SDSU well represented at American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy annual meeting

South Dakota State University faculty and staff presented and led important discussions at the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy annual meeting, held in Boston from July 20-23. 

The SDSU College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions had several faculty and staff in attendance, presenting posters, participating in the association’s Academic Leadership Fellowship Program or leading timely discussions. 

Poster presentations 

SDSU was represented through five poster presentations on a variety of topics, including faculty and staff development, pharmacy education, and pharmacy recruitment. 

“Supported People Make a Successful College: A Decade of Faculty and Staff Development” was presented by Deidra Van Gilder, Emily Van Klompenburg, Joe Berendse, Shanna O’Connor and Jodi Heins. 

“Small-Scale Changes with Big Benefits: Addressing Low Course Evaluation Scores in a Pharmacy Management Course” was presented by Erin Miller, O’Connor and Jacob Ford. 

“Student Performance and Perceptions Following Implementation of a New Drug Competency Assessment Sequence” was presented by Brad Laible, O’Connor, Van Gilder, Jordan Baye, Brittney Meyer, Jim Clem and Brianna Vant Hul. 

“I Choose Pharmacy Because: Reaching and Welcoming New Audiences to the Pharmacy Professions” was presented by Clem and others. 

“Needle-ss to Say, Time for a Shot of Updated USP Standards in Sterile Compounding Education” was presented by Meyer, Scout Forbes-Hurd and others. 

Academic Leadership Fellows Program 

At the 2024 annual meeting, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy also announced the 35 individuals named to the 21st cohort of the Academic Leadership Fellows Program. SDSU’s Josh Reineke was named to the new cohort. 

According to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, the program “supports and contributes to the development of leaders in academic pharmacy and higher education, providing an opportunity for fellows to expand relationships with peers and colleagues in other institutions, as well as within their own college and university.” 

Reineke follows O’Connor, who was named to the 20th cohort last year. 

Medical billing and scope of practice luncheon 

During the annual meeting, O’Connor also co-led a luncheon titled “Medical Billing and Scope of Practice Advancement Networking Lunch.” The luncheon focused on conversation related to scope of practice and medical billing, specifically as it related to including such topics in student curriculum. 

The luncheon, which had around 90 people in attendance, was met with positive engagement and feedback, according to O’Connor. “This is the future; we need to do this as pharmacy educators,” she added. 

Medical billing is a growing conversation in the field of pharmacy, and SDSU is “helping to lead the charge,” O’Connor said. “SDSU is being positioned in a place where we are part of an important discussion that needs to be happening.” 

O’Connor noted that this luncheon is just one piece of her work with the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy to keep this conversation going. The association is currently putting together a webinar on medical billing and training, and O’Connor is one of the co-leads. The webinar and training are expected to release in October and November. 

O’Connor co-led the medical billing and scope of practice luncheon alongside Jennifer Adams from Idaho State University and Jennifer Bacci from the University of Washington.