Robert A. Blouin, Pharm.D., FCCP, has been chosen by the Parker Medal Selection Committee as the 2016 recipient of the College’s Paul F. Parker Medal for Distinguished Service to the Profession of Pharmacy. Blouin is dean and Vaughn and Nancy Bryson Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Eshelman School of Pharmacy. He is an internationally recognized leader of clinical pharmacy practice, education, and research.
Paul Parker was one of clinical pharmacy’s most influential proponents. Before his death in 1998, Parker spent 24 years as director of pharmacy at the Chandler Medical Center/University of Kentucky in Lexington. His innovations include developing decentralized pharmacy services, placing pharmacists in the hospital’s clinical areas, and developing the nation’s first pharmacist-staffed drug information center. Parker’s vision for pharmacy practice was passed on to the more than 150 residents and fellows who trained in the Kentucky program during his tenure. These disciples include many of today’s leaders in clinical pharmacy who continue to pass on his wisdom and vision to their trainees. The Paul F. Parker Medal recognizes an individual who has made outstanding and sustained contributions to the profession that improve patient or service outcomes, create innovative practices, affect populations of patients, further the professional role of pharmacists, or expand the recognition of pharmacists as health professionals.
The Parker Medal Selection Committee noted Blouin’s lifetime professional contributions, leadership, and international impact on clinical pharmacy. In particular, the committee noted the broad influence of Blouin’s visionary leadership, stating that he is “a humble leader who listens intently, seeks input from others, and inspires and motivates others because of his genuine sincerity and passion.” The committee continued:
Dr. Blouin is someone who sets high standards and challenges others around him to push beyond their comfort zone to achieve outcomes they did not realize possible. At the University of Kentucky, he mentored more than 20 graduate students or fellows and played an important role in the launch of the Clinical Pharmaceutical Scientist Ph.D. program. His impact at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy has been extraordinary. Since Dr. Blouin was appointed Dean in July 2003, the total number of faculty has increased by 70%; the number of graduate students has increased by 26%; and total funding has risen by more than ten-fold, from about $2.2 million in 2002 to over $26 million in 2015. Through the construction of two new research buildings, the School has nearly doubled its physical space. The School has launched five centers, the most recent of which is the Center for Medication Optimization through Practice and Policy. In addition, Dr. Blouin has led the School to transform its professional curriculum to better prepare and position its graduates as leaders, innovators, and exemplary practitioners. Through his leadership, the School is now ranked first in the nation in the most recent U.S. News & World Report ranking of the nation’s best pharmacy schools. Those supporting Dr. Blouin’s nomination pointed out that Paul Parker had ‘the ability to look into and move into the future before we knew it was upon us…. Looking forward he could always see the next step on the ladder to pharmaceutical excellence when our vision was totally obscured by … tradition. He was quick to question old standards, willing to consider new ideas, and ready to push himself and his co-workers beyond self-imposed limits’ (Worthen DB. Paul Frederick Parker 1919–1998: a visionary innovator. J Am Pharm Assoc 2009;49(1):117-21). Nominators went on to state that ‘the supporting letters provided on behalf of Dr. Blouin’s nomination demonstrate an uncannily similar theme.’
Blouin has received many honors, including designation as the University of Tennessee’s First Tennessee Chair of Excellence Distinguished Visiting Professor and recipient of the Ohio State Milap Nahata Distinguished Lecturer Award, the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy Hall of Distinguished Alumni Award, and the University of North Carolina General Alumni Association Faculty Service Award. He has been elected as a Fellow of both ACCP and the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists.
The 2016 Paul F. Parker Medal will be presented during the Opening General Session at the 2016 ACCP Annual Meeting in Hollywood, Florida, on Sunday morning, October 23. Blouin will attend to accept the medal and deliver a brief acceptance address. The Parker Medal Selection Committee is composed of representatives from member organizations of the Joint Commission of Pharmacy Practitioners, together with past presidents of ACCP. Members of the 2016 committee are Gary Yee (chair), Bruce Canaday, Curtis Haas, William Kehoe, Lynnae Mahaney, Jean Nappi, Mary Beth O’Connell, Matthew Osterhaus, Robert E. Smith, and Shelly Spiro.