CHSU College of Pharmacy Students Participate in 2015 CAPSLEAD Conference

The annual California Pharmacy Student Leadership (CAPSLEAD) Conference was held from February 28 – March 1, 2015 at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California. The 2015 conference included 10 participating pharmacy schools, including Western University (host), California Health Sciences University (CHSU), California Northstate University, Keck Graduate Institute, Loma Linda University, Touro University, University of California San Diego, University of California San Francisco, University of Southern California, and University of the Pacific.

The eight P1 students that represented CHSU included Fouad Boulbol, Yuqin Hu, Hayley Madsen, Henna Mahal, Allen Namagerdi, Faith Olivares, Adam Shah, and Kc Taylor.  The CHSU CAPSLEAD faculty advisors are Drs. Robert Clegg, Patty Havard, and Stan Snowden.  Dr. Tony Eid is a faculty collaborator on the SB 493 project.  The success of CHSU’s inaugural participation with CAPSLEAD was achieved through the generous support by Dr. David Hawkins, Dean and Vice-President of Academic Affairs.
The goals of the California Pharmacy Student Leadership (CAPSLEAD) Conference are to provide opportunities for student leaders from all schools of pharmacy in California to:

• reflect on own personal history and leadership styles;
• explore similarities and differences of leadership styles of the team;
• build team management skills to resolve conflicts;
• network with pharmacy faculty and students;
• conduct a project on relevant and current pharmacy issues; and,
• present a poster presentation at the CSHP and/or CPhA conference(s).

Students’ comments on CAPSLEAD experience

Allen Namagerdi
The CAPSLEAD Conference offered a unique opportunity for student collaboration across California schools of pharmacy. The team management techniques, conflict management, leadership activities were fun and engaging. Networking with students and faculty from other schools was the highlight of the conference.
Kc Taylor
Attending the CAPSLEAD conference this past weekend was an enriching experience. I learned how to be a more effective and efficient leader and also how to resolve conflict in an encouraging way. The faculty from the other nine schools of pharmacy in California gave informative presentations on developing leadership, team management, and networking skills. I was also presented with the opportunity to make new friends with students from other pharmacy schools in California. The CHSU team chose to research and present a project on SB 493 and primary provider status for pharmacists in California. We began to outline our project and received constructive feedback on how to better our endeavor for eventual poster presentation to California pharmacists. I look forward to enriching my new friendships, working in a team to research our project, and further develop my leadership and team management skills using the techniques I learned at the CAPSLEAD conference.
Yuqin Hu
I felt that the teaching program at the CAPSLEAD conference was excellent at helping us develop our secondary strengths. In addition, I valued understanding the different leadership styles and how to use them in different conflict scenarios. The conference also reinforced my role as a “Player” which dovetails with my natural personality. Overall, the conference was a positive, engaging, and educational experience. I look forward to working with our team on our project.
Hayley Madsen
“The CAPSLEAD Conference was a great opportunity to network not only with other pharmacy students from various pharmacy schools in California but also with their respective and esteemed faculty advisors. It was exciting to experience the camaraderie between the pharmacy students despite attending different programs. To be able to share anecdotes and ask questions about their experience in pharmacy school thus far was a great opportunity to recognize and appreciate the unique experience I am gaining by attending CHSU. I found that our group was very effective in working together on the assignments we were presented with throughout the conference because our curriculum is driven by team based learning. As a result, instead of being hesitant or unsure of how to work with each other, we worked together naturally. Overall, the opportunity to connect with my classmates, other pharmacy students and faculty was invaluable and incredibly fun at the same time. I look forward to working on our project together and learning more about how SB-493 will shape my career as well as the overall direction and evolving opportunities in pharmacy.”
Fouad Boulbol
The CAPSLEAD conference weekend was an experience of which I have thoroughly enjoyed. It provided me with great networking opportunities as well as the ability to advance my leadership skills. Working with my fellow classmates on several team-building exercises was also very gratifying. Overall, I am very grateful that I was able to participate on such a great project.
Faith Olivares
I believe the CAPS conference have increased my understanding in the meaning of leadership. Learning the different types of leadership can further help me in handling any given situations that I may encounter in the future. The activities that were held were very entertaining especially in comparing the ideas and thoughts of 10 different pharmacy schools. The activities allowed our team to work together as one and it also taught us how to work together in harmony. I also have learned many things about my teammates; their likes and dislikes. The conference was a good precursor to future events, especially in working together in establishing and finishing our project. I also enjoyed meeting other students from other schools, learning their background, experiences and future plans in life. Overall, I appreciated my weekend in Anaheim experiencing many valuable principles, and meeting amazing people.
Henna Mahal
The CAPSLEAD conference was an excellent program that helped us strengthen our leadership and teamwork skills. It provided us with the opportunity to network with students and faculty from other programs and also created an environment of collaboration amongst all of the pharmacy schools in California. This program provided us with formal leadership training that will allow us to apply our skills to the test during the year-long research project we will be working on. Overall it was a very valuable and educational experience!
Adam Shah
The 2015 Anaheim CAPSLEAD conference was a great experience for educating future pharmacists on the importance of leadership. Various styles of conflict management were presented through different scenarios and helped the students from all California pharmacy schools enhance their skills in dealing with possible situations encountered in the workplace. The professors present were very informative and helpful, and their guidance for the selected projects was very well received. Meeting the other representatives from the other universities was also a refreshing experience. The conference was a very positive experience and I look forward to utilizing the knowledge gained at the CAPSLEAD conference.