Nicholas Pugliese ’19 (Pharm.D.) has received one of five class of 2019 Student Leadership Awards from the American Society of Health Systems Pharmacists (ASHP). The honor comes with a $2000 cash payment and a digital drug information library worth approximately $500.
“Because of your interest in Health-System pharmacy and [your] demonstrated leadership, you have been identified as a student who represents the very best attributes and accomplishments of ASHP student members,” said the ASHP’s Diana Dabdub in her letter to Pugliese. “The selection process was rigorous and competitive. We commend you for being among the eleven recipients [classes of 2019 and 2020] selected from a pool of highly qualified applicants from across the country.”
Pugliese, a native of Shrewsbury, Mass., will be the second member of his immediate family to complete a Pharm.D. at UConn when he graduates in May. The first was his sister, Gabriella, who is a 2013 graduate and who was the catalyst behind her brother’s interest in the profession of pharmacy.
In nominating him for the award, Associate Dean for Admissions and Student Affairs and Associate Clinical Professor Philip Hritcko wrote, “Nick has displayed a strong interest in advocating for not only our School and his fellow students, but also for the profession of pharmacy through his activities in organizations, on campus, and in the community.”
Hritcko listed a number of reasons why Pugliese was a deserving candidate for the award, including his service as President of the UConn School of Pharmacy chapter of the Student Society of Health System Pharmacists (SSHP) and as founding member and secretary of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) student chapter.
He said, “Under Nick’s leadership these two student organizations made it their mission to give their student members the opportunity to experience pharmacist clinical care services and help students obtain internship positions at local health-systems practice sites. These valuable experiences increased the networking opportunities for our students with pharmacists who practice in these institutional settings.”
Adding, “Nick has also shown his strong interest in health-system pharmacy practice by his aggressive work experience during his time as a pharmacy student, while maintaining high academic standards.”
Currently completing his final rotation as a P4 at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston where he’s part of an internal medicine team, Pugliese will spend his PGY1 year as a pharmacy resident at Hartford Hospital. After that? He says, “I like high stress environments so I’m thinking I’d like to spend my PGY2 year working in an emergency department or intensive care or, perhaps, in cardiology.”
As to the future, he says that combining the practice of clinical pharmacy with an academic position in a school of pharmacy is a long-term goal.
The ASHP is an organization representing pharmacists who serve as patient care providers in acute and ambulatory settings. Its nearly 50,000 members include pharmacists, student pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. Founded in 1942, ASHP supports the professional practice of pharmacists in hospitals, health systems, ambulatory care clinics, and other settings. For more than 75 years, the organization has been at the forefront of efforts to improve medication use and enhance patient safety by supporting pharmacists in the delivery of optimal, safe, and effective medication use.
