Team Pharmville makes its successful pitch to judges during the faculty's annual Business Plan Competition. Three teams competed for the $2,500 top prize with Pharmville coming out on top.
Pharmacy students made their best pitch - Dragons' Den style - to four judges from the pharmacy and business community in the faculty's annual Pharmacy Business Plan Competition held last night on campus.
At stake was a winner-take-all $2500 cash prize to the team that made the best pitch. And, of course, bragging rights for the next 12 months.
The annual competition pits third year students against each another in a friendly team-based competition. This year's competition started in September with 125 students and 16 teams and was narrowed down to just three teams competing for the top prize.
"It's a great way to get the students thinking about the business aspect of their career," says Jody Shkrobot, Clinical Assistant Professor. "Pharmacy practice in Alberta has been provided with one of the best opportunities to engage with patients to deliver pharmacy services to Albertans. While the groundwork has been laid through legislation, infrastructure and compensation models, many pharmacists are still trying to find the best way to develop and implement patient care services that are sustainable within our dynamic healthcare environment."
Shkrobot says the students are challenged in their Pharmacy Management course to explore and create services that will fill this gap. "We now want to showcase their ideas with our pharmacy colleagues to help innovate and to engage in the exciting opportunities offered by our profession," he says.
After each team presented and answered questions from the judges, Team Pharmville was judged to have the 'Best Overall' business plan presentation.
"I thought we lucked out with a cooperative team but we also put a lot of time adjusting our business plan and presentation, and we were confident in front of the judges," says Pharmville team member James Tao.
"This was a fantastic opportunity for us to think outside the box and work on a project that was a lot different from anything we have done in pharmacy school thus far. It was extremely rewarding to have the chance to be rewarded with our efforts," says Pharmville's Dimitri Kachenyuk.
"The whole experience was challenging but inspiring," says Pharmville's Kayla Stegmeier. "Our group worked extremely well together right from the start and I knew our ideas and efforts would be rewarded. It can be difficult working with people you don't normally do, so this was an opportunity for us to find each others strengths and use them to our advantage. Once we found out we were in the top three groups selected, we adjusted our presentation to take us to the top. We learned how to work together cooperatively and it allowed us to confidently show the judges our innovative business plan."
"Sandstone Pharmacies™ is proud to sponsor the PHARM 372 Business Plan Competition," says Bruce Winston, President, Sandstone Pharmacies™ and one of the judges. "The judges were faced with quite a dilemma last night as all three presentations were top notch. I always look forward to hearing the ideas that the students come up with, and from my vantage point, I can always find some tidbit that I take away and want to integrate into my business the next day."
"Well done Pharmville," says Winston. "Congratulation on being chosen as the winning presentation last night."
Special thanks to the sponsors of the competition - ATB Financial, Sandstone Pharmacies and Fresenius Kabi Canada.