AUSSHP | Auburn University Student Society of Health-System Pharmacy

ASHP Student Forum

Auburn University Student Society of Health-System Pharmacy (AUSSHP) is the largest student organization within Harrison College of Pharmacy. Meetings and discussions focus on informing members of a variety of careers in hospital and health-systems pharmacy as well as exposure to post-graduate residency training opportunities. Additionally, Auburn student-pharmacists are introduced to new practices and make valuable connections within the professional community. We encourage students to become active participants in campus discussions and promote attendance at state and national meetings and events.

Alabama Society of Health-System Pharmacists (AlSHP) is the state organization which serves many important functions for Alabama. It offers continuing education opportunities, facilitates communication of health-system pharmacists, and promotes pharmacy as an essential component of the health-care system.

American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) is the national organization dedicated to advancing and supporting the professional practice of pharmacists within hospitals and health systems. For over sixty years, ASHP serves as pharmacistsÕ collective voice on issues and policies related to medication use, patient safety, and public health.

Monthly Meetings

Each month, AUSSHP hosts speakers from various practice settings to talk about and share their experiences in pharmacy. In the past, meetings featured representatives from various fields including but not limited to: oncology, administration, critical care, psychiatric, nuclear, ambulatory care, infectious disease, geriatric, and pediatric pharmacy. At our meetings, student members receive the opportunity to ask questions and interact with the speakers. Through these meetings, Auburn students learn about the many career options available to them.

Lunch With a Leader
AUSSHP proudly hosts its Lunch with a Leader series each spring. Starting in 2011, our Society has provided a forum to give students the opportunity to hear firsthand the journey leaders in our profession have taken. This event is open to the entire college of pharmacy, and lunch is provided. Each meeting focuses on our underlying topic of interest-leadership. Speakers often reveal their successes, triumphs, hardships, and challenges as leaders within our profession. They focus on the essence of maturing into a leader in pharmacy by recounting their own experience. Past topics include: Getting Involved in Pharmacy Organizations, A Focus on the Pharmacy Practice Model Initiative (PPMI) Leadership in Health-System Pharmacy, and A Focus on Board Certification. The series has been very successful in broadening the understanding of a pharmacistÕs leadership role.

Residency Showcase
Our state society, AlSHP, works very closely with AUSSHP throughout the year to foster opportunities for our students to learn about different residency options. Each fall, AlSHP hosts the Residency Showcase in Birmingham and Auburn. AlSHP invites an extensive array of residency directors and current residents from over 30 programs. Current residents are invited to sit in on a panel open to the student body to answer questions. After the panel presentation, there is the heavily trafficked residency showcase. Programs from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee are highlighted in the showcase. This session offers a more intimate conversation to occur where students can focus on certain programs and ask relevant questions to programs of interest. It's an invaluable opportunity for students to learn what residency programs entail and how they can better prepare themselves for the application process.

Residency Mixer
Varying slightly from the Residency Showcase, the AUSSHP Residency Mixer is also held each fall. Each campus holds its own mixer event. Residency-trained practitioners and faculty members are invited to attend. Student members are extended the opportunity to interact with the faculty in a more personal, more comfortable setting. The mixer allows for a more intimate environment where students can talk one-on-one with residency faculty. The mixer allows students to network with faculty members and get a more personal feel for residency training.

Clinical Skills Competition
Each year, ASHP sponsors an event called the Clinical Skills Competition. It is an interactive, team-based analysis of various health scenarios in which two pharmacy students work together to determine the best use of medication and develop a patient treatment plan. The competition begins locally; each pharmacy school sends two finalists to compete at the national level at the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting in December.