The USC student chapter of the National Community Pharmacists Association has won the Dargavel Chapter of the Year award for the third year in a row.

The award was presented at the 109th Annual Convention of the NCPA on Oct. 14 in Anaheim. Accepting the award was Leah Movsessian and Hadi Ale-Ali, both level four Pharm.D. students and co-presidents of the group during the 2006-07 academic year, the period that was considered for the honor. Movsessian is also the association’s national student president.

The honor acknowledges the group’s community outreach activities, focusing on screening and education events at clinics, independent pharmacy locations and health fairs. Members screened and educated thousands of Southern Californians last year on topics such as hypertension, diabetes, body fat analysis, osteoporosis and nutrition.

In addition to outreach events, the group encourages students to consider a career in community pharmacy, exposing them to this career option through site visits and their ongoing speaker series, “Recipe to Developing and Owning Your Own Pharmacy.” This program introduces students to a wide range of community pharmacy topics, including compounding, diabetes care, women’s health issues and homeopathy.

The group also extended its reach last year by producing an instructional DVD on compounding pharmacy practices designed to introduce level one students to this professional niche. In addition, the chapter is active on the political front, educating elected officials about pharmacy issues.

More than 20 members of the chapter were present at the awards ceremony along with faculty adviser Jeffrey Goad, associate professor of clinical pharmacy. Co-presidents for the current academic year are Yousuf Rahyab and Harut Kagoyan, both level two Pharm.D. students.