Read the interview of the 2011 Award winner, Mariana Frois:

Mariana, 23 years old at the time, applied for the award half a year after her graduation. The research material was a result of a project she took part in during her fourth year of studies at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra. Later, she also used some of the data and knowledge gained to write her master thesis.

Why did you decide to apply for the EAHP-EPSA Student award?

During my fourth year of studies at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, I participated in a research project at the Molecular Biology and Microbiology laboratory using data from the University of Coimbra Hospitals. I was evaluated in that project through the presentation of a scientific article. The following year, I got acquainted with the EAHP-EPSA Student Science Award and realized this would be a nice way to use the work developed.
I contacted my tutor who supported me on this idea and, after a final review of the article,
I submitted it through EPSA. 

Was it hard to write a scientific article?

It was a very good learning process. Prior to the writing of the article I read many scientific publications on that same field and I got acquainted with the structure of a scientific article, the language used, how to use the references, and so on. The previous year I enrolled on a course: "English for Academic Purposes", which gave me great insights to scientific writing. It is challenging, required time and many reviews, but once completed it gave me a great sense of satisfaction!

Did you receive support for it?

I had the valuable support of my tutor, Professor Gabriela Jorge da Silva, who played a huge role in this entire process. She not only reviewed the publication many times, but always ensured that the quality of the publication and the results presented was high. She has a wealth of experience in the field which was extremely important. I also want to highlight the valuable reviews and layout editing provided by the European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy (EJHP) staff that supported me greatly prior to the publication of the article.

What have been the biggest benefits you gained from this experience?

The entire experience was very positive for me. First of all, I absolutely enjoyed attending the EAHP Congress in Vienna (2011) and having the opportunity to address some words to the hospital pharmacists attending the conference. Of course it is extremely rewarding to have a scientific article published in an international journal and, even if I am not pursuing a career in academia, it is still terrific to be able to show some scientific capabilities in your CV.

Most importantly, this was a fantastic way to reward all the efforts and hours spent in the laboratory, library and at home collecting and analyzing the data for this research project.

What kind of advice would you give to students who are thinking of submitting their research for the award?

Maybe many of you in your studies have gathered data or done research in a field that relates to hospital pharmacy, but haven't had the opportunity to write a scientific article. Being proactive is a way of living that can only bring you positive outcomes. Contact your professor or reach out to a researcher and ask for some help on it. Ask for their guidance and keep your motivation up. In the end, this is a great experience and you will be proud of your hard work.

The deadline for the next EAHP-EPSA Award is 15.01.2014

Click here to find out more information!
 

Click here for Mariana's award-winning article