Carolina Association of Pharmacy Students (CAPS)
The mission of the Carolina Association of Pharmacy Students is to engage student pharmacists by fostering professional development, providing patient-centered care, and advocating for the pharmacy profession. Through this organization, members gain national memberships of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) as well as a state-wide membership to the North Carolina Association of Pharmacists (NCAP). The purpose of CAPS is to provide real-world opportunities for students to practice their patient-care, professionalism, and advocacy skills.
About CAPS
The Carolina Association of Pharmacy Students (CAPS) is the largest organization on The Eshelman School of Pharmacy campus. CAPS is an umbrella organization which includes the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP), the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacy-Student Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP-SSHP), and the North Carolina Association of Pharmacists-Student Pharmacist Forum (NCAP-SPF).
APhA is a national organization that represents pharmacists from all disciplines, with APhA-ASP is the branch solely dedicated to student pharmacists. There is a chapter of APhA-ASP at every school and college of pharmacy in the US. Our chapter has ten patient-care projects (PCPs), which include: Gender Health, Operation Self-Care, Operation Diabetes, Operation Heart, Operation Immunization, Operation Substance Use Disorder, Project AGE, Smoking Cessation and Lung Health, OTC Medication Safety, and Spanish Rx. In addition to the PCPs, APhA-ASP offers the International Pharmaceutical Students Federation (IPSF) and the Student Political Advocacy Network (SPAN).
ASHP is a national professional association that represents pharmacists who practice in hospital and clinical settings, HMOs (health maintenance organizations), long term care, home care, and other areas of health care systems. ASHP-SSHP is the branch dedicated to student pharmacists passionate about advancing their Career and Professional Development. The Midyear Clinical Meeting hosted by ASHP is the largest gathering of pharmacists in the world.
NCAP is a state organization with the purpose to unite, serve and advance the profession of pharmacy specifically within North Carolina. NCAP SPF is the student network that serves to connect students to advocacy efforts and train them how to best advocate for their profession and their future patients. NCAP SPF also connects our members to opportunities that allow them to network with and learn from licensed Clinical Pharmacist Practitioners and opportunities that allow students to take an active role in supporting patients impacted by the NC Opioid Epidemic.
Join our organization for opportunities like…
(1) Developing clinical knowledge and practicing patient counseling skills through direct patient care 2) learning how to be a professional and the extensive variety of careers available to pharmacists, 3) being a leader in the field through policy, advocacy, and making student pharmacists’ voices heard.
National Organization Websites:
Dues
Dues are due around the end of September/beginning of October. These dues include the student’s national memberships to both APhA and ASHP as well as the student’s state membership to NCAP. With these dues, members participate in local events hosted by our chapter as well as national initiatives and services.
PY1s: $64
PY2s, PY3s, and PY4s: $118
CAPS: Frequently Asked Questions
- How can I join CAPS?
At the completion of the bridging course, a Qualtrics survey will be distributed to the student body where they will pay their dues electronically. - How much are dues?
$60/year for PY1s and $114/year for PY2-4s - What Leadership Opportunities are available?
PY1s are encouraged to apply for Coordinator positions that open up in the beginning of September. These positions serve as stepping-stone leadership opportunities for our members to learn the ropes of leadership, connect with older leaders, and have the ability to design and lead their own initiative or event! The only requirement is for you to be a CAPS member and have a passion for serving others!
CAPS also has Executive Leadership opportunities that are a 2-year commitment. Elections for these positions are during the beginning of the Spring semester of the PY1 year and the term begins shortly after your election.
Appointed leadership opportunities are available to all members and are 1-year commitments that allow our members to engage in creating and leading opportunities that align with specific Patient Care Projects or initiatives within CAPS. Applications for Appointed leaders open up mid-Spring semester. - What are my responsibilities as a member?
Responsibilities of a member is to achieve active status by attending or participating in events to achieve 10 points per semester, with the exception of those on split semester (i.e. PY2 Spring, PY3 Fall) where the requirement is reduced to 5 points per semester. - How much of a time commitment is CAPS?
This organization is built to provide a variety of events to satisfy the interests of all students at the Eshelman School of Pharmacy. That being said, we host, on average, 9 events per week which range from patient care opportunities to professional development to advocacy to networking. Students can choose which events they find interesting and what areas they would prefer to spend their time. The experience in CAPS is to be tailored to the student’s interests. An active member is to achieve 10 points throughout the semester and 1 point is roughly equivalent to 1 hour of time. - What happens at CAPS meetings?
CAPS holds General Body Meetings once a month which starts with a brief overview of upcoming events followed by an outstanding speaker from varied areas in pharmacy. We have had the pleasure of hosting past ASHP Presidents, international pharmacists, lobbyists, and many more. General Body Meetings are only a small portion of the benefits you receive from CAPS. Our other events range from informative meetings held at the school by faculty, pharmacists, or members of the community to direct patient outreach through immunization clinics and blood pressure screenings to professional and career development opportunities through CV reviews, networking, and residency matching sessions, etc. Our events vary greatly and there is something for all interests in pharmacy. - What would I benefit from being a part of CAPS?
Through CAPS, our students gain valuable skills necessary to build the best healthcare professionals possible through patient-care opportunities, professionalism activities, policy and advocacy experiences, national meeting attendance, and a plethora of leadership prospects. CAPS members have the unique opportunity to interact closely with new practitioners, pharmacists from all backgrounds, and other health professional students. CAPS is one of the only organizations that provide leadership opportunities to first-year students where they can host their own events as well as work closely with upperclassmen. CAPS is the largest organization on campus and our leadership structure alone has 73 elected and appointed positions. This provides ample opportunity for members of CAPS to take on a leadership role and become involved in a higher capacity.
Events/Projects
CAPS offers a variety of different projects to become involved with, including:
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Policy and Advocacy
- International Pharmaceutical Student Federation
- Operation Heart
- Operation Diabetes
- Operation Immunization
- Operation Substance Use Disorder Rx
- Project AGE
- Smoking Cessation and Lung Health
- Operation Self-Care
- Gender Health
- OTC Medication Safety
- Spanish Rx
- Professional Development
- Career Development
- Special Projects
- Fundraising
CAPS holds multiple events a week. To provide a glimpse, we’ve listed a few of our highlighted events.
- COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics
- Blood Glucose and Blood Pressure Patient Screening Outreach
- Foundations of Leadership Series
- Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner Networking Dinner
- Meet Your Legislator Day: NC State Capitol Meetings
- CV and Letter of Intent Workshop
- Interview and Speech Prep Workshop
- Campus Health Flu Vaccination Clinics
- St. Thomas More Latino Health Fair Outreach
- ASHP Clinical Skills Competition
- Hospital Pharmacist Shadowing
- LinkedIn and Online Presence Workshop
- International Student Exchange Program
- Policy Round Table Discussion
- Smoking Cessation Provider Perspective Workshop
- Mutual Drug Tour
- Phit Pharmacist Month
- NCAP Statewide OTC Medication Jeopardy Competition
- Midyear to Match Program
- Dr. Pharmacy School-Wide Talent Competition
CAPS Leadership
CAPS Executive President
Roxy Vassighi, Class of 2025
roxanna_vassighi@unc.edu
CAPS Executive President-Elect
Cassidy Kurita, Class of 2026
cassidy_kurita@unc.edu
APhA-ASP Chapter President
Zoey Harris, Class of 2025
zoey_harris@unc.edu
APhA-ASP Chapter President-Elect
Emily Grooms, Class of 2026
emgrooms@email.unc.edu
ASHP-SSHP Chapter President
Alina McCue, Class of 2025
amccue@unc.edu
ASHP-SSHP Chapter President-Elect
Mackenzie Greene, Class of 2026
Mackenzie_Greene@unc.edu
NCAP-SPF Chapter President
Meghan Corcoran, Class of 2025
meghan_corcoran@unc.edu
NCAP-SPF Chapter President-Elect
Talia Carlson, Class of 2026
taliac@unc.edu
Diversity Equity & Inclusion Vice President
Shaleen Ghosh
shaleen_ghosh@unc.edu
Diversity Equity & Inclusion Vice President-Elect
Mennah Alkaissi
mennah_alkaissi@unc.edu
Finance Vice President
Haseeb Ahmed, Class of 2025
haseeb44@live.unc.edu
Finance Vice President-Elect
Kendall Poythress, Class of 2026
kenellen@email.unc.edu
Membership Vice President
Mackenzie Goodman, Class of 2025
macbrett@live.unc.edu
Membership Vice President-Elect
Jenny Koerner, Class of 2026
jkoern@unc.edu
Communications Vice President
Juliet Nowak, Class of 2025
jnowak@unc.edu
Communications Vice President-Elect
Sam Bollman, Class of 2026
bollmans@email.unc.edu
Faculty Advisor
Dr. Macary Marciniak, Dr. Kathryn Fuller
Like us on Facebook