- Who is eligible to participate in the competition?
Preliminary round (school-level) competition eligibility criteria are determined by each individual school. Advancement to the national level competition is limited to ASHP student members enrolled in a full time, entry-level, ACPE-accredited (or candidate status), Pharm.D. program who have not yet been licensed to practice or who hold a license but have not yet practiced.
- What knowledge and skills are needed to participate?
The Clinical Skills Competition (CSC) is designed to test problem-solving skills. To be successful in the competition, participants should be knowledgeable in the following areas:- Pathophysiology
- Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics
- Clinical laboratory data interpretation Medical terminology and abbreviations
- Basic pharmacokinetic principles
- What prizes are available for students who compete in the competition?
- Preliminary Round (school level)
- The winning team members from each school receive a complimentary ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting registration to compete at the national competition.
- Semi-Final Round (national level)
- The top 10 national finalist team members receive an iPad Mini loaded with a one-year subscription to Lexi-Complete™ with AHFS Essentials™.
- Final Round (national level)
- 1st, 2nd and 3rd place team members each receive a drug information or pharmacy publication.
- The national winners each receive $500 and individual trophies as well as a trophy for their school.
- How are teams formed?
Students are encouraged to register as self-selected teams of two. However, individual students may sign up to be placed on teams by their school.
- Will references be available?
Yes, during the competition, participants will have access to drug information, drug interaction, laboratory interpretation, therapeutics and basic medical texts, as well as handheld access to Lexi- Complete™ with AHFS Essentials™. Each team will have access to an iPad Mini for accessing the Internet.
- May I use my own electronic device (i.e. Tablet, Mobile Phone)?
While participants are permitted to use personal devices during their local competition, other computer software and/or personal electronic devices are prohibited at the national competition. ASHP will provide an iPad Mini preloaded with Lexi-Complete with AHFS Essentials for each team to use during the semi-final round.
- I already registered for the Midyear and just found out I won my local competition, will ASHP refund my money?
ASHP will automatically refund your registration and process a complimentary registration for the meeting (this is only for the meeting registration; additional workshop charges will not be refunded).
- How do I find out what time my team is competing at the Midyear?
Team timeslots will be assigned prior to the meeting and will be available on the web page by August.
- May I bring my own calculator?
No, ASHP will provide a calculator for your use during the national competition.
- May I take notes into the competition room?
Teams are not permitted to take notes of any type into the semi-final round competition room on Saturday.
- May I use notes for my oral presentation during the final round of the competition?
Before making their oral presentation, teams will have fifteen minutes to review the contents of their forms and papers which were collected from the semi-final round. These may be taken in and used during the final round.
- How will teams be evaluated?
Teams will be evaluated on the clinical relevance, effectiveness, comprehensiveness and practicality of their written recommendations. In addition, the clarity and logic of the oral presentation will be evaluated. To view the evaluation scoring sheets, see the Coordinator Handbook on the ASHP website.
- Will I get a score on my completed semi-final round case, how will I know how I did?
Each student team will have their case evaluated by at least two clinical pharmacy faculty persons. A scoring sheet will be inserted into the team’s returned case with a score, comments from the judges, and an answer key. On Sunday, the case writer will be available at the end of the oral presentations to discuss the case in more detail and answer questions. Although we will not publish the ranking of each school individually, we will provide a mean, median, range and standard deviation for the scores from all the schools to give context on each team’s performance.
- When will the top ten teams be announced?
Top ten teams will be announced during the student opening session on Sunday morning. Afterward, signs with the top ten teams will be posted outside the competition room and at the ASHP Meeting Info and Membership booths.
- Where can I learn more about how to compete?
There is a Student Handbook that contains helpful information about the process for anyone interested in competing. The Coordinator Handbook contains comprehensive information on all aspects of the CSC, including a timeline, the format of the competition, sample case and answer key, etc.
- Where can I find additional information about the ASHP Clinical Skills Competition?
- For more information:
- Contact your SSHP Faculty Advisor, or
- See our online resources at www.ashp.org/clinicalskills
- E-mail us at [email protected]
