The American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) presented its annual Patient Care Achievement Award at the association’s annual meeting in San Francisco.

The award recognizes the contribution of USC School of Pharmacy students in their commitment to patient care, education and community outreach. The USC chapter was announced as the winner at the awards ceremony March 20, receiving a plaque and a $250 cash prize. Ravipal Singh, a fourth-year Pharm.D. student, accepted the award for USC.

“For the third year in a row, since the inception of this award, our students have won. In light of the expanding role of the pharmacist on today’s health-care team, winning the patient care award is a very significant achievement,” said Michael Wincor, associate professor of clinical pharmacy at USC.

The chapter also captured the APhA-ASP Pharmacy Services Support Center Project Award. This award recognizes the chapter’s work at multiple safety net clinics in Los Angeles, meeting the pharmacy needs of low-income and homeless patients. A $2,000 award comes with this honor, which will be used at the clinics.

USC also won the Rho Chi Society Project Award recognizing work in community mental health screening. The winning chapter received a plaque and a $500 cash prize.

USC students also won the Region 8 award in the Heartburn Awareness Challenge. Forty-eight chapters participated in the competition designed to give student pharmacists an opportunity to enhance their presentation skills while educating their communities on the prevention and treatment of heartburn.

In addition, USC pharmacy students took the Region 8 award in Operation Immunization: The Nation’s Student Pharmacists Protecting the Public Health. Sixty-one chapters competed in this year’s campaign that advises patients about appropriate immunizations and where they can be obtained.