Students with the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) School of Pharmacy recently received the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association (PPA) 2019 Membership Award. The award was presented during PPA’s annual conference at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Seven Springs, Pennsylvania, in September.
PPA’s Membership Award recognizes one Pennsylvania pharmacy school that has excelled in PPA membership recruitment, retention and involvement. Schools receive points for activities related to these criteria, and special credit is awarded for creative and innovative efforts.
In selecting LECOM as the 2019 recipient, PPA acknowledged the school’s creative touch in developing unique events, which increased PPA membership numbers. LECOM was also recognized for its number of innovative projects, including a Welcome Back Picnic, a weeklong membership drive and a Jeopardy-style course review program for the students’ benefit.
For their efforts, LECOM students received a commemorative plaque and a $200 cash prize for their chapter. Currently more than 100 LECOM students are members of PPA.
“This award is important for LECOM because it represents the significance of becoming involved in a professional organization,” said Abbey Krysiak, Pharm.D., faculty liaison for LECOM’s PPA group. “PPA membership also presents leadership and networking opportunities to our students within the profession.”
LECOM was among eight Pennsylvania pharmacy programs eligible for the Membership Award, and this marks the second-consecutive year the school has received this particular honor. In 2017, LECOM received PPA’s Government Relations and Advocacy Award and won the Public Awareness and Communication Award in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
PPA is a professional membership organization of more than 2,300 pharmacists and pharmacy students across Pennsylvania representing almost all facets of pharmacy practice. As the leading voice of pharmacy in Pennsylvania, PPA promotes the profession through advocacy, education and communication to enhance patient care and public health.