KU News Release

National Community Pharmacists Association selects KU senior for internship

LAWRENCE — Laura Mazur, a University of Kansas pharmacy student from Wichita, has been selected for a prestigious summer internship by the National Community Pharmacists Association.

During her 10 weeks with the national advocacy group, which is based in Alexandria, Va., Mazur will receive on-the-job training within her choice of departments, which include government affairs, the executive office, accounting and others. She will also receive a stipend, gain internship hours toward her pharmacy license and attend executive meetings with the organization and its partners.

“It’s a prestigious internship,” said Gene Hotchkiss, associate dean of pharmacy. “Students from all 110 schools of pharmacy would love to have that position.”

The National Community Pharmacists Association and the NCPA Foundation, a nonprofit that gives financial assistance to students, pharmacy researchers and independent pharmacy owners, sponsor the internship, which begins in early summer. The association was founded in 1898 and represents owners, managers and employees in more than 23,000 independent community pharmacies across the United States.

The nation’s independent pharmacists are small-business entrepreneurs and multifaceted health care providers who represent a vital part of the United States’ health care delivery system. They dispense nearly one-half of the nation’s retail prescription medications.

Mazur is a fourth-year pharmacy student and a member of several pharmacy groups, including the American Pharmacists Association — Academy of Student Pharmacists, Christian Pharmacists Fellowship International, Kappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity, Phi Lambda Sigma pharmacy leadership society and the National Community Pharmacists Association.

“The KU School of Pharmacy has really put an emphasis on practical experience and getting into the pharmacy for learning, as compared to classroom work,” Mazur said. “This approach has showed me that my best learning experiences have come from my time in that work setting, hence my application for a summer internship.”

She is the daughter of Mark and Alyce Mazur of Wichita and a graduate of Bishop Carroll High School.

Founded in 1885, KU’s School of Pharmacy is recognized as a leader in pharmacy education. KU’s doctor of pharmacy degree, or PharmD, is a six-year professional-level degree similar to a law or medical degree. The curriculum offers the education and experiential training that provide the student with the knowledge, skills and ability required of the pharmacy practitioner in the 21st century.

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