ONU finishes first in OPA’s Innovative Pharmacy Business Plan Competition

Three student members of the Ohio Northern University National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) took first place in the Ohio Pharmacists Association’s Innovative Pharmacy Business Plan Competition (IPBPC).

The students, Lauren Anderson, a fourth-year pharmacy major from Monroe, Mich., Elizabeth Crandall, a fourth-year pharmacy major from Cattaraugus, N.Y., and Andrea Stan, a fifth-year pharmacy major from New Carlisle, Ohio, presented their plan, “The Farmacy,” during the 133rd Ohio Pharmacists Association Annual Conference in Columbus, Ohio, held April 8-10, 2011.

Seven plans were submitted from the University of Cincinnati and Ohio Northern University, and three were selected to present their plans in a 20-minute presentation at the conference. The first runner-up was “West Jefferson Pharmacy,” and the second runner-up was “Anticoagulation Clinic for Pills ’N Packages Pharmacy,” both from the University of Cincinnati.

“The Farmacy” is an idea for an eco-friendly, integrative medicine specializing in natural products and compounding. The students, along with Katie Westgerdes, a fourth-year pharmacy major from Coldwater, Ohio, developed the plan independently but consulted experts Deirdre Myers, pharmacy and laboratory instructor at ONU, Randy Myers, owner of Harry’s Pharmacy in Carey, Ohio, Jenelle Sobotka, ONU’s endowed chair of pharmacy practice, and Jill Christopher, associate professor of accounting at ONU.

This inaugural IPBPC event was designed to give pharmacy students the opportunity to develop an attainable business plan for pharmacy practice. The business plan served as a formal set of business goals, along with the plan to reach those goals, and students were responsible for being able to discuss the overall vision, marketing, financing and operational aspects of the business.

Published: Fri, 04/29/2011 - 2:17pm