Dear ACCP Colleagues and PRN Members,

I hope all is well. As a lifelong avid baseball fan, April is one of my favorite times of the year. The major league teams have wrapped up their spring training campaigns and are well into the first month of the baseball season. This brings with it excitement and anticipated success for the upcoming year. Major League Baseball (MLB) currently consists of 30 teams, each with a maximum of 26 professional players on their roster, representing the best at their respective positions. Each team within MLB also has a robust infrastructure that serves as the main pipeline for recruiting and developing top prospects from both within and outside the United States. This year, MLB innovated further by incorporating a Spring Breakout series of showcase games for their top prospects. This allowed the players to perform on a larger stage and for both the teams and the fans to see the next generation of top talent in action.

Much like MLB, ACCP has in place a similar structure, with 28 “professional teams,” namely the PRNs, each filled with an all-star roster combining both established and up-and-coming talent in clinical pharmacy practice, research, and education from around the world. However, unlike MLB, where players are committed to just one team, ACCP members can be actively involved in multiple PRNs according to their interests. This structure is what makes ACCP such an engaging place for members to showcase their great work, make connections with colleagues, and serve in leadership roles. This was exemplified at last November’s Annual Meeting in Dallas by the excellent PRN focus sessions and the lively networking and discussion that occurred during PRN business meetings. Currently, the PRNs are actively engaged in soliciting nominations for their upcoming officer elections. These positions are critical to the ongoing efforts of the PRNs, and I hope this process is going well so far. I encourage you to either self-nominate or nominate a colleague for one of these important roles.

In addition, each PRN has been committed to providing opportunities for student pharmacists, postgraduate trainees, and early-career members to showcase their work and become actively involved. Supporting and allowing these members to have their own potential “spring breakout” is critical to their ongoing development and rise through the major leagues of clinical pharmacy. Indeed, ACCP relies heavily on the PRNs for both developing and identifying top prospects to serve the College in key leadership roles, such as committees and task force chairs or elected officer positions, and we applaud the ongoing efforts of PRN leaders.

Finally, the ACCP staff and leadership have continued to look for opportunities to enhance both PRN and member ability to connect and share information. Recently, the new communities platform was launched, which replaced our previous email list model. This has facilitated a better approach to initiating, fostering, and documenting discussions on a variety of topics of importance to the PRN members. Another exciting aspect of this platform has been the opportunity to be responsive to member feedback by including open communities on the basis of interest areas that may be of value to multiple PRNs. This includes both the Integrative and Functional Medicine and the CMM communities, as well as a dedicated community for PRN officers. It’s been great to see the high level of engagement and discussion occurring within these online communities. We welcome any feedback you may have regarding the new platform, so please feel free to contact your PRN board liaison or send an email to [email protected].

In closing, as teams embark on the new MLB season, the road to success is long, with all teams playing up to 162 games for a chance to make the playoffs. This requires the sustained collective efforts of all team members and the ability to manage both wins and losses along the way. As we progress through 2024, your efforts as all-star members of the organization and PRNs will be critical to help ACCP achieve its organizational goals by rising to challenges and leading the way. Thank you for your ongoing efforts in making the PRNs the premier home of major league clinical pharmacy practice, education, and research and for participating in the development and support of our top prospects. I look forward to seeing many of you at the Annual Meeting in Phoenix in October, and I hope you enjoy the baseball season!