Pharmaceuticals and alternative therapies are in the news a lot lately with experimental treatments for coronavirus being tossed around due to the president’s admission to Walter Reed Medical Center this week. Pharmacists go hand-in-hand with medical treatments and specialize in the proper and effective use of medicine/pharmaceuticals and are knowledgeable in the side effects and potential drug interactions on top of being responsible for interpreting knowledge from healthcare providers to patients. Pharmacists complete intensive specialized education and Rho Chi recognizes the students who excel in the process.

Established in 1917 at The University of Michigan, Rho Chi is the national honor society for pharmacy. The organization was created to “promote the advancement of the pharmaceutical sciences through the encouragement and recognition of sound scholarship.” They note on their website that they “seek to increase the awareness of the ethical and social responsibilities of the profession, and thereby, to enhance the prestige of the profession.”

Rho Chi’s mission is to:

• Encourage and recognize intellectual achievement
• Stimulate critical inquiry to advance pharmacy
• Contribute to the development of intellectual leaders
• Promote highest ethical standards
• Foster collaboration

In order to qualify for membership, students must have completed a minimum of 75 hours of collegiate work and be ranked in the top 20% of his/her class. Students must also “show a capacity for achievement in the science and art of pharmacy as evidenced by character, personality, and leadership.”

Rho Chi currently has 129 active chapters. You’ll recognize these pharmacy scholars on graduation day by their purple and white honor cords representing royalty and loyalty.

Are you a member of Rho Chi? Let us know in the comments!

Cover photo by Kendal on Unsplash