Lenhert Wins UH Patient Counseling Competition

Last Year's 2nd Place Finalist Beats Out 88 Local Competitors to Advance to APhA-ASP National Competition in March

With her new title as the 2014 UH Patient Counseling Competition Champion, Pharm.D. candidate Amy Lehnert is preparing to represent UH College of Pharmacy at the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists national competition during the 2014 APhA Annual Meeting & Exposition March 28-31 in Orlando.

Lenhert is not unfamiliar to excellence in pharmacy competitions: She took second place in last year’s UHCOP Patient Counseling Competition as well as represented the college at the national level in the Clinical Skills Competition at American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Midyear Meeting in December.

Kroger Pharmacy's Debbie Veselka congratulates Amy Lenhert on winning the 2014 UHCOP Patient Counseling Competition.

“The emphasis placed on patient counseling is certainly something that makes UHCOP a unique place to learn and improve one's skill regarding direct patient care,” Lenhert said. “I have enjoyed competing throughout the past few years and have found that it has truly helped me become a better communicator to patients in the community, where some of our most relevant drug therapy issues exist.

“Through my rotations this past year, I've been able to apply many of these techniques, and I have seen how they can translate into real-life, positive interventions. I look forward to competing in the national competition at the APhA annual meeting in March, and I am honored to represent UHCOP!”

Rounding out the top 5 finishers were Melanie Laine (second), Amanda Fitzhugh (third), Pari Wafayee (fourth) and Bianca Romero (fifth). Taking sixth through 10th place were, in alphabetical order, Katelyn Hobaugh, Tara Molina, Krutina Patel, Kim Anh Pham and Stacy Poindexter.

Each competitor is given 5 minutes to review the standardized patient’s profile and new prescribed medication. Then, with a video camera recording each presentation for judging, the student counsels the standardized patient on the medication’s purpose, instructions for use, and possible side effects and any food/drinks/medications to avoid, as well as ensuring the patient’s comprehension.

The judges for this year’s competition comprised both pharmacy practitioners/educators (James T. McCarty, Lena Malacoff, R.Ph., and Debbie Veselka, R.Ph.) and laypersons (Bob Felber, Bill Simpson and Nancy Steffens).

“Although our profession is continually evolving and demonstrating our vital role in improving the health of our communities through Medication Therapy Management and other practice programs, effective communication in counseling patients remains one of the most fundamental skills of the pharmacist,” said Veselka, an alumna of UHCOP and clinical care coordinator for Kroger Pharmacy, which has sponsored the UHCOP event for more than 20 years. “Kroger is proud to support this competition with partners such as UH College of Pharmacy, where development of clinical and patient interaction skills is a high priority alongside scientific knowledge.”

UHCOP boasts one of the more active competitions across the nation, with 88 students competing this year. In addition, UHCOP still holds the distinction of being the only college to win the national title in consecutive years (in 2004 and 2005).

“Every year, it seems like it gets harder and harder for our judges and the point-spreads from first to second place and even from first to fifth place keeps getting smaller,” said clinical associate professor, APhA-ASP faculty co-advisor and UHCOP alumna Lynn Simpson, Pharm.D., R.Ph.