The American College of Clinical Pharmacy is pleased to announce the debut of the third cornerstone of its ACCP Academy, the Research and Scholarship Development Certificate Program.

The program curriculum will be formally introduced, including both required and elective courses, at the ACCP Annual Meeting this October in Louisville, KY. Watch future issues of the ACCP Report and the ACCP Academy Web site, http://academy.accp.com/, for more detailed information about scheduling and course content.

“The Research and Scholarship program fulfills the Academy’s goal of delivering flexible, curricular approaches to enhancing ACCP member abilities in their major areas of responsibility,” reports ACCP President Gary R. Matzke, Pharm.D., FCCP. “It joins our two other Academy certificate programs – Teaching and Learning, and Leadership and Management – to present a unique and exceptional educational lineup. A fourth certificate program, Clinical Practice Development, will be rolled out in 2009,” Dr. Matzke adds.

The new program will focus on specific learning components and core competencies, including developing and analyzing a practical research question, applying appropriate statistical tests, learning the “art” of scientific writing, collaborating with other researchers, and recognizing important regulatory and ethical issues. As with other Academy offerings, Research and Scholarship participants will document specific course accomplishments through the Academy’s online portfolio system and will work with a mentor throughout the program.

The primary audience for this new program consists of residency-trained clinical pharmacists who practice in a setting where involvement in research and scholarly activities is an expectation of their position. Although most will hold clinical faculty member appointments with a school or college of pharmacy, individuals working in hospitals and medical centers, community pharmacies, managed care, or other health care settings will find Academy offerings valuable and applicable to their respective fields.