Two University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy students recently finished in the Top 10 of the American Society of Health System Pharmacists Clinical Skills Competition.

Paige Melling and Miranda Verdier were awarded at the recent ASHP Clinical Meeting in Las Vegas. Teams from 131 pharmacy schools competed.

“It’s one of the most competitive national clinical pharmacy competitions and provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills as critical thinkers and problem solvers,” said Steven Stoner, clinical professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administration at the UMKC School of Pharmacy. “Their success is not only testimony to their hard work and professional development as students, but it also creates a strong sense of pride for the faculty and preceptors that they have worked with over the course of the past four years.”

Students demonstrate their clinical skill development through an interactive, team-based analysis of clinical scenarios. Participants assess patient information and current therapies, identify and prioritize drug therapy problems, identify treatment goals and recommend a pharmacist’s care plan. Judges evaluate teams based on the clinical relevance, effectiveness, comprehensiveness and practicality of their written recommendations.

“We’re grateful that we had the opportunity to represent UMKC on a national level and honored to be recognized as one of the Top 10 teams,” said Melling, who graduated from Liberty High School in Liberty, Missouri.

“We were so excited to see the support we had from our UMKC professors who have cheered us along the whole way,” said Verdier, who graduated from Monroe City High School in Monroe City, Missouri.

Leading up to the national competition, there were local competitions across the country to decide who will represent each school, and Melling and Verdier were selected as the UMKC representatives this year from a strong and competitive field of pharmacy peers.

Melling and Verdier were accepted into the UMKC School of Pharmacy program straight out of high school, which means required undergraduate and graduate coursework will take six years vs. eight. Both are on track to graduate with their Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree in May 2017, and both are in the process of applying for hospital residencies.