Binghamton pharmacy professor, co-chair receives Rufus A. Lyman Award for outstanding research

Sarah Spinler, co-chair of pharmacy practice at the Binghamton University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, received the Rufus A. Lyman Award at the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) conference July 21 in Boston, Mass. The award recognizes outstanding original research with high significance to pharmacy education that has been published in the preceding year in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education (AJPE).

Spinler and her co-authors were recognized for their publication, "NAPLEX Preparation Program Characteristics and Resources Associated with First-Time Exam Pass Rates." She was also recognized for her dedication to her students in preparing them for a national exam.

"My original interest in the project stemmed from working with our P4 class on North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) preparation, which is the licensure examination for pharmacists after they graduate," Spinler said. "We had a substantial investment in a product called RX Prep that students were using."

Spinler and her co-authors started the paper about two and a half years ago. She explained the idea for it started during a Zoom call with around 100 people in attendance.

"During the call, one of the co-authors, Lisa Lebovitz, asked if people could be interested in research in this area. I already had some ideas for research in that area, so I joined the group," she said. "Eventually, it was the group of us who created and distributed a survey to schools of pharmacy assessment directors, asking how they use any types of preparation programs and materials, whether homegrown or purchased, and comparing the products used to the pass rates for the NAPLEX exam."

Spinler said she was "pretty surprised" and honored to receive the award, which cast a spotlight on the significant amount of time and resources needed for the programs preparing the next generation of pharmacists.

"We were looking to see what types of preparation strategies work the best, all of which are labor-intensive. The overall conclusion was that just having one of these programs is not a band-aid to help improve pass rates," she said. "There are probably a lot of other factors involved, and there's still work to be done."