UCSD APhA-ASP/CPhA

This past weekend, UCSD APhA was awarded the APhA-ASP/CPhA Chapter of Excellence Award at the Annual Western Pharmacy Exchange. About 40 UCSD students were able to attend and they had a blast mingling with students from different schools, learning from different vendors, and spending time with our faculty members. Thank you all for coming, and can’t wait to see you next year in San Diego for WPE 2025!

On February 18th and 25th, our APhA chapter collaborated with Live Well San Diego to host two sites for our annual Love Your Heart event! During this event, free blood pressure screenings and poster education were provided to the public to help raise awareness for heart health and disease this American Heart Month!

Thank you to all our volunteers, our preceptor, Dr. Tan Carlin, and our Operation Heart - Hypertension Chair, Tiffany, for making these events possible!

This past weekend, our APhA chapter provided free health screenings to the local San Diego community at our quarterly event, Kobey’s Swap Meet Health Outreach. With over 70 screenings conducted, our student pharmacist volunteers, Operation Chairs, and Patient Care VP’s were able to provide blood glucose, blood pressure, BMI, and total cholesterol screenings. In collaboration with CSHP, we were also able to educate our patients on organ donation awareness. This event allowed the chapter to have a direct role in patient care while giving back to our San Diego community to provide quality healthcare! Special thanks to our Patient Care VP’s, Nhi and Dana, for organizing this event!

CPhA Outreach Week! Today we are turning back the clock to highlight a past outreach event! We want to thank once again these students and pharmacists for taking the time to provide these services. They went to Kobey’s Swap Meet to give free diabetes, cholesterol, and hypertension screenings. Along with that, they educated the public on asthma awareness. These are just some of the many hats pharmacists in your community wear. Can you name any other roles we as pharmacists provide for you?

CPhA Outreach Week! Today we are turning back the clock to highlight a past outreach event! We want to thank once again these students and pharmacists for taking the time to provide these services. They went to Kobey‘s Swap Meet to give free diabetes, cholesterol, and hypertension screenings. Along with that, they educated the public on asthma awareness. These are just some of the many hats pharmacists in your community wear. Can you name any other roles we as pharmacists provide for you?

We are back with MEET YOUR BOARD MONDAY! Today we are representing our International VP: Melissa Le!

Favorite Skaggs Memory?

-WPE!

How do you destress from work/school?

-Eat out, workout, or watch sunset

What is one thing you want to do before you graduate?

-Find a setting I’m most passionate in.

Why did you choose pharmacy?

-My grandpa told me to LOL. After researching and shadowing, pharmacy felt like a good fit for the type of healthcare field I was looking for.

This past Friday, it was National Wear Red Day!

Did you know that 51.9% of high blood pressure deaths, otherwise known as hypertension or the “silent killer,” are in women, and out of all women, 57.6% of Black females have hypertension — more than any other race or ethnicity?

Wearing red today helps raise awareness of the issue of women and heart disease, and also action to save more lives. Heart disease and stroke can affect a woman at any age, making it vital for all women to understand their personal risk factors and family history. While cardiovascular disease impacts some women at higher rates than others, most cardiovascular diseases can still be prevented with education and healthy lifestyle changes. Take action by getting your blood pressure checked regularly and by talking to your local pharmacist. Thank you for your support in this movement!

Learn more about Go Red for Women at:
https://www.goredforwomen.org/

Learn more about cardiovascular disease at:
https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/index.htm

Happy Monday!! We are back with Meet Your Board Monday and today we are featuring another Patient Care Vice President: Nhi Nguyen!

Favorite Skaggs Memory?

-Probably ASP Banquet last year! It was so nice being able to celebrate memories and the achievements of everyone, all the while having fun together :)

How do you destress from work/school?

-Going outside for some fresh air and engaging in activities that I enjoy such as watching the sunset, taking walks, working out, and spending time with friends.

What is one thing you want to do before you graduate?

-Take a trip abroad!

Why did you choose pharmacy?

-I always knew I wanted to choose a career that involved healthcare and helping others, but what I grew to really appreciate about pharmacy is how versatile it is. It offers so many opportunities to explore branches that I never knew about before, and always keeps me on my toes in learning new things in a field that never stops developing.

Last week, we partnered with to invite Dr. David Truong to discuss the prospects for pharmacists in the industry field and his career path. He also provided a presentation showing an overview of regulatory pharmacy. A special thank you to for facilitating our school's connection with Dr. Truong!

This recent weekend, our Patient Care VPs and Operation Chairs participated in Kaiser Permanente’s Walk With a Pharmacist event! Together with the Kaiser Permanente pharmacists and residents, they were able to help educate patient attendees on building healthy habits such as diet, exercise, OTC safety, and maintenance of hypertension and diabetes health while enjoying a walk around Mission Bay Park. Thank you to the Kaiser Permanente team for having us!

We are back with Meet Your Board Monday!! Today we are featuring our Finance Vice President: Vivienne Nguyen

Favorite Skaggs Memory?

-Going on a spontaneous trip to Irvine just for BCD and Orobae on a random Monday night with the homies

How do you destress from work/school?

-Chill on the beach and watch the sunset or go for a drive

What is one thing you want to do before you graduate?

-Go on a trip to Asia!

Why did you choose pharmacy?

-The diversity of the field! It’s never ending and I get to learn something new everyday as the profession evolves

A heartfelt thank you and congratulations to the SDCPhA Board of 2023! We appreciate your open mentorship and unwavering support. We also want to thank our SDCPhA Student Liaison of 2023, , for their exceptional hard work and commitment this past year. And finally, please join us in congratulating the new incoming Liaison for 2024, ! We are thrilled to welcome them aboard and excited to work with them!

Thank you to all of the student volunteers were able to assist UCSD's PPS with mock interviews on Monday, November 13th. We were excited to see the enthusiasm and provide feedback to help with their interviewing skills! We look forward to more events in collaboration with UCSD's PPS to facilitate a stronger bond between our organizations!

We are back with MEET YOUR BOARD MONDAY! This week we are featuring our Patient Care Vice President: Dana Le!

Favorite Skaggs Memory?

- At last year's APhA A/C Party, my friends and I dressed up in super silly animal/food onesies! It was such a memorable night filled with games and laughter. I loved getting to meet new people and get closer to fellow Skaggies!

How do you destress from work/school?

- I love exploring new food/drink places, spending time with friends and family, and going to the beach during sunset!

What is one thing you want to do before you graduate?

- I want to find time to crochet more! My goal is to crochet a giant amigurumi plush!

Why did you choose pharmacy?

- In high school, I was always interested in science and was fascinated by how complicated drug mechanisms work in the human body. This inspired me to pursue pharmacy to ultimately use my own knowledge and compassion to help educate others on managing their wellbeing and health!

Today, our APhA chapter, in collaboration with CSHP, hosted its quarterly Kobey’s Swap Meet Health Outreach Event! Together, our student volunteers and Operation Chairs were able to provide free health screenings to the local San Diego community. These screenings included blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol, and BMI, as well as a presentation on asthma awareness. This event provided an amazing opportunity for our student pharmacists to play a direct role in providing patient care services and education to the community. Special thanks to our Patient Care VP’s, Dana and Nhi, on organizing this event!

To promote Antibiotic Awareness Week, our outgoing and incoming International VPs, Derrick and Melissa wanted to share some infographics to raise awareness of the importance of appropriate antibiotic and antifungal use to combat the threat of antimicrobial resistance.

This past week we had the pleasure of collaborating with to host an informative lunch time talk with Dr. Seung Oh, Board of Pharmacy President. He presented to students about the role of the Board of Pharmacy and new legislation being added!

Today is World Diabetes Day!

The blue circle represents diabetes and those who are impacted by it. Skaggs students came together to demonstrate their support and help spread diabetes awareness. According to the CDC website, diabetes is a chronic health condition which affects approximately 37 million US adults and 1 of 5 do not know they have it. For all of us to be fully be aware of diabetes, we must make sure that our loved ones know how important it is to frequently check their blood sugar levels. As a result, it’s critical to adopt healthy lifestyles such as adding more color to our food, exercising and getting regular blood sugar checks. Our goal is to raise awareness and make sure everyone understands how to prevent or manage diabetes.

Access diabetes education at cdc.gov/diabetes

We are back with… MEET YOUR BOARD MONDAY! This week we are featuring our Operation Substance Use Disorders: Andrew Yi!

Favorite Skaggs Memory?

- My favorite Skaggs memory was for sure 2023 ASP Banquet! I had a lot of fun with my friends at the end of the year because we all got to let loose and having a good time. I was especially glad to be able to have fun with people who I didn't get the chance to during the school year!

How do you destress from work/school?

- I usually try to sleep as much as possible and lay in bed when I'm stressed, but keeping myself busy doing busy work helps a lot too!

What is one thing you want to do before you graduate?

- I want to get a job or residency lined up, but I also want to go Japan with my friends to take pictures and eat super good food!

Why did you choose pharmacy?

- I chose pharmacy because I love teaching people and theres nothing more fun than teaching people on their health. Working community and getting the privilege to teach patients made me strive to reach wider audience with my expertise when I graduate. I want to be able to pass my experience in helping patients onto my students one day and hope they do an even better job than I did!

Thank you everyone for coming to the Mentor-Mentee Speed Dating Event in collaboration with UCSD’s PPS! We had a fun time meeting and talking to the mentees! We hope to see you all at the Mentor-Mentee Reveal on November 27th!

Our Successful Membership Drive and APhA Outreach Event! A heartfelt thanks to all those who attended. We had a blast while showcasing the significance of APhA and the benefits of joining. It was a pleasure to host Dr. Olunife on our campus and hear how APhA has positively influenced his career. What an amazing way to kick off the year!

Our P1 students are officially able to give vaccines to patients during their rotations!! Last Friday, our P2 and P3 student volunteers joined forces with , UCSD faculty, and our incredible immunization chairs, Nhi and Taylor, to teach the P1 class the protocols of properly administering vaccines.

Today is… MEET YOUR BOARD MONDAY!! This week we are featuring our president-elect : Alex Truong!

Favorite Skaggs Memory?

- My favorite memory at Skaggs so far is attending pharmacy conferences around and outside of California! At these events, I was able to network and reconnect with student pharmacists from other schools, meet professionals in our field, and explore the location our conference is located at with friends! It was a great way to not only de-stress from school for a bit but also to help build my connections and meet new friends that I will see very often in our career!

How do you destress from work/school?

- I like to destress from work/school by playing video games, sleeping while listening to music, cooking, working out, or go on food/boba runs with friends!

What is one thing you want to do before you graduate?

- I would love to travel before I graduate! I have stayed in California my whole life and haven't really gotten the chance to experience the world as much so I want to visit many places in and out of the US. Whether it's a small road trip to neighboring states or flying to another country, I'm looking forward to doing that before I graduate and start working!

Why did you choose pharmacy?

- Fun fact: I was interested in pharmacy ever since I was in kindergarten! Over time, I knew I wanted to go into pharmacy after learning that not all patients will respond to the same medication in the same way. I found this to be really cool and I wanted to be involved in a healthcare team as the medication expert, optimizing patient's recovery through identifying the most appropriate treatments and minimizing polypharmacy! I also liked that pharmacy offered a bunch of specialties I could look into such as oncology, pharmacogenomics, and emergency medicine!

It’s MEET YOUR BOARD MONDAY!! This week we are featuring our one and only president- Brooklyn Valdez!

Favorite Skaggs Memory?

- My favorite Skaggs Memory so far has been attending the SoCal Mixer and being involved with the planning. It was really nice meeting and working with other pharmacy students from other schools. After SoCal Mixer, it made going to the other conferences a lot more fun, because I saw so many familiar faces!

How do you destress from work/school?

- I work out, hang out with friends or family, or find new restaurants to try around San Diego. It's always nice to take my mind off of work/school once in a while.

What is one thing you want to do before you graduate?

- One thing I want to do is attend the 2024 APhA Annual. It will be in Florida and I want to take advantage of traveling and networking as much as I can before school ends.

Why did you choose pharmacy?

- I chose pharmacy because there's a wide range of career opportunities. As a pharmacists, we get to make a meaningful difference in people's lives, whether by serving as a community pharmacist nearby or by assisting patients on a global scale within the field of pharmaceutical industry.

Thank you everyone for stopping by our table yesterday! We’re thrilled to have met our new P1s :) Check out our linktree in our bio to RSVP upcoming events! We hope to see you all!

A big thanks to this year’s BLS instructors for their guidance and expertise. It was a blast meeting the incoming P1 class and reuniting with some familiar faces while learning life-saving skills. Thank you to everyone who did their BLS training with us these past 2 weeks!

Chapter President, Brooklyn, and President-Elect, Alex, representing our organization, made a remarkable impact at APHA SLI in Washington this summer. They seized incredible opportunities to advocate for pharmacy, engaging in a meaningful meeting with our California Senator. Additionally, they networked with esteemed leaders from across the nation, forging connections and even getting the chance to chat with the CEO of APHA, fostering invaluable insights and inspiration for our chapter's journey ahead.

Joining forces with , we are proud to stand together on National Fentanyl Awareness and Prevention Day. 💡 Today, we unite to shed light on this significance of this day, raising awareness and emphasizing the importance of education, prevention, and support in combating the fentanyl crisis. Together, we can make a difference. 💪🏼💙

This past weekend, our APhA chapter provided free health screenings to the San Diego Community at our quarterly event, Kobey’s Swap Meet Health Outreach. With over 100 patients screened, our student pharmacist volunteers, Patient Care VP’s, and Operation Chairs were able to provide blood glucose, blood pressure, BMI, and total cholesterol screenings to attending patients. In collaboration with CSHP, we were also able to educate our patients on to***co cessation and asthma prevention. This event allowed the chapter to have a direct role in patient care while diligently serving our San Diego Community to provide quality healthcare!