ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Community Pharmacists Association is pleased to announce that teams of pharmacy students from the Medical University of South Carolina, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Pharmacy, and the University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy have been named finalists in the 2021 Good Neighbor Pharmacy NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition. The three teams will present their business plans in a live competition on Oct. 9, 2021 at the NCPA Annual Convention in Charlotte, N.C. The winning team will be announced on Oct. 10 as part of the convention’s First General Session.

“Having an established, solid business plan in place is the key for more easily tackling challenges or unexpected issues that might develop,” said NCPA president Brian Caswell. “Learning how to develop these plans now will help the students be more equipped and confident pharmacy entrepreneurs in the years to come. I’m proud of all teams participating in this year’s Student Business Plan Competition for their strong work. Best of luck to the finalists from the Medical University of South Carolina, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Pharmacy, and the University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy. We’re looking forward to seeing the students present their plans at NCPA’s Annual Convention in October.”

Team members from final three schools will compete for the following first, second, and third place awards:

• First Place: $3,000 to the NCPA student chapter and $3,000 contributed to the school in the dean’s name to promote independent pharmacy.
• Second Place: $2,000 to the NCPA student chapter and $2,000 contributed to the school in the dean’s name to promote independent pharmacy.
• Third Place: $1,000 to the NCPA student chapter and $1,000 contributed to the school in the dean’s name to promote independent pharmacy.

The Student Business Plan Competition, which is supported by Good Neighbor Pharmacy, Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Company, and the NCPA Foundation, is the first national competition of its kind in the pharmacy profession and honors two great champions of independent community pharmacy, the late Neil Pruitt Sr. and the late H. Joseph Schutte. The purpose of the competition is to motivate students in pharmacy school to create a thought-out plan for either purchasing an existing pharmacy or opening a pharmacy from the ground up, and to prepare tomorrow’s pharmacy entrepreneurs for a successful future.

The teams rounding out the top 10 of the competition, listed alphabetically, are the Mercer University College of Pharmacy; Ohio Northern University Raabe College of Pharmacy; Rutgers University Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy; University of Iowa College of Pharmacy; University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy; University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy; and Western University of Health Sciences College of Pharmacy.

Grading the team’s business plans are independent pharmacy owners, business coaches and consultants, financiers, or community pharmacy practitioners, who must follow a detailed rubric when grading plans.

Schools submitting to the competition for the first time will receive a plaque for their participation. Each year that a school participates, it will receive a plate commemorating the year of participation to be added to the competition plaque. Teams placing in the top 10 receive a special plate acknowledging this distinction.

For more information about the Student Business Plan Competition, please visit NCPA’s website.