The student team from the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy captured the title of ACCP Clinical Pharmacy Challenge champion in an exciting match with the team from the Thomas Jefferson University Jefferson College of Pharmacy. From an initial field of 108 teams, these two institutions advanced through four online rounds of competition as well as live quarter- and semifinal matches held at the ACCP Global Conference on Clinical Pharmacy in San Francisco, California, and then met to face each other in the final round, also held at the conference.

The Clinical Pharmacy Challenge, now in its sixth year, afforded teams of three pharmacy students representing institutions from 45 states across the country the opportunity to compete in a “quiz bowl”–type competition. Each round of competition consisted of questions in three distinct segments: Trivia/Lightning, Clinical Case, and Jeopardy-style. Items were written and reviewed by an expert panel of ACCP members. The victory by the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy is the school’s second, having also won the inaugural Clinical Pharmacy Challenge in 2010.

Left to right team members: Fei Tang, Andrew Radzak, and Rebecca Pulk, with John Murphy, Pharm.D., FCCP, BCPS, competition moderator

The team from the Thomas Jefferson University Jefferson College of Pharmacy led the match after the Trivia/Lightning round, but students from the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy began to close the gap in the Clinical Case section. Teams were then presented items in the following Jeopardy categories: Cardiovascular Disorders, Endocrinology, Hematology/Oncology, Infectious Diseases, and Potpourri. Teams employed strategic choices as they navigated the Jeopardy grid, selecting the item categories they felt matched their own unique strengths and taking their chances in the Potpourri category, which addressed items in COPD, neurology, and HIV. Ultimately, Minnesota prevailed with a strong performance in the Jeopardy-style segment.

Please join ACCP in congratulating both teams on their outstanding academic achievement. To view a complete listing of the teams that participated and progressed through this year’s competition, please visit http://www.accp.com/stunet.