and ethical.” 

Following his remarks, a number of awards was presented by students and faculty. 

Awards Presented 

Faculty and Staff Awards

These awards were voted upon and presented by the Class of 2020

• Pharmacy Practice Faculty Member of the Year: Professor Jeff Kyle
• Pharmaceutical, Social, and Administrative Sciences Faculty Member of the Year: Professor Bruce Waldrop
• Faculty Preceptor of the Year Award: Professor Maryam Iranikhah
• Preceptor of the Year Award: Chase Carpenter
• Staff Member of the Year Award: Linda Killingsworth

Organization Past Presidents’ Awards

• Myla Marshall, Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy
• Erin Creasy, American Pharmacists Association- Academy of Student Pharmacists
• Cody Dukes and Beau Williams, Christian Pharmacist Fellowship
• Landon Reeves, International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research
• Mady Shipley, Kappa Psi
• Brooke Carter, National Community Pharmacists Association
• Whitley Tassin, Pediatric Pharmacy Association
• Shelby Holley, Phi Lambda Sigma
• Mark Caddell, Rho Chi
• Liz Parker, Student College of Clinical Pharmacy
• Bobby Green, Student National Pharmaceutical Association
• Gabby Moore, Student Society of Health-System Pharmacists

Best in Group Capstone Project Recognitions

• Group 1, Cameron Lee, Investigating the Potential Impact of Pharmacogenomic Variants on Drug Therapy in Cystic Fibrosis
• Group 2, Hali Swanson, The Effects of Perinatal Marijuana Use on the Fetus and Child Development: A Review of the Literature
• Group 3, Bria Lewis, Evaluation of Clinical Pharmacist Interventions at an Ambulatory Care Clinic: Is There an Association with Medication Regimen Complexity Index (MRCI) Score?
• Group 4, Rachel Reynolds, Antimicrobial Stewardship at Time of Discharge for Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Structure Infection (ABSSSI)and diabetic foot infections (DFI)
• Group 5, MyAn Pham, The Safety of Sacubitril-Valsartan in a Cohort of Real-World Hospitalized Patients with Heart Failure
• Group 6, Jacqueline Downey, Usage of Perceptions of a Medication Adherence Mobile Application in Pharmacy Students
• Group 7, Geoffrey Hunt, Evaluation of Rejection Rates in Pediatric Heart Transplant Recipients Requiring Filgrastim for Treatment of Neutropenia
• Group 8, Matthew Tucker, Attitudes and Knowledge Regarding Vaccinations: A Survey of Samford Health Care Students Preparing to Enter the Workforce
• Group 9, Brittany Pate, Efficacy of Lavender Aromatherapy in Reducing Preoperative Anxiety: A Literature Review
• Group 10, Brooke Carter, Assessing Antihypertensive Prescribing Patterns in African American Patients at a Family Medicine Clinic
• Group 11, Richard Van Dyke, Impact of Analogues of Anti-cancer Agent B6 on Lumacaftor-mediated Correction of F508del Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator
• Group 12, Kelsey Ryan, Assessment of Academic Burnout in Second-year Pharmacy Students

Top Capstone Awards

• First place winner: Brooke Carter
• Second place winner: My An Pham
• Third place winner Rachel Reynolds

Additional Student Awards

• Best of Grand Rounds Award: Abby Bradley
• Don Lane Martinez Research Award: Richard VanDyke
• Merck Academic Excellence Award: Mark Caddell and Heather Rose
• Mylan Pharmaceuticals Excellence in Pharmacy Award: Koffi Amoussou
• PSRI Biomedical Sciences Research Award: Gracie Giang
• Woodrow Byrum Pharmaceutical Sciences: Erin Creasy
• Alabama Society of Health-System Pharmacists Student Health-System Award: Bryce Burkhart
• Excellence in Experiential Education Award: Cody Fuller
• “Character Counts” Award: Alex Lott and Whitley Tassin
• Community Pharmacy Management Award: Mady Shipley
• Wolters Kluwer Facts & Comparisons Award of Excellence in Clinical: McKenzie Black
• Hospital Pharmacy: Kelsey Fitzpatrick
• Patient Care Award: Brooke Carter
• Professionalism Award: Abby Bradley and Myla Marshall
• Non-Traditional Student Award: Lilian Okumu

Dean’s Award

Gracie Giang

Recognition of Graduates who Represented McWhorter School of Pharmacy at National Pharmacy Competitions

• Emelia Beam, APhA-ASP Patient Counseling Competition
• Gaybrielle Moore and Koffi Amoussou, ASHP Clinical Skills Competition
• Karla Rae DeFee, Kelsey Fitzpatrick, Bobby Green, Nancy Joseph, Bria Lewis, Hope May, Gaybrielle Moore, LaRhonda Moore, and Shalisha Whitely SNPhA Clinical Skills Competition