Top Spot in Texas for UH ACCP Team  

UHCOP's Bhakta, Molina and Sobhanian Advance from Field of 100-plus to Finish Among Top 16 Teams in National Clinical Pharmacy Challenge 

Although falling short of being able to test their mettle in the advanced rounds of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy's Clinical Pharmacy Challenge, three UH College of Pharmacy Pharm.D. candidates are taking solace in the fact that their team progressed past all other pharmacy colleges in the state.  

The team of Dhara Bhakta, Tara Molina and Minoosh Sobhanian was one of 104 teams taking part in the 2014 national ACCP competition, and one of only 16 teams to move from Round 1 to Round 4. In the early rounds, the competition is presented in a timed, computer-based format including pharmacy trivia, a case problem, and a "Jeopardy"-style round.

Bhakta, Molina and Sobhanian participated in the competition last year, but on separate teams.

"It's always fun to test our knowledge and what we've retained from class, especially now that we're in (experiential) rotations and constantly applying our knowledge," Sobhanian said.

Molina agreed that the "high intensity" of a timed competition provided additional incentive to push themselves.

"We quizzed each other on random facts and information from our rotations, from acute coronary syndromes to liver failure," Molina said. "We'd get thrown the most random questions; it was one of my favorite parts about the competition."

Bhakta, Molina and Sobhanian participated in the competition last year, but on separate teams.

"It would have been nice to go further, but we're still proud of how we did," Bhakta said. "It reinforced the importance of teamwork, and generated a lot of discussion when answered a question wrong."