First-year Lipscomb pharmacy student earns national honor for patient counseling excellence

First-year Lipscomb pharmacy student earns national honor for patient counseling excellence

Kim Chaudoin | 04/26/2026

When Emma Wadlington watched the clinical pharmacists caring for her infant sister in a hospital intensive care unit, she saw firsthand the kind of impact she hoped to one day make in the lives of patients and families. Years later, that calling has led the first-year (P1) Lipscomb University College of Pharmacy student to national recognition.

Wadlington, a Lexington, Kentucky native, recently won the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) National Patient Counseling Competition after being named one of 10 finalists in the country and advancing to the championship round at the organization's annual meeting in Los Angeles in March. This is the first time a Lipscomb student has won this competition.

According to the APhA-ASP, the goal of its National Patient Counseling Competition is to encourage student pharmacists in their efforts toward becoming better patient educators. "The competition is designed to reflect changes that are occurring in practice, to promote and encourage further professional development of the student pharmacist and to reinforce the role of the pharmacist as a health care provider and educator," said the organization.

The National Patient Counseling Competition, which is sponsored by CVS, is divided into preliminary and final rounds. During the preliminary round, each of the approximately 120 students representing universities across the country randomly selected a practice scenario and were given five minutes to review the medication prescription and patient profile before counseling the patient on the appropriate use of the drug involved. Throughout the competition, students were scored based on the content and style of their counseling presentations, and the top 10 students from the preliminary national round advanced to the final round.

The 10 finalists were faced with a more complex counseling situation in the final round, which also began with students selecting a prescription at random before counseling the patient on safe and effective drug use. In the final round, the patient displayed a personality characteristic such as anxiousness, belligerence or apathy, challenging the students' ability to effectively deliver the necessary information in a realistic environment.

"I am so proud of Emma for winning the National Patient Counseling Competition," said Tom Campbell, dean of Lipscomb's College of Pharmacy. "Her dedication to her studies along with excellent faculty mentorship put her in position for success. We have had other Top 10 finishes, but Emma is the college's first winner of the competition. The fact she accomplished this as a first-year student pharmacist is impressive. I look forward to watching Emma's continued growth and I know she is going to make an incredible difference in the lives of the patients she serves."

The competition spotlighted Wadlington's ability to communicate medical information with clarity, empathy and professionalism," skills she says are central to the role of a pharmacist.

"I am honored to be recognized with this award, especially as a first-year student," said Wadlington. "Being able to communicate medical information with clarity, empathy and respect plays such a significant role in building trust and empowering patients to be confident and comfortable with their treatment. This is something I am deeply passionate about."

Wadlington enrolled at Lipscomb in fall 2023 in the university's accelerated pre-pharmacy fast-track program, a unique pathway that allows students to complete prerequisite undergraduate coursework before entering the four-year Doctor of Pharmacy program. She is on track to graduate in 2029 with her Pharm.D. degree. Her husband, Simon Wadlington, is a 2025 Lipscomb graduate who earned a degree in pastoral leadership and now serves as a youth minister at a local church.

Her decision to pursue clinical pharmacy was shaped by a deeply personal experience. When she was in high school, her youngest sister was born with a rare genetic disorder and spent nearly 10 months hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

"Our family was told that the chances she would make it past that first year were extremely slim, but she is now approaching her 7th birthday, much to the credit of the outstanding work of her health care team," said Wadlington. "I was specifically impacted by the role of her clinical pharmacists in the ICU, who worked directly with her physicians to use their extensive medication expertise to manage her extremely complex situation. This is what inspired me to pursue a career in clinical pharmacy."

She said Lipscomb University stood out as the right place to prepare for that future.

"I was drawn to Lipscomb because of its outstanding reputation for equipping well-rounded leaders and because of the unique Pharm.D. pathways Lipscomb offers," said Wadlington. "Even from my first visit to campus, it was clear that Lipscomb would not only provide a pathway to becoming a pharmacist but would prioritize my success and flourishing academically, spiritually and relationally."

Since arriving on campus, Wadlington says the experience has exceeded her expectations.

"I have loved every moment of my Lipscomb experience since I came here for undergrad. There is truly no place like it," she said. "I feel so blessed to be in a place where the faculty are so supportive of me as a student, as a future pharmacist and as a person."

She credits Lipscomb's pharmacy faculty and curriculum for helping prepare her for success in the national competition.

"I owe my success in this competition to the ways that Lipscomb emphasizes these principles in our education, even in our very first year," Wadlington said.

Beyond the competition itself, Wadlington said the national conference provided meaningful opportunities to connect with pharmacy professionals and student leaders from across the country.

"While at the conference, I had the opportunity to engage with other student leaders and pharmacists from across the country and learn about unique ways to implement patient care initiatives in our own community," she said. "It was also a wonderful time to celebrate all that Lipscomb has accomplished this past year, as our chapter was recognized for multiple awards."

]Wadlington said she hopes to keep growing in the patient-care skills that earned her national recognition, skills she believes will define her future career.

"I hope to further cultivate these skills as I continue my education," she said, "so that I might continue to impact patients in this way for the rest of my career."

Learn more about Lipscomb University's College of Pharmacy.