April 4, 2014
Stephanie Burke, PharmD'16, with the U.S. Deputy Surgeon General, Rear Admiral (RADM) Boris Lushniak, at the 2013 Leadership Symposium.

Stephanie Burke, PharmD'16, was selected as one of the 2013 Paul Ambrose Scholars. With this, she was invited to speak at the Pharmacy Planning Services, Inc. public health breakfast forum in conjunction with the American Pharmacists Association's annual conference in Orlando, FL on March 30, 2014. Ms. Burke presented her experience in the program, which she has also shared with us below. 

Impact. 
By: Stephanie Burke, PharmD’16

As a first-year student pharmacist entering the Doctor of Pharmacy program at the University of Michigan, I pledged to make an impact in the lives of my patients. While this is a common goal among students in the health field, how one achieves this goal will vary. My passion for pharmacy was shaped largely through exposure to disparities in health and health care as well as through engagement with underserved populations. The field of public health piqued my interest as a way to have a significant impact on patients by addressing these disparities and affecting populations of people as opposed to the individual patient.

The Paul Ambrose Scholars Program (PASP) presented a unique opportunity for me to further explore this broad field. This program, offered through the Association for Prevention and Teaching Research (APTR), is designed for health professional students with an interest in public health and health promotion.

To apply, students must first identify a faculty mentor to serve as their advisor during their year as a Scholar, and formulate a project proposal that encompasses one of Healthy People (HP) 2020’s Leading Health Indicators (LHI). Additionally, student pharmacists must be entering into the third or fourth year of a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. Following acceptance into the program, the Scholars gather for a Leadership Symposium in Washington D.C. during the third week of June to kick off the year.

At the symposium, students gain exposure to the field of public health via interactive discussions on a number of topics including Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Health Care Reform, and Leadership and Underserved Medicine. These discussions are facilitated by leaders in public health like the U.S. Deputy Surgeon General, and they equip students to fundamentally tackle public health problems. These lectures also challenge students to translate their new knowledge into a community-based health initiative that addresses one of HP 2020’s LHIs. In addition to attending these discussions, the Symposium also presents an incredible networking opportunity for students. Scholars engage with prominent practitioners in public health as well as other health professional students including those in pharmacy, physical therapy, nursing, dentistry, and others. Listening to a multitude of student project proposals, it was empowering to envision the impact we students could have at our institutions, in our communities, and abroad.

I was inspired to apply for this program after reading a short biography of the late Dr. Paul Ambrose. He was an aspiring physician with a passion for public health, and the PASP was established to complement his vision to expose health professional students to this field.

As a scholar, this program allowed me to exercise my creativity through formulating an initiative to address my project concept, and it encouraged me to engage with my local community. I was also able to impact a population of people as opposed to an individual patient. Furthermore, my program challenged me to critically consider each step in the development of my initiative to assess its feasibility and practicality.

My program, entitled Growing Resilient, Impassioned Teens (GRIT), focuses on HP 2020’s LHI Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity. It is a 12-week extracurricular program for adolescent girls that I created and adapted from an existing curriculum. The first six weeks involve one-hour yoga or Zumba sessions one day per week and the second six weeks involve activity- and discussion-based health sessions one day per week. This curriculum operated in two local afterschool programs from January through April. Students in the Schools of Pharmacy, Nursing, and Social Work were recruited to facilitate the weekly sessions.

I have experienced significant personal and professional growth as a Paul Ambrose Scholar. Throughout the project development process, through collaboration with students and my partnering organizations, and through the guidance and support of my faculty mentor, my confidence as a student leader in pharmacy has been strengthened. I have gained skills in how to translate a vision into an achievable product, and how to maintain a broader perspective of a project’s goal without sacrificing the details essential for success. This experience has also taught me the importance of other people; it takes one person to create a vision, but many to achieve that vision.

I believe more pharmacists are needed in the field of public health, and this opportunity has aided my pursuit to bridge the fields of pharmacy and public health in my academic and professional careers.

It is my sincere hope that faculty of Schools of Pharmacy will encourage their students to apply for this program, and support them and their projects during their time as a Paul Ambrose Scholar. For student pharmacists, I hope that this program will be seen as an opportunity to enhance understanding of public health and prevention, and expand outreach to these fields that are in need of our unique skill set and training.