Editor’s note: This column includes excerpts from Dr. Tisdale’s Incoming President’s Address, delivered on October 18, 2009, during ACCP’s 30th Annual Meeting.

I am deeply honored to serve as ACCP’s 30th President. ACCP is celebrating its 30th anniversary, and we recently held our 30th Annual Meeting. When you reach a milestone birthday, it’s a good time to reflect on the history of the organization, what has been accomplished, and where we want to go from here. ACCP was founded in 1979 by an esteemed group of 29 visionary leaders in clinical pharmacy (the names of the founding members can be located at http://www.accp.com/about/foundingMembers.aspx). When the College was established, these individuals were not only the founding members, they were the members—in 1979, ACCP had 29 members. Today, ACCP has more than 10,000 members, which include practitioners, educators, researchers, administrators, students, residents, fellows, and many others. Although ACCP’s beginnings were humble, this organization has grown, and it is now one of the most influential pharmacy organizations in the United States. Without the vision of our founding members, we would not be here, and ACCP would not hold its place as an influential organization within the profession.

In addition to the founding members, the College has been fortunate to have had devoted and visionary leadership during the past 30 years. ACCP would not be the organization it is today without the dedicated and skilled leadership and vision of the august individuals who have served as ACCP President or as an elected member of the Board of Regents (former ACCP leaders can be found at http://www.accp.com/about/leadershipFormer.aspx). Moreover, the College has been blessed with exceptional executive staff leadership. In its 30-year history, ACCP has had only two executive directors. From 1986 to 2003, Dr. Robert Elenbaas served as ACCP’s Executive Director, leading the organization through its enormous growth and progression, and his contributions to ACCP cannot be overstated. Our current Executive Director, Dr. Michael Maddux, who has been with ACCP since 2004, is providing excellent direction and leadership for the organization. ACCP continues to be served by outstanding and dedicated staff members who work tirelessly to advance the organization’s mission and agenda.

The profession of pharmacy can trace its roots back thousands of years. During most of that time, pharmacy was a patient-oriented clinical profession, primarily concerned with the healing of patients through drug therapy. Historically, the role of the pharmacist was to safeguard and improve patients’ health, not simply to distribute drug products. Only relatively recently, during the period just before and after World War II, did our profession in a sense “lose its way” and become predominantly “product-oriented,” rather than patient-oriented. In the 30-year existence of ACCP, I believe the College has contributed greatly to bringing the profession of pharmacy “back to the future,” such that pharmacy now continues to “evolve back” to a predominantly patient-oriented profession.

From its humble beginnings as a small group of dedicated pharmacy leaders, ACCP has made the transition to a large and influential pharmacy organization. The College has contributed to the evolution of clinical practice, education, and research as integral components of the advancement of the pharmacy profession. Indeed, during its 30-year history, ACCP has contributed to the evolution of clinical pharmacy in many ways. For example, ACCP has played an important role in the development of specialty certification in pharmacy, which includes serving as the sponsor for the original petition to the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties for recognition of pharmacotherapy as a specialty. In response to the refusal of some pharmaceutical companies, in the 1980s, to allow pharmacists to serve as principal investigators on their sponsored research, ACCP, through communication with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), directly contributed to the FDA’s formal recognition of pharmacists as principal investigators. Over the years, the ACCP Research Institute has played an important role in contributing to the enhancement of pharmacist-investigators’ research skills. In collaboration with other pharmacy organizations, ACCP has contributed to the standardization of definitions of postgraduate pharmacy training programs in the United States, particularly through its help in more precisely defining residency and fellowship training. ACCP has demonstrated excellence in providing cutting-edge educational programs, including the Pharmacotherapy Self-Assessment Program, the seventh edition of which is about to be released; the Preparatory Course for the Pharmacotherapy Specialty Examination; and many, many others. ACCP has become a major voice, in collaboration with other pharmacy organizations, in advancing the practice of pharmacy and in emphasizing the roles and benefits of clinical pharmacy. ACCP is a member of the Joint Commission of Pharmacy Practitioners (JCPP) and played a key leadership role in the development of the JCPP 2015 Vision Statement, which states: “Pharmacists will be the health care professionals responsible for providing patient care that ensures optimal medication therapy outcomes.” ACCP is also a member of the Council on Credentialing in Pharmacy, which deals with the credentialing of practitioners; the Commission on Credentialing, which is responsible for the accreditation of pharmacy training programs; and the Pharmacy Services Technical Advisory Coalition, which works to support the technical infrastructure necessary to accommodate pharmacists’ billing for patient care services, among numerous other health care coalitions and collaborations.

So, from its humble beginnings, ACCP has come a long way in 30 years. Where do we go from here? What should be our priorities for the coming year? The mission of ACCP is to “advance human health by extending the frontiers of clinical pharmacy.” Because we are in the third year of our 5-year strategic plan, it will not be long before we initiate the process of strategic planning once again. Moreover, because we are ahead of schedule in completing most of the objectives in our current strategic plan, and in view of emerging changes in the health care system for which we would like clinical pharmacy to be optimally positioned, we intend to commence the process of developing our next strategic plan earlier than previously thought—the work will begin this coming year.

The theme I have selected for the coming year is, “Carpe Diem: Positioning Clinical Pharmacy in a Changing Health Care System.” Although we don’t yet know what shape health care reform will take, or even whether any substantive health care reform will actually occur, it seems clear that changes are coming related to the health care system. These could include the widespread adoption of electronic health records, the evolution of the concept of the patient-centered medical home, the potential influence of comparative effectiveness research in pharmacotherapy, the redesign of medication use systems to optimize medication safety, and many other changes. We are fortunate to be part of a profession whose members have the differentiated skills and abilities to allow us to address each of these issues. Our overarching objective, of course, is to improve patient outcomes related to drug therapy. ACCP must continue to work collaboratively and cooperatively with our colleagues in all areas of pharmacy practice to make sure this happens.

With that in mind, I’d like to briefly discuss some of our priorities for the coming year, which were identified and developed through an examination of our current strategic plan, a consideration of the theme for the coming year, and in response to member suggestions contributed through our annual spring survey.

Board certification is an important issue for ACCP, but unfortunately, there has still not been optimal recognition of its significance among all internal and external stakeholders. The Certification Affairs Committee has been charged with developing a plan by which ACCP can effectively promote board certification to residents/residency programs, employers, and other health care providers and provider groups. In particular, this group will focus not only on the career development benefits of board certification, but also on the external value of certification, including quality assurance, better patient care, and enhanced credibility of clinical pharmacists among other health professions and health professionals.

To engage key stakeholders in recognizing the value of clinical pharmacy services, two Clinical Practice Affairs committees have been impaneled. One committee has been charged with identifying practical, measurable quality metrics for clinical pharmacy services in the acute care practice setting, and the other committee has been charged with identifying practical, measurable quality metrics for clinical pharmacy services in the ambulatory care setting. Included in the development of these metrics will be recommendations on how and where each metric should be used. I hope the development of these key quality metrics can be shared with key quality alliances and ultimately promote the continued improvement and documentation of the benefits of clinical pharmacy services.

The Educational Affairs Committee has been charged with developing an ACCP Commentary that recommends “rethinking” the delivery of the Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) component of the professional education leading to the doctor of pharmacy degree. Many of the current APPE experiences seem to be “near-shadowing” experiences or largely observational, and this committee has been asked to include in its paper a discussion of the importance of involving students in meaningful, direct patient care activities, including accepting responsibility for patient care outcomes. The committee has also been asked to call for optimizing student impact on preceptor clinical productivity (that is, the ways in which students can extend and enhance clinical practice productivity rather than increase the preceptor’s overall workload).

In response to the changing demographics of ACCP membership and the proliferation of social networking media, the Member Relations Committee has been charged with recommending to the Board whether and how ACCP should use social networking media and other modalities to better communicate with the growing and increasingly diverse ACCP membership.

To contribute to enhanced patient safety and optimal pharmacotherapy outcomes when medication efficacy and safety are somewhat vulnerable, the Public & Professional Relations Committee has been charged with developing an ACCP White Paper on the transition of care that describes the pharmacist’s roles and responsibilities in ensuring optimal pharmacotherapy outcomes during care transitions across health care settings.

You may be aware that increased student involvement and participation in ACCP is a priority for the College, and because of targeted efforts, student participation and membership in ACCP has grown tremendously in the past couple of years, so much so that we now have a National Student Advisory Committee, composed entirely of students. In view of the importance of board certification to ACCP, this committee has been charged with devising mechanisms for promoting to students the roles of specialization and board certification in clinical pharmacist career development.

In addition to student participation, the involvement of residents in ACCP activities is a priority for the College―one that has increased markedly in recent years. This year, for the first time, a Resident Advisory Committee was impaneled. Made up entirely of residents and residency-trained fellows, this committee has been charged with preparing a three- to five-page commentary, suitable for publication in Pharmacotherapy, to provide recommendations on how residency programs should foster the development of teaching skills among their trainees.

The foregoing paragraphs describe some of the major endeavors that will be undertaken in 2010. Another major venture for the College is the evolution and development of the Research Institute’s Practice-Based Research Network (PBRN). In 2010, the PBRN will initiate and conduct a pilot project, which we expect will demonstrate the network’s capability of conducting successful projects; we also believe it will be a springboard, preparing the PBRN to accept and review research proposals from members and external stakeholders.

At the risk of emphasizing the obvious, I want to underscore that you, our members, are the lifeblood of ACCP. As you know, a great deal of the important work of ACCP is accomplished through you, our members, who willingly give of your time and expertise to further our mission through volunteering to serve in any number of capacities. I cannot emphasize strongly enough how important you are to achieving our strategic plan and advancing our mission. We rely on you to roll up your sleeves and help accomplish much of the major work of the College. I am extremely appreciative that so many ACCP members wish to contribute to the mission of ACCP. I want to assure you that, if you were not selected for participation on a committee or task force this year, it is simply because we are in the enviable position of having too many willing volunteers to be able to accommodate all. I want to make sure you know that your efforts are appreciated and, in fact, essential to the pursuit of our mission. There are many opportunities for your active involvement and participation in ACCP, which include serving on a committee or task force, actively participating as a member or elected officer of a Practice Research Network (PRN) or chapter, and serving as an abstract reviewer. I hope you understand that, regardless of whether you serve on a committee, serve on a task force, or are active in a PRN or chapter, you represent and serve this organization every day by the work you do in your daily practice to further our mission of achieving optimal patient outcomes related to drug therapy. I’m proud to be a member of ACCP, and I look forward with great enthusiasm to working and interacting with you during the coming year. Thank you all for your contributions to ACCP.