ALEXANDRIA, Va. (July 24, 2023) – The National Community Pharmacists Association is pleased to announce that teams of pharmacy students from the University of Georgia, University of South Carolina, and the University of Texas at Austin have been named finalists in the 2023 Good Neighbor Pharmacy NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition. The three teams will present their business plans in a live competition on Oct. 14, 2023, at the NCPA Annual Convention in Orlando. The winning team will be announced on Oct. 15 as part of the convention’s First General Session.
NCPA President Hugh Chancy, RPh, congratulated the finalists, saying: “For innovative and forward-looking students like these, there’s no better part of the industry to be in than the independent pharmacy space. It’s where you can structure your business plan as you see fit to best serve the people in your community and support the team you work with. By participating in this competition, students have a head start on becoming successful pharmacy owners and entrepreneurs. I wish all finalists the best of luck at the live competition in October. We’re looking forward to seeing what you’ve been working so hard to develop.”
Team members from final three schools will compete for the following first, second, and third place awards:
- First Place: $3,000 to the NCPA student chapter and $3,000 contributed to the school in the dean’s name to promote independent pharmacy.
- Second Place: $2,000 to the NCPA student chapter and $2,000 contributed to the school in the dean’s name to promote independent pharmacy.
- Third Place: $1,000 to the NCPA student chapter and $1,000 contributed to the school in the dean’s name to promote independent pharmacy.
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 great 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.
The teams rounding out the top 10 of the competition, listed alphabetically, are Harding University College of Pharmacy; Mercer University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences; Ohio Northern University College of Pharmacy; Palm Beach Atlantic University; Rutgers University; the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy; and the University of Oklahoma.
The teams’ business plans were graded by independent pharmacy owners, business coaches and consultants, financiers, or community pharmacy practitioners, who must follow a detailed rubric when grading plans. Schools submitting to the competition for the first time receive a plaque for their participation. Each year that a school participates, it will receive a plate commemorating the year of participation to be added to the competition plaque. Teams placing in the top 10 receive a special plate acknowledging this distinction.
For more information about the Student Business Plan Competition, please visit NCPA’s website.
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Founded in 1898, the National Community Pharmacists Association is the voice for the community pharmacist, representing over 19,400 pharmacies that employ nearly 240,000 individuals nationwide. Community pharmacies are rooted in the communities where they are located and are among America’s most accessible health care providers. To learn more, visit www.ncpa.org.
