Congratulations to the student team from Campbell University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Center, as they emerged victorious to claim the title of Champion of the 2011 ACCP Clinical Pharmacy Challenge.

From left to right: Karyn Fabo, Clayton Moore, and Erin Dickert.

ACCP’s novel pharmacy student team competition was expanded this year after the unexpectedly high level of interest in the 2010 competition. New features of the 2011 competition included the addition of a local competition examination, an expansion of the number of preliminary online rounds, and an increase in the number of teams invited to compete in live round competition.

Teams of three students representing institutions across the United States and Saudi Arabia competed in a quiz bowl–type format. Each round of the competition challenged teams to answer questions in three distinct segments: Trivia/Lightning, Clinical Case, and Jeopardy-style. Beyond facing the challenges of the rigorous examination rounds, teams from Pennsylvania, Texas, and California battled the forces of nature, overcoming flooding, wildfires, and massive power outages just to compete.

From the initial field of 84 teams, 8 advanced through four preliminary online rounds to represent their institution in the quarterfinal round of competition held at last month’s Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Each member of the quarterfinal teams below received a certificate of recognition, a complimentary Annual Meeting registration, and a $125 ACCP gift certificate.

2011 ACCP Clinical Pharmacy Challenge Quarterfinal Teams:

• Belmont University School of Pharmacy
  Team Leader, Lee Rembert
  Members: Rebecca Lucas and Kimberly Bentley
  Alternates: John Barnwell and Cortney Manning
• Butler University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
  Team Leader, Nicole Dores
  Members: Katie Cich and Carly D’Agostino
  Alternate: Kirsta Hoose
• Campbell University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
  Team Leader, Clayton Moore
  Members: Erin Dickert and Karyn Fabo
  Alternates: Dustin Bryan and Stephanie Zyra
• Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Worcester School of Pharmacy
  Team Leader, Khalid Alburikan
  Members: James Lukose and Catherine Potak
  Alternates: Tenley Balla and Kerry Mohrien (former team leader)
• University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Pharmacy
  Team Leader, Jake Smith
  Members: Mark Dunnenberger and Jennifer Rivers
  Alternates: Sloan Regen and Megan Perry
• University of the Pacific Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
  Team Leader, Ryan Conrad
  Members: Ian Ford and Jerline Hsin
  Alternate: Nicole Martinez
• University of Utah College of Pharmacy
  Team Leader, Jaren Koyle
  Members: Scott Nelson and Edward Matterfis
  Alternates: Emily Turley and Taben Main
• Western University of Health Sciences College of Pharmacy
  Team Leader, Alidz Talatinian
  Members: Carrie Bitterlich and Sangeeta Salvi

At the conclusion of the quarterfinal rounds on Saturday, October 15, teams from the Massachusetts University of Health Sciences–Worcester; University of Tennessee; Butler University; and Campbell University prevailed over their opponents to achieve a spot in the semifinal round of competition. Team Campbell and Team Tennessee emerged victorious from their semifinal-round matches to face off for the title of 2011 ACCP Clinical Pharmacy Challenge Champion.

During the final round, students on Team Tennessee and Team Campbell answered items on pharmacology, pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics/pharmacogenomics, and pharmacy history in the Trivia/Lightning segment. The Clinical Case segment challenged the students to answer five multiple-choice items based on a pediatric clinical case vignette. During the Jeopardy-style segment, the teams had a chance to answer questions of varying point values in five predetermined categories. Final-round categories included biostatistics, cardiovascular disorders, critical care, endocrinology, and infectious diseases.

ACCP Immediate Past President, Jim Tisdale, Pharm.D., FCCP, BCPS, served as moderator for the final round of competition. A large and enthusiastic crowd of supporters watched the finals, applauding spontaneously as the teams’ scores remained close after the trivia and case segments. Team Campbell ultimately prevailed with a commanding performance in the Jeopardy segment. ACCP commends Team Campbell on its significant achievement.

Members of Team Campbell each received a $500 cash prize and a commemorative plaque, and they have the honor of bringing the championship trophy home to their school. Each member of the second-place team from the University of Tennessee received a $250 cash prize, and the team was awarded a commemorative plaque to take home to its school of pharmacy.

Please join ACCP in recognizing the student teams from all 84 institutions who competed in this year’s Challenge. For more information on the competition, please visit http://www.accp.com/stunet/index.aspx. The ACCP Clinical Pharmacy Challenge will return in 2012. Please check the Web site for updated information in January.