Inaugural PQA-CVS Health Foundation Scholars complete program
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Pharmacy Quality Alliance and CVS Health Foundation’s inaugural class of 38 students and mentors have successfully completed a scholarship opportunity whereby students pair with a mentor to design and implement a quality-related project. The program concluded with the students presenting the results of their projects during the Poster Presentation session at the PQA Annual Meeting.
The inaugural year of the program supported 19 student-mentor pairs from 15 schools and colleges of pharmacy. In addition, three students were awarded additional scholarships for their outstanding projects and committed efforts throughout the program.
The top three Scholars and their projects are, as follows:
Julie Patterson, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy, PharmD Candidate 2018; “The impact of objective quality ratings on patient selection of community pharmacies: A discrete choice analysis.”
Kavita Parikh, Midwestern University Chicago College of Pharmacy, PharmD Candidate 2018; “A pharmacist's role in transitions of care settings as part of a patient care management team to decrease re-admissions.”
Michael Peters, Purdue University College of Pharmacy, PharmD Candidate 2018; Comparing FAERS and Twitter data on high-risk medications for the elderly and the impact on the CMS star rating system.
"It was outstanding to see the successful work of our scholars and their mentors throughout this program and to see the culmination of their projects presented during our PQA Annual Meeting," stated Laura Cranston, PQA executive director. “The scholars demonstrated creative and innovative initiatives that will help drive the healthcare quality agenda forward. It has been a pleasure to work with the CVS Health Foundation to provide this opportunity to the student-mentor pairs and we look forward to our continued partnership during the second year of the program."
"The CVS Health Foundation is proud to partner with the Pharmacy Quality Alliance to help develop future pharmacists that will help enhance patient care and outcomes in healthcare," said Eileen Howard Boone, president of the CVS Health Foundation. "We look forward to working together for a second year as we continue to fulfill this program's mission."
PQA and the CVS Health Foundation also announce that applications for the second year of the PQA-CVS Health Foundation Scholars Program are now open. The deadline to apply is June 15.
PQA and the CVS Health Foundation are committed to supporting future pharmacy leaders and their education of quality performance and measurement. The goal of this scholarship program is to support and recognize student excellence in projects centered on quality-related initiatives; encourage, promote, and improve education surrounding quality measures and value-based models of care; and foster student interest and engagement in the development of quality-related initiatives. The program provides a scholarship for scholars to attend the PQA Leadership Summit in November and present the results of their project at the PQA Annual Meeting in May.