As outlined in ACCP’s Strategic Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Plan, ACCP’s 2023 Task Force on DEIA was empaneled in the fall of 2022 and charged to provide input to the Board of Regents (BOR) on implementation of the DEIA plan.
The full Task Force met five times between October 2022 and July 2023 and was organized into three subgroups, each with a distinct focus: (1) mentoring and belonging, (2) developing a DEIA toolkit, and (3) ACCP Awards. Each subgroup held several meetings and brought recommendations to the full Task Force for consideration. The Task Force used the findings from the ACCP Interim DEIA Assessment to inform their work.
Final Task Force recommendations to the BOR include more than 30 objectives to serve as phase II DEIA action plans through 2025. Highlights from these recommendations include the following:
- Implement travel scholarships for students, trainees, and early-career practitioners who are underrepresented in order to minimize barriers to attending the ACCP Annual Meeting
- Implement a new ACCP Award to recognize clinical pharmacist excellence in the advancement of diversity, health equity, inclusion, and accessibility
- Explore implementation of affinity groups within ACCP
- Incorporate DEIA principles into ACCP Academy curricula
- Implement a new web-based, dynamic DEIA toolkit accessible to ACCP members and nonmembers
The Task Force closed their report with recommendations that future committees or task forces be charged to (1) maintain the content within the DEIA toolkit and (2) further evaluate the potential for bias within ACCP service and leadership opportunities. After BOR review and feedback in August, phase II action plans will be incorporated into the College’s DEIA plan, and the complete list of objectives will be shared with members.
Interest in serving on the 2022–2023 Task Force was solicited as part of ACCP’s annual call for volunteers. In response to the many interested members, BOR President Elizabeth Farrington appointed 14 member-volunteers who have invested effort and expertise in ACCP’s commitment to DEIA:
- Jimmi Hatton Kolpek, Pharm.D., FCCP, FCCM (Chair)
- William J. Moore, Pharm.D., BCPS, BCIDP (Vice Chair)
- Sally Arif, Pharm.D., BCPS, BCCP
- Brittany D. Bissell, Pharm.D., Ph.D., BCCCP
- Deborah S. Bondi, Pharm.D., FCCP, BCPPS
- Allison M. Chung, Pharm.D., FCCP, BCPPS
- Jenna F. Cox, Pharm.D., BCPS, BCCCP
- Maryann Egbujor, Pharm.D. student
- Mary F. Hebert, Pharm.D., FCCP
- Rebecca Jayakumar, Pharm.D., BCIDP
- Kazuhiko Kido, Pharm.D., BCCP, BCPS
- Puja B. Patel, Pharm.D.
- Jordan Rowe, Pharm.D., BCACP, BC-ADM
- Andrew N. Schmelz, Pharm.D., BCACP
A 2023–2024 Task Force on DEIA has been empaneled to continue this important work and identify new priorities from within and outside the ACCP DEIA plan. In parallel, ACCP staff will continue to implement operational components of the DEIA plan and provide ongoing progress updates to members.