APhA Member News
A minute with...
Aliese Dashiell, 2025 PharmD Candidate
University of Florida College of Pharmacy, Gainesville, FL
Member since 2021
"APhA has been an integral part of my pharmacy journey. From serving as a patient care project chair to being elected as patient care vice president for my chapter, APhA pushes me to believe in myself. On the national level, APhA has prepared me for my career as a pharmacist by allowing me to compete in the National Patient Counseling Competition (NPCC) and attend the annual meeting. Placing first runner-up in the NPCC gave me the confidence that this profession is my passion. Through APhA, I have grown from opportunities offered at the local and national levels.”
How has APhA helped you establish meaningful connections?
APhA helped give me a space to facilitate conversations and develop relationships among my peers. APhA has helped me grow closer to members of my local chapter.
One of my closest friends and colleagues now is someone who used to sit one table away from me, but I never reached out. We were even in the same pharmaceutical fraternity but only became close once we traveled in the same group to APhA’s 2023 Annual Meeting & Exposition. I am so grateful to have gotten to know her better through APhAand to work with her now as part of her executive board team for my campus chapter!
How has APhA helped prepare you for your career as a pharmacist?
In my local chapter, I served as a co-chair for a local patient care project focused on mental health. We trained over 50 students in QPR, a suicide prevention training certification.
I also traveled with our policy team to the state capitol to advocate for the pharmacy profession and offer health screenings to our legislators.
Nationally, APhA has prepared me for my career as a pharmacist by allowing me to compete in the NPCC. The NPCC challenged me to apply everything I had learned in the classroom to a real-time situation. I placed first runner-up, and I am so thankful for APhA’s generous support of the competition, which allows me to continue exploring pharmacy opportunities.
What excites you about the profession of pharmacy?
I am very excited about the prospect of provider status for pharmacists.
One of my favorite experiences was shadowing an ambulatory care pharmacist. I watched as he provided crucial interventions for diabetes,
weight loss, and anticoagulation management.
A staffing shortage led to a demand for providers, and the pharmacist rose to fill in the vacated physician roles. The benefit was quickly apparent and appreciated by patients and the rest of the health care team.
I know the value of pharmacists as providers, and I cannot wait to show it to everyone. ■
Get involved
Looking to join a professional community dedicated to caring for underserved patient populations? Look no further than the Care of Underserved Patients (CUP) Special Interest Group (SIG)! As a member of this community, you’ll network with practitioners, administrators, and educators who share your passion for providing patient-centered care to underserved patients. Whether you’re currently practicing in a clinical setting or looking to get involved with federally qualified health centers, free and charitable health clinics, or other community-based pharmacy settings, this community is for you.
“The CUP SIG is passionate about improving health equity by finding ways to address social determinants of health,” said Anna Staudt, former SIG coordinator. “The SIG offers many invaluable resources and networking opportunities related to improving medication access as well as linkage to other services because medication use is only one part in a holistic approach to care.”
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to connect with like-minded professionals and make a real difference in the lives of underserved patients. Join the CUP SIG today by visiting apha.us/UnderservedSIG to learn more! ■
Make a difference
More than 1.2 million people across the United States are infected with HIV, and 13% of those people don’t know that they have it. In 2021, there were over 30,000 new HIV diagnoses in the United States.
APhA’s brand-new certificate training program, Pharmacy-Based HIV Prevention Services, prepares pharmacists to provide comprehensive sexual wellness and HIV prevention care. The program reviews pharmacology principles, demonstrates the importance of communicating with your patients with cultural humility, and emphasizes the importance of creating a safe environment for providing PrEP and PEP services. Visit apha.us/HIVPreventionCTP to get started. ■
Did you hear?
APhA’s podcast, The First Fill, allows pharmacists to grab bite-sized CPE credits on the go! Get your 5-minute doses now on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, or APhA’s website.
Each month, APhA releases five, 5-minute podcast episodes offering a fresh dose of education highlights, practice pearls, and insights to inform your pharmacy practice and advance patient care.
Listen to brand-new episodes at your convenience! The First Fill allows you to earn CPE on the go and is available at www.pharmacist.com/Podcasts/TheFirstFill. The first six months are free. ■