HemstreetI hope your 2024 is off to a great start. As we enter everyone’s “favorite” time of the year, tax season, many of us are assessing and reflecting on our current and future investments, with hopes of experiencing sustained growth. Much like we assess our own personal investment strategies and make adjustments on the basis of market trends, pharmacy as a profession and ACCP as an organization are navigating current trends that may significantly affect the continued growth of clinical pharmacy practice, education, and research. As we work this year toward updating the current ACCP strategic plan, a core component of this process will be assessing current environmental trends and determining where we should invest our time, resources, and member expertise to address the critical issues facing the organization. An area I am passionate about, and one that ACCP and its members can significantly influence, is the development of the next generation of clinical pharmacists who will ultimately sustain the College’s future efforts.
Although ACCP’s focus on developing future clinical pharmacists has not largely involved initiatives targeted toward undergraduate college students, the future of health care training will be influenced by the trend of fewer high school students choosing to go to college. This is compounded by the impact of the much lower-than-projected number of high school graduates anticipated over the next 10 years. According to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy year-end report from PharmCAS (Pharmacy College Application Service), the 2022–2023 admission cycle saw the lowest number of applications to pharmacy schools and colleges in the past 20 years. This has resulted in a highly competitive environment among schools and colleges for the recruitment of prospective student pharmacists. Given these trends, investing in students who have chosen a career in pharmacy will be critical for ensuring we develop the next generation of clinicians, educators, and researchers.
Over the past 10 years, ACCP has invested significantly in fostering the professional development of the College’s student members. As ACCP members, you also play a critical role in encouraging student pharmacists to be actively involved in their local and regional student chapters, attending annual ACCP meetings, participating in the Clinical Pharmacy Challenge and Clinical Research Challenge, and taking advantage of the excellent educational and professional development opportunities ACCP offers (https://www.accp.com/stunet/). Given the many ACCP members involved in innovative clinical pharmacy practice and research, taking the opportunity to speak with current or prospective students about your respective career pathway will help students plan their own path to professional success.
I am proud of ACCP’s efforts to reduce barriers to student pharmacist participation in the organization, including the provision of travel awards, access to various webinars, and the open access virtual residency and fellowship showcase offered in conjunction with SNPhA (Student National Pharmaceutical Association) in October 2023. Student pharmacists are experiencing more challenges than ever in maintaining ongoing organizational engagement, and these efforts speak to our commitment to supporting their professional development.
Over the past several months, I have had the opportunity to meet many of our highly engaged student members, including those serving on the National Student Network Advisory Committee, those participating in the ACCP Professional Leadership APPE, and the many who presented their research at the 2023 ACCP Annual Meeting in Dallas, Texas. I am greatly inspired by these future clinical pharmacists and ask that you invest whatever time and energy you can to support their advancement and active participation as members of the College. However, our investments shouldn’t stop with student pharmacist members. Our residents, fellows, graduate students, and early career members also need continued support and opportunities in order to experience sustained professional growth. ACCP has continued to respond to these needs by investing in many programs and initiatives to support trainee and early career development programs focused on practice, research, education, and leadership and management. I continue to be impressed by the quality of these programs and thank the ACCP members who have invested their time serving as program faculty, mentors, and supporters.
As we continue to forge ahead in 2024 and rise to the challenges facing ACCP and our profession, regardless of your roles in the College or your workplace, look for opportunities to invest in our student, postgraduate trainee, and early career ACCP members. With your collective efforts, we can contribute to developing and sustaining the next generation of clinical pharmacists. Ultimately, our investment strategy should pay dividends by creating lifelong ACCP members. Thank you again for your support of ACCP – and may your tax season be filled with refunds!