VCU student pharmacist receives national leadership award
VCU School of Pharmacy’s Lauren Grecheck is one of only 12 pharmacy students nationwide tapped to receive the 2014 American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Student Leadership Award.
The awards program, sponsored annually by ASHP and the ASHP Research and Education Foundation, recognizes students for their achievements in health-system pharmacy practice and campus leadership. The winners are selected for having represented the best attributes and accomplishments of ASHP student members and for having gone above and beyond traditional responsibilities, making an impact on the profession.
Grecheck, a third-year Pharm.D. student, is 2013-14 president of VCU School of Pharmacy’s Student Chapter of the Virginia Society of Health-System Pharmacists. During her tenure, she has worked to strengthen the ties between the student chapter, SVSHP, and the state chapter, the Virginia Society for Health-System Pharmacists.
In addition to promoting existing programs, she was instrumental in launching a pharmacist/student mentorship in conjunction with the state chapter. She also worked to establish an ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting registration scholarship, now available to members of the VCU student chapter.
Tom Reinders, School of Pharmacy associate dean for admissions and student services, characterizes Grecheck as a role model. “Lauren and her fellow [SVSHP] officers have provided many different programs for student pharmacists to learn more about health-system pharmacy practice opportunities.”
Also, he said, she has been effective in developing practice and leadership skills through her participation in the Veterans Affairs Learning Opportunities Residency (VALOR) program at the McGuire VA Medical Center.
Grecheck is secretary for the SOP class of 2015. When she served as pharmacy site leader for the interdisciplinary HOMBRE (Honduras Outreach Medical Brigada Relief Effort) program in 2012, her responsibilities included managing the transfer of medications through customs, coordinating assembly of individual patient medication bags and distributing medications on-site. She also has been active in several local outreach programs, including Mission of Mercy in Suffolk and Virginia State University Cares in Petersburg, and in regional outreach such as Remote Area Medical in Wise County.
Leigh Anne Hylton Gravatt, assistant professor and SVSHP advisor, said, “Lauren is organized, motivated and compassionate — all things that make her a great leader for these activities.
“I think that her record speaks for herself in that Lauren doesn’t just join an organization or ‘show up.’ She truly cares for individuals and is passionate about pharmacy and wants to share that with others. She is a hard worker who will do whatever she can to get the job done.”
Grecheck will be presented the award during the 2014 ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting, which will take place Dec. 7-11 in Anaheim, Calif. In addition to the recognition, she will receive a plaque, an ASHP drug information reference library and a $2,000 cash award provided by the ASHP Research and Education Foundation’s Walter Jones Memorial Pharmacy Student Financial Aid Fund.
“I am excited to see the impact Lauren will have on our future profession,” said Gravatt, “and what a great reflection she will be on VCU as a whole.”
Click here to read the essay Grecheck wrote for ASHP on “Engaging Students in the Pharmacy Practice Model Initiative.”
Categories Alumni news, Student news, Student organizations