More than 1400 clinical pharmacy professionals met colleagues old and new for 5 days of educational and scientific sessions showcasing some of the latest and highest-quality offerings today in clinical pharmacy practice, research, administration, and education.
Dr. James E. Tisdale presided over and welcomed registrants at the Opening General Session on Saturday, April 24. The event included a keynote address by Dr. Helene Lipton, Professor of Health Policy, Schools of Pharmacy and Medicine, University of California–San Francisco, titled, “The Impact of Health Care Reform on Clinical Pharmacy—A Call to Action!” Dr. Lipton reviewed the new health care reform legislation and the opportunities this legislation presents for clinical pharmacists. She suggested ways for pharmacists to become involved in influencing and expanding their roles under the new legislation. Several registrants engaged Dr. Lipton during the question/answer and comment period and shared their own experiences in working with legislators at the state and national level. ACCP Associate Executive Director C. Edwin Webb was on hand to encourage participation at the subsequent ACCP Advocacy Session and to stimulate follow-up discussion of how clinical pharmacy can help patients receive the best care under the new legislation.
In addition, Dr. Tisdale presented three important ACCP awards to new practitioners, as noted below.
ACCP’s New Investigator Award was presented to Alan J. Zillich. Dr. Zillich delivered the annual New Investigator Award lecture titled “Pharmacy Health Services Research—An Intersection of Mixed Methods and Informatics.” The award is presented to an ACCP member who is within 6 years of completion of his/her terminal training or degree, who been a member of ACCP for more than 3 years, and whose research program has produced a substantial publication record with a programmatic theme or an especially noteworthy single publication. Dr. Zillich’s research theme is care of the ambulatory care patient with a focus on hypertension, smoking cessation, and practice standards. At the time of his nomination, he had published 31 peer-reviewed research manuscripts and received several competitive research awards, including a Veterans Affairs Career Development Award on which he was Principal Investigator.
The New Clinical Practitioner Award was won by Sonak Pastakia (who was unable to attend the meeting). This award recognizes a new clinical practitioner who has made outstanding contributions to the health of patients and/or the practice of clinical pharmacy. Dr. Pastakia currently resides in Eldoret, Kenya. He is a full-time Purdue University faculty member and is contributing to a collaborative effect between the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Moi University School of Medicine in Kenya.
The New Educator Award was presented to Mikael Jones. This award is presented to an ACCP member and new educator who is less than 6 years since completion of his/her terminal training or degree for outstanding contributions to the discipline of teaching and to the education of health care practitioners. Dr. Jones is Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy. He also has an appointment as Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Kentucky College of Nursing and serves as a volunteer faculty member in the Center for Advancement of Women’s Health.
Read more about the award winners in the January 2010 issue of the ACCP Report at http://www.accp.com/report/archives.aspx. To learn more about these awards, visit http://www.accp.com/about/awards.aspx.