Pharmacy Perspectives - Winter/Spring 2018 - 5

WINTER

SPRING 2018

P-4 Rupa Parikh poses with her winning poster.

A high school
student tests her reading
comprehension and math skills
during the acetaminophen challenge.

Student's Poster Wins Top
Spot at Research Forum

I

t has taken all four years of
pharmacy school, but P-4
Rupa Parikh has completed
her study on the availability of
emergency contraception (also
known as the morning after
pill), specifically in Arizona
and Utah. And, her work is

paying off.
Her poster was selected as the Top Poster
at the 32nd Annual Student Research Forum
at CU Anschutz where she competed against
more than 60 presenters from the Schools
of Medicine, Pharmacy, Public Health, and
the Graduate School. The judges said that
her study was an "important health topic for
women, the study was well designed and the
results have the potential for addressing emergency contraceptive (EC) access and proper
administration."
To perform the study, Parikh enlisted the
help of CU Pharmacy faculty member Laura
Borgelt, PharmD, along with Carol Stamm,
MD, Garth Wright, MPH, Melissa Gamble,
BA, Leanne Rupp, LCSW, and Rachel
Johnson, BA. To address accessibility, Parikh
and those assisting with her study, called over
1,000 pharmacies in Arizona and Utah.
When Parikh began her study, she

"wanted to get involved and understand the
different paths I could take with pharmacy."
At the beginning, she was more interested
in clinical pharmacy, but after her APPE
(Advanced  Pharmacy  Practice Experience)
rotation at Allergan - a multi-national pharmaceutical company that produces branded
and generic drugs, and performs pharmaceutical research and development - changed her
mind. That rotation specifically shifted her
interest to clinical research.
Currently, Parikh is completing a manuscript about the EC study with the hopes of
being published in the American Journal of
Public Health.

STUDY HIGHLIGHTS:
* Access to EC remains a concern despite its
over-the-counter status
* EC was "completely accessible" in half of
the pharmacies in Arizona and Utah
* Consumers in Arizona were significantly
less likely to have complete access to EC than
consumers in Utah
* Comprehensive education may benefit all
pharmacy employees to reduce EC access
barriers and provide information to prevent
unintended pregnancies.

HIGH SCHOOL
STUDENTS
RECEIVE
DOSE OF
PHARMACY
SCHOOL

O

n Feb. 23 - 25,
approximately
a thousand
Colorado high
school students
descended
upon the
Renaissance Hotel in Denver for the
Health Occupations Students of
America (HOSA) annual state conference. The conference highlights many
professions in health care and includes
skills competitions, presentations and
exhibits.  CU Pharmacy was front and
center with numerous speakers including students, faculty and marketing
staff who showcased careers, education
and research in pharmacy. Watch our
HOSA highlights video on our youtube
channel: www.youtube.com/user/
UCDSchoolofPharmacy

www.ucdenver.edu/pharmacy

5
http://www.youtube.com/user/UCDSchoolofpharmacy http://www.youtube.com/user/UCDSchoolofpharmacy http://www.ucdenver.edu/pharmacy
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pharmacy Perspectives - Winter/Spring 2018
