NCPA supports up-and-coming pharmacy students 

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The National Community Pharmacists Association and the NCPA Foundation have announced that teams of pharmacy students from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of South Carolina, and the University of Texas at Austin have been named finalists in the 2024 Good Neighbor Pharmacy NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition. The three teams will present their business plans in a live competition on Oct. 26 at the NCPA Annual Convention in Columbus, and the winning team will be announced on Oct. 27 as part of the convention’s First General Session. “Having a solid business plan in place makes it easier for pharmacy teams to address whatever challenges inevitably arise in the future,” said NCPA President Lea Wolsoncroft, RPh. “This competition helps pharmacy students feel confident in writing a thorough business plan now, so that they are better equipped as their careers progress.” For first place, the NCPA will give $3,000 to the student chapter and $3,000 to the school in the dean’s name to promote independent pharmacy; for second place, $2,000; and for third place, $1,000. The Student Business Plan Competition, which is supported by Good Neighbor Pharmacy, Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Company and the NCPA Foundation, is the first national competition of its kind in the pharmacy profession and honors two champions of independent community pharmacy, the late Neil Pruitt Sr. and the late H. Joseph Schutte. It aims to motivate students in pharmacy school to create a thought-out plan for either purchasing an existing pharmacy or opening a pharmacy from the ground up, and to prepare tomorrow’s pharmacy entrepreneurs for a successful future. There were 20 entries in this year’s competition.