Patrick Condon was awarded the Excellence in Public Health Pharmacy Award from the United States Public Health Service
URI College of Pharmacy student Patrick Condon has earned national recognition for his commitment to public health and community advocacy from the United States Public Health Service.
U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Commander Christopher Janik, himself a pharmacist, presented Condon with the Excellence in Public Health Pharmacy Award during a ceremony in Dean Paul Larrat’s office recently. The Public Health Service presents the annual pharmacy award each year to 75 college students around the country to increase the public’s awareness of the critical role pharmacists play in promoting healthy communities.
“This annual award recognizes pharmacy students who demonstrate a commitment to public health,” Janik said. “Patrick is recognized for his community advocacy, with a focus on public health pharmacy including opioid awareness, over-the-counter patient education events and immunization clinics. In addition, videos he has produced have inspired students to focus on what matters most and how to effectively deal with stress. His fellow students admire and emulate him for his determination and focus on public health and the practice of pharmacy.”
Condon has indeed taken an active role in promoting public health as co-leader of the URI Service Corps. He has led trips to Louisiana and Houston to aid in hurricane relief, organized local immunization clinics and opioid awareness events, and mentored younger pharmacy students. He also played the role of a patient in a Department of Health event to help train health care professionals how to break bad news to patients. He is an active member of the American Pharmacists Association, and has made several public presentations, including during Face of Pharmacy Day at the RI State House and during the TEDxURI series in 2017, during which he taught listeners “How to Live Life Like You’re Dying.”
“I’ve always been about public service since I was a kid shoveling snow in my neighbors’ driveway,” Condon said. “Whether it’s shoveling snow, or helping someone figure out their prescriptions, it’s all public health. It is really exciting to know that is being recognized.”
Condon has been a leader throughout his time at URI, according to Clinical Professor Margaret Charpentier, who nominated him for the award.
“Pat’s impact is wide. His leadership is one of example. He rolls up his sleeves and gets the job done,” Charpentier wrote in her nomination letter. “Students throughout the College and the University admire and emulate Pat for his determination and his focus on living a life of service. Pat does not just try to live a life committed to service; he accomplishes this through thoughtful dedication. Pat wrote a mission statement for himself, and then he carried it out.”
Condon, son of Stephen and Marygrace Condon, is from North Dartmouth, Mass., and graduates from the URI College of Pharmacy in May with his PharmD degree. He has secured a residency at Lakeland Regional Health in Lakeland, Fla. He plans to focus on emergency room pharmacy in the short term, with possible long-term plans to follow in both his parents’ footsteps as a teacher.