News & Events

April 15, 2016

South Carolina College of Pharmacy students Kristen Arnall, Sarah Lewter and Adam Talbert went into the national Medisca Student Pharmacist Compounding Competition with the saying "Third time’s a charm!" The event, held in Los Angeles, California, was a two-day competition between 22 teams from pharmacy schools across the country who had been invited to participate. Elite guests from USP, ACHC, IJPC, and Medisca gave informative presentations during the event, and numerous networking opportunities were available with them as well as other participating students. The competition consisted of four parts, each weighing differently and having varying relevance to the world of compounding.

During the first portion of the competition, the teams were tasked with compounding a chewable dog treat to be used as a vehicle for a zinc supplement, and a topical cream to help a patient with Parkinson’s disease manage a shingles attack. The students were only provided with a written order from physicians and it was up to them to formulate the preparations. The second part of the competition was a "Jeopardy" game used to gage the teams’ knowledge of compounding definitions and principles. Thirdly, was the "Compounder’s Kitchen" which put the students’ formulation abilities to the test by asking them to come up with "recipes" for baclofen suppositories and an emulsion. Lastly, the students created posters for the regulatory part of the competition. The SCCP team’s poster touched on topics including USP <800>, 503A and 503B pharmacies, and unclear language in many topics involving FDA mandates. They presented their poster to all other participants, faculty and guests on the second day, as the concluding part of the competition.

The SCCP students placed 7th overall, and received 2nd place for their poster! In addition, they were able to network with other students who share the same interested in compounding, as well as with professionals within the compounding career field.