SPOKANE, Wash. — Students at the Washington State University College of Pharmacy here had a rare chance this month to ask key government and industry leaders about the policy changes needed to give pharmacy a bigger role in the nation’s health care delivery system.

The students were invited to a roundtable discussion that was held at the college on the importance of building relationships with professional associations and government ­representatives.

“You have one of the true champions for pharmacy in Congress sitting right here on this stage,” National Association of Chain Drug Stores president and chief executive officer Steve Anderson said, referring to Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers ­­­­(R., Wash.).

As chair of the House Republican Conference, McMorris Rodgers is the highest-ranking Republican woman in Congress. Her district includes Spokane and the eastern third of Washington state.

Both Anderson and McMorris Rodgers urged students to get involved with public policy when they become pharmacists, specifically as advocates for how pharmacists can contribute to health care solutions.

“I have no doubt that the student pharmacists left the presentation with a greater appreciation of their ability to shape patient care and public policy alike,” Anderson wrote in his weekly column in a newsletter sent to NACDS members.