Wouldn’t the perfect gift for a colleague, student, resident, or fellow be an insightful, comprehensive book tracing the remarkable development of clinical pharmacy? Drawing on material from the early part of the 20th century to the present day, Dr. Robert Elenbaas and Dr. Dennis Worthen portray the evolution of pharmacy from its product-centered beginning as a guild-like occupation to the patient-centered profession we know today.

Clinical Pharmacy in the United States: Transformation of a Profession is a uniquely organized text presenting as its focus an annotated chronology of events highlighting pharmacy practice, education, and research innovations; key conferences and seminal publications; consequential association position statements; key legislation; and regulatory actions that have affected the development of clinical pharmacy. The book also places these clinical pharmacy developments in a context that extends beyond the pharmacy profession by providing a decade-by-decade overview of U.S. culture, politics, economics, technology, health, and other prominent societal events. To complement the narrative historical accounts, a visual timeline that chronicles key historical events winds along the bottom of the page.

Distributed throughout are captivating reflective essays—personal accounts that provide an on-the-ground perspective and impart a “you are there” dimension. Written by some of the visionaries and activists who helped blaze the early trails of clinical pharmacy, these reflections capture the path taken thus far and point the way for the course to come.

Pharmacy students, residents, and fellows should read this important testimony of our profession—as should practitioners who have experienced this history firsthand. To learn more about the book and purchase a copy for yourself or as a gift, visit http://www.accp.com/bookstore/la_01cpus.aspx.