West Coast University pharmacy doctorate students took home the grand prize at this year’s state Society of Health-System Pharmacists (CSHP) Quiz Bowl competition, leading the charge against 13 other Schools of Pharmacy across California.
The CSHP, a professional pharmacy organization, hosted the Jeopardy-style Quiz Bowl this past November during its annual seminar at the Disneyland Hotel. Seven CSHP student chapter members were chosen to represent the WCU-Center for Graduate Studies School of Pharmacy, including five main participants and two alternates.
“Quiz Bowl was an amazing experience because we really got to put our knowledge to the test and work as a team to make WCU history,” WCU-CGS PharmD student Anita Bazikyan said. “It truly was a team effort and I’m so thankful to have had such great colleagues to work with.”
The competition consisted of two 25-question rounds, which Bazikyan said she felt well-equipped to handle.
“As a fourth-year pharmacy student, doing my Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) rotations prepared me well for Quiz Bowl,” Bazikyan said. “I’m proud to say that I felt confident in myself and am grateful for my professors who contributed to my academic success.”
This year’s Quiz Bowl categories ranged from topics including infectious diseases, neurology, cardiology, vaccines, oncology, medicine in TV, and more. WCU-CGS PharmD student Alison Rufo said each teammate was responsible for a specific area of study.
“The five main players were assigned topics to study for,” Rufo said. “I was assigned the infectious diseases and vaccination categories. My favorite class so far in Pharmacy school is infectious diseases so I felt pretty solid in being able to answer questions.”
After the Quiz Bowl rounds were complete, students were faced with a final jeopardy question in a surprise category: pharmacy calculations. The competition was so close leading up to this moment that once the MC announced West Coast University as the Quiz Bowl champions the team was overjoyed, Rufo shared.
“We all jumped out of our chairs,” she said. “It was such an unreal and unforgettable moment. I saw my team members trying to hold in their tears as we hugged each other. It was an emotional experience.”
Led by advisors Catherine Van and Glenn Morataya, the WCU-CGS CSHP student chapter Quiz Bowl champions included Thy Pham, Anita Bazikyan, Emin Janaslani, Alison Rufo, Sabrine Yamauchi and alternates Veerpal Sandhu and Maryam Nejad.
WCU provides career guidance and assistance but cannot guarantee employment. The views and opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or position of the school or of any instructor or student.
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