Team of Pharmacy Students Places in National Competition

As part of the School of Pharmacy’s Beyond Dispensing elective course, third-year professional students Anna Claire Harris, of Greenwood, Aubrey Williams, of Greenwood, Hannah Clayton, of Pope, and Kenzie Schutt, of Marks, and their classmates developed a written business plan for a community pharmacy.

Speakers visited the class throughout the semester to discuss marketing, pharmacy management, clinical services and more. At the end of the course, the Ole Miss NCPA chapter voted on which business plan to enter into NCPA’s competition.

“Working on our business plan showed me how much thought and detail goes into starting a business, especially in the healthcare space,” Harris said. “While I really enjoyed the creative aspects like branding and service design, I was surprised by how complex decisions around finances, regulations and logistics could be.”

The first of its kind in the profession, the competition is intended to promote interest in independent community pharmacy ownership, with the goal of motivating student pharmacists to create the blueprint necessary for buying an existing community pharmacy or developing a new pharmacy.

“This project was really eye-opening because while I loved the creative parts, I also saw how quickly things like finding the best sources for supplies and inventory, making technology and insurance choices and handling property decisions can get overwhelming,” Schutt said.

“This experience gave me a whole new appreciation for independent pharmacy owners who juggle all of it while still taking care of their staff.”

Held virtually, NCPA chapters emailed their business plan documents for volunteer graders, actual community pharmacy owners from across the country, to consider.

“At such a pivotal time in patient care, our team was able to explore ideas alongside pharmacists and business owners,” Clayton said. “While I was excited to place as a finalist, the amazing experience itself would have been more than enough.”

Lindsey Miller, clinical assistant professor of pharmacy practice, and Meagan Brown, clinical associate professor of pharmacy practice , served as co-advisors on the project.

“It’s really inspiring to see just how excited they were to explore business principles in community pharmacy,” Miller said. “I think the exposure to the creativity you can have as a pharmacy owner in the variety of clinical services that you could offer patients is really beneficial for all pharmacy students to experience.

“That kind of exposure is invaluable because it helps all pharmacy students envision the many ways they can make an impact on their communities beyond traditional dispensing.”

Miller hopes the students walk away with a deeper understanding of how innovative patient care ideas can be transformed into clinical services that meet the needs of patients.

“I hope they see that by thinking as an entrepreneur in the community pharmacy, they can not only practice pharmacy but also shape the business models that will sustain it.”