Pictured above: Darren Grabe, PharmD with Chanmin Jung, Jonathan Santosh, Sylvia Huang, Angela Phan, Ellie Aspin, and Tasnim Chowdhury, president of AMCP. (Not pictured due to APPE rotations: Zeel Bhagat, Jan M. Rivera Guerra and Sainellys Jimenez)
Eight ACPHS students were recently recognized with a 2026 Student Pharmacy Advocacy Certificate for their involvement in pharmacy policy. Students can earn this credential for their participation in pharmacy advocacy events.
The initiative was established by the Advocacy Alliance which includes five student pharmacy organizations: Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP), American Pharmacists Association–Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP), American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists (AAPP), Rho Pi Phi Pharmaceutical Fraternity (ROPE) and Student Society of Health-System Pharmacists (SSHP).
Throughout Spring 2026, the organizations collaborated to provide students with opportunities to learn about pharmacy advocacy, health policy, professional engagement, and ways pharmacists and student pharmacists can advocate for patients and the profession.
Students are required to attend advocacy-related programming, complete an end-of-program survey, and complete an additional advocacy activity to earn this credential. Options included writing to a legislator, developing an advocacy pledge, creating advocacy-related media, participating in NYS Pharmacy Legislative Day, meeting with a legislator, or writing about a pharmacy policy issue.
“One example of student participation involved contacting members of Congress regarding the Medicaid VBPs for Patients Act (MVP Act) and discussing patient access to value-based purchasing arrangements for medications. A House version of the legislation, H.R. 7871, was subsequently introduced in the 119th Congress on March 9, 2026,” shared Chanmin Jung ’28, a BSPK-Pharm D. candidate. “The legislation addresses value-based purchasing arrangements under Medicaid, including arrangements in which payment for a medication may be connected to patient outcomes.”
Certificates were presented to:
- Jan M. Rivera Guerra
- Jonathan Santosh
- Angela Phan
- Zeel Bhagat
- Ellie Aspin
- Sainellys Jimenez
- Sylvia Huang
- Chanmin Jung
Congratulations to all!
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