Dana Hausmann, a fourth-year UH pharmacy student, won the contest, competing against a record number of participants in this year's challenge. For the first time in the history of the 21-year competition, a student competed from every APhA Academy of Student Pharmacists (ASP) chapter in the country for a total of 90 contenders.

Hausmann's unprecedented win gave UH the distinction of being the first pharmacy college or school to capture back-to-back titles. At last year's APhA annual meeting, Michelle Edwards, a 2004 UH alum, won the contest, becoming the first UH College of Pharmacy student to take first-place honors. The two victories underscore the college's emphasis on the importance of being able to effectively communicate with patients.

"Communication is very important for health care professional, especially pharmacists who have the difficult task of proving information about drugs and the disease process to patients," said Sunny E. Ohia, dean of the UH College of Pharmacy. "Clearly, the success of our students in this competition two years in a row is a positive reflection of the quality education they receive from our faculty."

The purpose of the National Patient Counseling Competition is to support student pharmacists in their efforts to become competent health care providers and educators. The challenge is designed to reflect changes that are occurring in practice, encouraging further professional development of the student pharmacist. Students competing in the competition are given a prescription and a patient profile from which they are expected to counsel a patient. Typically, patients present the competitors with a communication barrier that can range from the patient having
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Contact: Lisa Merkl
lkmerkl@uh.edu
713-743-8192
University of Houston
26-Apr-2005