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SPRINGFIELD, Va. — The Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA) has partnered with the CVS Health Foundation on a new scholarship program to support medication use quality.
Called the PQA-CVS Health Foundation Scholars Program, the scholarship recognizes student excellence in projects focusing on quality-related initiatives. The program also aims to promote and improve education for quality measures and value-based care models and spur student interest and engagement in the development of quality-related initiatives, PQA said Monday.
Through the joint venture, PQA and the CVS Health Foundation will provide scholarships for up to 15 student-mentor pairs for the first year, with potential to expand the program in subsequent years. Scholarships will be awarded to each student to support their expenses to attend and participate in the PQA Annual Meeting and the PQA Leadership Summit. Student-mentor pairs will get access to PQA forums and networking opportunities to share their work with the entire alliance.
“PQA is very excited to partner with the CVS Health Foundation to launch this new Scholars Program. Student engagement in the quality landscape is an increasingly important priority as health care continues to shift toward value-based models,” Sam Stolpe, senior director of quality strategies at PQA, said in a statement. “The PQA-CVS Health Foundation Scholars Program creates a unique opportunity to recognize students and their mentors for helping to advance healthcare and pharmacy related quality.”
Students selected for the PQA-CVS Health Foundation Scholars Program will conceptualize and develop quality-related initiatives in performance measurement or implementation. They also will present a poster of their project or concept beginning at the 2017 PQA Annual Meeting.
“We are committed to supporting the best and brightest students and future pharmacy leaders,” commented Eileen Howard Boone, president of the CVS Health Foundation. “We are proud to partner with PQA, the leader in quality performance and measurement for medication management, and we’re excited to see the innovative student-mentor projects that emerge through this initiative.”
Students interested in applying to the program must submit their application by June 1.
“This is a terrific opportunity, not only for our academic partners, but the broader membership of the Alliance,” PQA executive director Laura Cranston stated. “The PQA community is focused on sharing best practices related to improving medication use quality. This program will highlight the work of up-and-coming quality scholars, allowing them to share their knowledge with the larger PQA community.”
