Annual Chapter Report Outline
Date of report submission: May 13, 2009 Name of School/College: Duquesne University – Mylan School of Pharmacy Chapter name and region: Alpha Beta Chapter – Region II Delegate who attended the Rho Chi Annual Meeting: Treasurer - Brian Lohr Date Delegate’s name was submitted to Rho Chi.: Brian was elected to be treasurer of Rho Chi in April of 2008 for the 2008-2009 school year. Past year’s officers and e-mail addresses: President : Lauren Goldberg (goldbergl@duq.edu) Vice President: Sarah Criner (criners@duq.edu) Treasurer: Brian Lohr (lohrb@duq.edu) Secretary: Nicole Dantonio (dantonion588@duq.edu) Historian: Rebecca Eddinger (eddingerr@duq.edu) New officers and e-mail addresses for next academic year: President: Kelly Connelly (connellyk1133@duq.edu) Vice President: Nick Campbell (campbelln@duq.edu) Treasurer: Phillip Pucci – (puccip@duq.edu) Secretary: Caitlin Theobald – (theobaldc@duq.edu) Historian: Melanie Kidder – (kidderm@duq.edu) Chapter advisor’s name/e-mail address: Dr. Marc Harrold - 2008-2009 Advisor (harrold@duq.edu) Dr. David Lapinsky will be next year’s chapter advisor. (lapinskyd@duq.edu)
The Rho Chi Society National Office Contact Information: Email: RhoChi@unc.edu Telephone: (919) 843-9001 Fax: (919) 962-0644
The Rho Chi Society Annual Chapter Report
This years Rho Chi chapter attempted to bring a few new events to Duquesne University as well as uphold typical Rho Chi events including Scholar’s Day and our successful tutoring program. Our main focus was to make Rho Chi a more recognized society. While we were not able to complete all of our goals for the year, we were able to formulate a few new events including Melanoma Monday as well as set up the guidelines for a scholarship that will be available to Rho Chi members in the future. Among other events, we do believe our society continued to make more of a mark here at Duquesne University. Meeting Minutes: Tuesday April 22, 2008 (Attendance: 33) The main purpose of the meeting was to discuss ideas and to inform everyone about the activities/events and opportunities for the upcoming year. These activities included: o Chapter Goals and Proposal: Goals must be set for each year and a few were listed on the agenda. One thought is to create a scholarship via fundraising or a sponsor to honor a student for academic achievement o Chapter Proposal: usually a program or project that adds to the curriculum and is submitted in February (an example from last year was about increasing the role of professionalism) (a committee was created)
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Rho Chi Annual Meeting: Usually held in October (in conjunction with ASP Annual Meetings) Even though a Rho Chi meeting is usually not its own event, Dr. Harrold suggested that we collaborate with Pitt and organize a social event during the ASP Meeting since it will be held in Pittsburgh- We could meet other members from the other chapters and share ideas National Meeting- will be held in San Antonio April 3-7 Scholar’s Day: occurs in January and mostly organized by Student Services we need volunteers to help during the day A committee was created Induction of 4th year students: help organize the banquet at the end of the year honoring new inductees A committee was created Treasurer’s report and fundraising: We currently have a little over $4,000 in the account Goal/quota is $500/year, but if we meet this goal in the fall, we will continue fundraising for the spring In the past we’ve sold Joe Corbi’s pizza Other suggestions were: Rita’s or Coldstone, possible clothing, left over tote bags We will probably send out fliers in the packages sent home to students in the summer if we do a clothing sale
The Rho Chi Society National Office Contact Information: Email: RhoChi@unc.edu Telephone: (919) 843-9001 Fax: (919) 962-0644
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The Rho Chi Society Annual Chapter Report
A committee was created
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Pharmacy Carnival during Pharmacy Week in October: Each organization has a booth, raffle basket, and a game- any ideas? Tutoring: Any class that you feel comfortable with for 3rd and 4th year students It’s a paid position through Human Resources (probably minimum wage), but you will not be paid if you already hold a campus job We need to decide who would like to tutor and which classes we will make available Sarah will send out an email in August with more information if anyone is interested A committee was created Speakers We hold 1 speaker per semester In the past there have been speakers on residencies, job opportunities, new faculty, graduate projects A committee was created Sign up sheets for committees were passed around
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Thursday, September 4, 2008 (Attendance: 33) Welcome back!! UPCOMING EVENTS: o Pharmacy Picnic– Wednesday, Sept. 10th 2 buses leave Bluff Street at 4:00 PM and one at 5:00 PM and are scheduled to pick up students at the park for the return trip at 8:30 PM We’re in charge of bringing water with KE o JDRF Walk – Saturday, Sept. 20th at Schenley Park-Registration for Walk at 8 AM /Walk starts around 10 AM Becky discussed and passed out information on how to register online, set up an account online for donations, and sell sneakers. Collection envelopes are due to the day of the walk. If you need any information, the handout emailed to you, or instructions, contact Becky Please register! And even if you cannot make it that day, a donation of any kind is appreciated! o Leadership Retreat – Saturday October 4th at 8:45 AM at Camp Guyasuta in Sharpsburg, PA. Consists of teambuilding activities and events with other students. The fee of $25 is paid by Rho Chi and is refundable. We also need a basket to raffle off. If anyone is interested, contact Lauren or Greg Hare. o Pharmacy Week/Pharmacy Carnival- October 29th
The Rho Chi Society National Office Contact Information: Email: RhoChi@unc.edu Telephone: (919) 843-9001 Fax: (919) 962-0644
The Rho Chi Society Annual Chapter Report
If signed up to be part of this committee we must come up with a game and food o ASP Mid-year Regional Meeting- October 17-19 at the Hilton, Downtown Trying to organize a Rho Chi informal, general meeting with about 13 or so other schools (this is just something we have in mind and to look out for). OTHER NEWS o Tutoring- Forms for those interested were handed out and need to be returned to Sarah ASAP. o Community Service Project: We tried to think of ideas that would make our organization have an annual tradition or benefit students or the community. Some ideas included: blood pressure screenings at the mall or with the Wellness Center; working with the Class of 2011 or 2012 for Q&A Sessions about exams or material; incorporating weekend students more to discuss job experiences; PCAT reviews or selling PCAT books for the freshman and sophomores since they are now required to take the exam to get into pharmacy school. o Project Prom - bring formal gowns, cocktail dresses, shoes, purses, etc to DUV office in 305 Union so that women in our community can have their wish to go to prom come true. Monday, October 13, 2008 (Attendance: 28) UPCOMING EVENTS o T-Shirt Fundraiser- Pick-up is this Thursday in front of Laura from 12-2 P We made $830 in profit! o Bucca Dinner for MRM- Saturday, October 18th @ 7 PM in Station Square Other schools attending include those from Region 2 at MRM (i.e. Pitt, LECOM, etc.) as a networking dinner o Speaker- Wednesday, October 22nd from 12-1 PM in Room 318 Bayer Dr. Ed Krenzelok, (Director of Pittsburgh Poison Center and Drug Information Center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) will be talking about career opportunities for pharmacists and their involvement in the community We also discussed bringing in different people to each meeting to discuss topics related to us- next month we plan on having someone from Career Services to talk about resume building. o Pharmacy Carnival- Wednesday, October 29th during Common Hour (12-2 PM) Game and a Raffle Basket are needed- we decided to use the game from previous years Facts about Faculty; for each correct answer a student matches, he/she wins a ticket and chance to win a raffle basket The bookstore has donated a T-shirt to raffle and we may put some other Duquesne items inside Please volunteer to sit at the booth- you’re help is appreciated!! OTHER NEWS o Scholarship- Lauren met with Dr. Mattei about the specifics of the scholarship. We need to decide on the criteria: whether it be strictly GPA-based or involve community service as well
The Rho Chi Society National Office Contact Information: Email: RhoChi@unc.edu Telephone: (919) 843-9001 Fax: (919) 962-0644
The Rho Chi Society Annual Chapter Report
if it will only be a one-time-only amount or awarded to a 5th year student at the end of the Spring semester it must go towards tuition/housing possibly doing an anonymous application process o PCAT info- we are not allowed to sell PCAT books to students, so we talked about having a review for students in the Spring (information of what is on the exam/what to expect, where to take it, O Chem info that they may not have seen yet, etc) This is also our Chapter Proposal o Future things to think about: Dr. Laux is getting back to us about doing a blood pressure screening in the Union or around campus in November. A way to raise money for a philanthropy of our choice (a Chinese Auction was suggested, but other ideas are welcome!) November 16, 2009 (Attendance:31) o Charlotte Padden spoke to Rho Chi members about interviewing tips as well as information regarding our resumes to help prepare us to apply for jobs in the near future. January 21, 2009 (Attendance: 24) o CHAPTER CHANGES: o National Proposal: Non-accredited pharmacy schools should not be able to induct members/participate in Rho Chi. We took a vote and agreed with the proposal o Chapter Proposal- Due February 1st (Our previous idea of a PCAT Review was not accepted by Dean Bricker; New idea of introducing students to the Fellows, Residents, and Grad Students and what they are working on in the School of Pharmacy *If you have any suggestions on how to incorporate these faculty/Grad students, please let us know! o Scholar’s Day- Monday March 9th from 8 AM to around 2 PM (A day when high school students can come and participate in pharmacy school activities (roughly about 25 students attend)/ Lectures and activities by Dr. McFalls, Dr. Lech, Dr. Laux, and Dr. Witt-Enderby Volunteer Sign Up- We need volunteers to guide them to the lecture halls/classrooms and help with lunch. If anyone who did not sign up would still like to volunteer, please let me know or send me an email! o New Inductions Banquet- Tuesday March 31st (probably around 6:30 PM) The menu was discussed by the committee (a chicken and a pasta dish) A speaker was contacted- he is a patent lawyer and works Downtown o PCAT Review for Prospective Students Waiting for the reply from the Pitt coordinator of their program RxPrep Kaplan also is able to come in free-of-charge to discuss general topics about the exam, the Score, and how it ranks in their overall application profile o MEETING IN SAN ANTONIO- April 4th-6th
The Rho Chi Society National Office Contact Information: Email: RhoChi@unc.edu Telephone: (919) 843-9001 Fax: (919) 962-0644
The Rho Chi Society Annual Chapter Report
March 24th, 2009 (Attendance: 17) Upcoming Events o Induction Banquet- Tuesday March 31st at 6PM in the Duquesne Room o Melanoma Monday- Monday April 20th from 1-4 PM in the Student Union (exact location to be determined) Dr. Kearns will be helping us screen patients using the Dermaview. Please sign up to sit at the table in half hour or 1 hour increments! o PCAT Review Session for Pre-Professional Students- Wednesday April 15th at 1PM during the Freshman Orientation Mr. Hagan still has yet to confirm, but Nicole Seisek from Kaplan will be coming in to give students a general overview of the exam, what to expect, and some practice questions o Scholarship- We discussed that it should be awarded to a 6th Year student based upon the service and involvement in the School of Pharmacy as well as the University Brian Kudlawiec was kind enough to write up a draft for an essay prompt if an essay is to be a part of the application- we need to finalize this idea, the length of the essay, and the topic (such as what would he/she do with the award money if he/she won, or how service has played a role in his/her time in school or in the future) April 22, 2009 (Attendance: 10 + 31 New Inductees) o o Election of new officers and turnover of binders/ideas/etc. End of year discussion about events as well as ways to improve attendance etc.
Strategic Planning: Some goals set by this year’s Rho Chi chapter include the following: 1. Efficient continuation of our School of Pharmacy tutoring program with better communication between tutors and students. 2. Organization and successful completion of the Scholars Day Program to be held during the spring semester. 3. Increase active membership by encouraging attendance and participation at meetings, speaker presentations, and involvement in other pharmacy organization functions on campus. 4. Increasing awareness of Rho Chi within our classes and the School of Pharmacy by utilizing bulletin board postings as well as Rho Chi events. 5. Encourage academic excellence among all pharmacy students, not just the members of Rho Chi, by expanding on the idea of the achievement award which is offered to two third year
The Rho Chi Society National Office Contact Information: Email: RhoChi@unc.edu Telephone: (919) 843-9001 Fax: (919) 962-0644
The Rho Chi Society Annual Chapter Report
pharmacy majors who have maintained a cumulative GPA of 4.0; offer achievement certificates to other students besides members of the 4th year to reward academic excellence. 6. Reach out to the 1st and 2nd year students to make them feel more involved with the pharmacy school even though they are not in the professional phase of the program. 7. Continue towards intellectual excellence and encourage intellectual excellence in all programs of our organization. 8. Recognize all aspects of the pharmacy field. Activities: One of the first activities that Rho Chi participated in at the beginning of the year was the annual Pharmacy Carnival. This event occurs every year, typically during the month of October, where several pharmacy associations including Greek organizations, ASP, and others host an array of games, prizes, and fun for all Duquesne pharmacy students to participate in. Rho Chi prepared a game which involved matching pictures of a variety of faculty members with a mysterious fact. For example, one of our faculty members played the cowardly lion when he was in high school. Therefore, students had to try and match his picture with this unknown fact. This day provided for fun as well as increased communication among members and other pharmacy students. Rho Chi members also participated in the annual Juvenile Diabetes Walk which took place in a local park during the month of September. This event was run by APHA to help raise money for children with Type 1 Diabetes. Each member who participated in the walk was to raise at least $100. However, many members who participated were able to raise upwards of $500 in an effort to raise money to support research for this terrible disease. This event not only was a nice day for many members but it also helped a community outside of Rho Chi and Duquesne University. Another event, which was a first time event for Rho Chi, was a joint gathering between the University of Pittsburgh’s Rho Chi organization as well as Duquesne University’s Organization. Both groups met at a local Italian restaurant named Buca de Peppo and simply discussed each other’s goals and events as well as got to know one another. This event fostered effective communication and fellowship among members, which is a well known mission of the Rho Chi National Society. In order to fulfill the mission of advocating critical inquiry in all aspects of the profession, Rho Chi invited Mr. Edward Krenzelok, director of the Pittsburgh Poison Center and Drug Information Center, to speak with Rho Chi members about other opportunities available to pharmacists upon graduation for the very first time. Mr. Krenzelok is a professor of pharmacy and pediatrics and encouraged students to realize how many opportunities are actually available in the pharmacy field. Another speaker who was invited to speak at Duquesne for the first time was Ms. Nicole Seisek, the marketing manager of the Pittsburgh Kaplan Center. Ms. Seisek spoke to potential pharmacy students about the PCAT exam that they would have to take prior to being admitting to Mylan School of Pharmacy. The speech focused on when the test would take place, what types
The Rho Chi Society National Office Contact Information: Email: RhoChi@unc.edu Telephone: (919) 843-9001 Fax: (919) 962-0644
The Rho Chi Society Annual Chapter Report
of questions would be covered and other general information regarding the exam. This speech not only encouraged intellectual excellence but also encouraged high standards of conduct and character amongst future pharmacy and Rho Chi members. One of the last speakers Rho Chi invited to their November meeting was Mrs. Charlotte Padden. Mrs. Padden is in charge of career services at Duquesne University and offered members information regarding interviewing tips as well as information as to how to improve our resumes in order to prepare for the job application process in the next few months. This was probably our most effective meeting and had the most attendance probably because it was a very applicable issue that all members were able to relate to. One of the newest events Rho Chi ran right on campus this past spring was Melanoma Monday. On this day Rho Chi members set up a table where we offered free skin screenings using the Dermaview machine to look for potential melanomas and other skin issues such as dry or oily skin in our participants. We also supplied participants with free samples of Neutrogena sun block and moisturizing lotion to help decrease skin cancer and increase awareness among the Duquesne Community. We also gave all of our participants a handout regarding what to look for to keep an eye out for melanoma cancer including the A, B, C, D, and E’s of moles particularly – asymmetrical, irregular border, color, diameter greater than 0.6 mm, and evolving. Finally, Rho Chi participated in its annual events including submitting a chapter proposal in early February as well as providing tutoring services to other pharmacy students in an effort to encourage intellectual excellence as well as instill the desire for intellectual excellence in others. Rho Chi offered tutoring services in courses such as Anatomy and Physiology, Biopharmaceutics, Pharmaceutics, Infectious Disease, and many others. Financial/ Budgeting: Our budget was determined in the fall of 2008. Through chapter meetings and discussion with the officers, we were able to present a reasonable budget that we felt was appropriate for a productive year. We had a fairly adequate account of funds from the previous year. Having high expectations for the coming year, we began the process of expanding our budget. During the summer of 2008, we sent out flyers for a t-shirt sale to incoming freshman and the rest of the pharmacy classes at Duquesne. The sale went really well. It surpassed all of our expectations. We made well over $800 and produced enough funds to support our events throughout the year so that no further fundraising was needed. From Duquesne’s pharmacy carnival, to monthly meetings with guest speakers, to the APhA-ASP annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas, our chapter’s budget provided many opportunities for our members and extended community. Initiation Function: On the evening of March 31, 2009, Rho Chi officers of the Alpha Beta Chapter and Duquesne faculty gathered in the Duquesne Room to induct thirty-one new members into the Rho Chi Honor Society. These students were invited to join Rho Chi after completing three semesters of academic success in Duquesne’s Doctorate of Pharmacy program achieving a position in the top 20% of their class. After the initiates and their guests enjoyed dinner, they were presented with the evening’s keynote speaker, Craig Cochenour, R.Ph., Esq.. Mr. Cochenour is a Attorney of Law and Registered Patent Attorney with the Buchanan Ingersoll &
The Rho Chi Society National Office Contact Information: Email: RhoChi@unc.edu Telephone: (919) 843-9001 Fax: (919) 962-0644
The Rho Chi Society Annual Chapter Report
Rooney, PC.. His presentation enlightened the guests of the opportunities that a law degree can create when combined with a pharmacy degree. Mr. Cochenour was granted the Hugh C. Muldoon Lecture Award for his informative presentation. Another award presented during the banquet was the Rho Chi Achievement Award, which is awarded to first-year professional pharmacy students who maintain a 4.0 grade point average throughout 5 semesters at Duquesne. David Heckman, the only recipient of the award, was recognized for his outstanding academic performance. The finale of the evening was the ceremony that officially initiated the thirty-one students into the Alpha Beta Chapter of the Rho Chi Honor Society. Families and guests of the initiates watched proudly as each new member was called to sign the book and receive their pin and certificate. The night concluded with closing remarks given by Chapter Faculty Advisor, Mark W. Harrold, PhD. Evaluation/Reflection: All in all, we believe this year’s active Rho Chi Society had a very successful year. We were able to carry out a few new events including a joint meeting with members of the University of Pittsburgh’s Rho Chi Organization as well as perform skin screenings on Melanoma Monday. We also were able to continue to participate in annual events such as Pharmacy Carnival and the JDRF Walk as well as provide our yearly chapter proposal and our effective tutoring services. One of the main disappointments this year was the fact that we were not able to plan our annual Scholar’s Day as many of the individuals we invited were out of state and did not RSVP. The best advice we can provide to ensure this event does take place next year is to start planning the event in early November planning with the event occurring on President’s Day in February as many high school students have off on this day and would be able to attend Scholar’s Day. Attendance for the most part was very good until the second semester. While it is understandable that by your fifth year of schooling many students are already involved with many other activities, Rho Chi still needs to be a priority. This year we attempted to have meetings between classes so that many students were already on campus and we also provided breakfast or lunch depending on the time of day which both seemed to improve attendance. As for the second semester, however, it was very difficult to have a meeting between classes due to our schedules and room availability and our attendance suffered. Therefore, to maintain good attendance, we would suggest having meetings at a time where everyone has to be at school anyhow for classes as well as providing some form of a snack, breakfast or lunch for members. Fundraising is also another area we need to improve upon. While our one fundraiser went extremely well and we surpassed our goal for the entire year, why should we stop there? We feel as though the fundraising committee as well as the entire society could have been a little bit more productive in this area. Finally, many of our events occurred in the spring semester and therefore many meetings during the fall were very redundant preparation wise. This is why in November we brought in Mrs. Charlotte Padden to speak to members about interviewing and resume tips which was very successful. Therefore, we would like to see the formulation of an event take place in the fall semester so that members can be working on a project all year long as opposed to just the spring semester.
The Rho Chi Society National Office Contact Information: Email: RhoChi@unc.edu Telephone: (919) 843-9001 Fax: (919) 962-0644
The Rho Chi Society Annual Chapter Report
In conclusion, Rho Chi did meet its goal of becoming a more recognized society to all of Duquesne particularly through Melanoma Monday because we reached out to the community and strived to share our intellectual excellence with them. With this in mind, we believe Rho Chi should definitely continue to focus its next year of activity on continuing to make the Alpha Beta Chapter of Rho Chi Society a renowned organization at Duquesne University.
The Rho Chi Society National Office Contact Information: Email: RhoChi@unc.edu Telephone: (919) 843-9001 Fax: (919) 962-0644