It is hard for me to believe that my year as president of ACCP is coming to an end. We have accomplished so much this year, yet there is still important work to be done. This is a critical time for clinical pharmacy as we seek to secure our position as members of the health care delivery team during this time of rapid evolution of the health care system. I’ve previously addressed the Who and the What related to clinical pharmacists’ qualifications and their role as providers of direct patient care within the health care team.
Last year, I charged the Public and Professional Relations Committee to answer the question, “Should organized clinical pharmacy promote a consistent process of patient care provided by clinical pharmacists that could be applied to any clinical practice setting?” This issue of the ACCP Report contains the final installment of the series of commentaries from this committee. And the committee’s response to its charge brings us to a metaphoric fork in the road: define a single process of care and commit to it or continue to provide a variety of clinical pharmacy services on a relatively inconsistent, ad hoc basis. You’ll recall that Yogi Berra said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it!” But Yogi also said, “If you don’t know where you are going, you might end up someplace else.” Well, before we end up “someplace else,” we need your input and perspectives on the question I posed above and the committee’s analysis of this question. Toward that end, attendees at next month’s 2012 ACCP Annual Meeting are invited to join us for two very important sessions on Sunday, October 21, in Hollywood, Florida. First, hear a “call to arms” delivered by the Keynote Address, “Advancing a Comprehensive and Consistent Practice for Clinical Pharmacists—The Future Is Now.” This keynote will feature a series of presentations and a lively discussion among a distinguished panel of experts from a variety of practice settings. The session will be moderated by C. Edwin Webb, Pharm.D., MPH, ACCP’s Associate Executive Director and Director of Government and Professional Affairs. The discussants will be Linda Strand, Pharm.D., Ph.D.; Curtis Haas, Pharm.D., FCCP, BCPS; Melissa Somma McGivney, Pharm.D., FCCP; and Mary Roth McClurg, Pharm.D., MHS, FCCP. Second, during the Annual ACCP Business and Town Hall Meeting, 2012 Public and Professional Relations Committee Chair Ila Harris, Pharm.D., FCCP, will share the results of the committee’s forthcoming member survey on a clinical pharmacy practice model. Also during the Town Hall Meeting, Terri McInnis, M.D., MPH, FACOEM, will share her insights from a physician’s perspective regarding the critical roles of clinical pharmacists during this time of rapid evolution in health care. Dr. McInnis serves as a co-lead of the Medication Management Task Force for the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC). The most important component of this year’s Town Hall Meeting will be the opportunity for ACCP members to provide their opinions on the survey results and whether the College should embrace a single, consistent process of patient care provided by clinical pharmacists. Please plan to attend this important session and let your voice be heard.
I want to note the accomplishments of many of our other 2012 committees and task forces. It will be clear in the next few months how the work of this year’s committees and task forces pertains to the ACCP strategic plan, in general, and the Keynote Address and Town Hall Meetings, in particular. The Committee and Task Force activities will result in several additional commentaries, white papers, and reports. Compiled below are some of the 2012 committee and task force charges that either have been completed or are near completion.
|
Committee/Task Force
|
Charge Deliverables
|
|
Certification Affairs Committee
|
A set of “ACCP guidelines” articulating the desired professional development pathways for clinical pharmacists (e.g., postgraduate training, certification, recertification, or other mechanisms to demonstrate maintenance of competence)
|
|
Clinical Practice Affairs Committee
|
An ACCP white paper, with input from other stakeholder organizations, which articulates the need for PGY2-trained clinical specialists within the health care system. The paper should address the integrated practice model that has grown out of the ASHP Pharmacy Practice Model Initiative (PPMI) and its potential impact on the growth and development of future clinical specialists and specialties
|
|
Educational Affairs Committee
|
An ACCP position statement that (1) articulates the relationship between the educational outcomes of the professional degree program in pharmacy and the clinical proficiency needed to enter residency training and (2) discusses the differences between entry-level degree competencies and post-residency competencies, calling on schools and colleges to evolve toward a system whereby Pharm.D. program outcomes are designed to prepare graduates for entry to PGY1 residency training
|
|
Public and Professional Relations Committee
|
Address the question, “Should organized clinical pharmacy promote a consistent, standardized process of patient care provided by clinical pharmacists that could apply to any clinical practice setting?” Calling on previously published and otherwise accepted care processes used by clinical pharmacists that have been described in the literature, the committee is asked to prepare a variety of communication pieces to place this issue before ACCP members. These pieces should include (1) a commentary to appear in the ACCP Report, (2) a live program for presentation during the 2012 ACCP Annual Meeting, and (3) an outline for a possible ACCP white paper that provides a scholarly basis to help address the question posed above.
|
|
Research Affairs Committee
|
A brief editorial commentary, suitable for publication in Pharmacotherapy, that considers the current professional landscape in discussing the developmental roles of fellowship training, graduate degree programs (Ph.D., M.S.), K awards, Clinical and Translational Science Awards, and ad hoc efforts like the ACCP Focused Investigator Training Program
|
|
Research Fellowship Program Review Committee
|
A brief commentary on the gap between PGY1/PGY2-trained clinical faculty and research-intensive faculty, including suggested mechanisms for closing that gap
|
|
National Student Network Advisory Committee
|
The committee is asked to determine how best to communicate to student members information about PRNs that is important and opportunities for student involvement with PRNs. Of note, feedback from this committee has resulted in several additional ideas and initiatives to address students’ needs and requests.
|
In closing, I would like to thank the 2012 Annual Meeting Program Committee for its hard work in assembling an outstanding program with a variety of sessions that offer something for everyone. On a personal note, although I fully accept responsibility for making our committee and task force members work so hard this year, I have to say that the deliverables noted above will serve the College well into the future. My thanks go out to all of our committees and task forces, including the leadership provided by this year’s committee and task force chairs. It has also been such a pleasure working closely with the ACCP staff and the remarkable group of elected leaders, including the Board of Regents, the Pharmacotherapy Board of Directors, and the ACCP Research Institute Board of Trustees. To most members, it is probably not obvious how much the ACCP leadership team does on behalf of the College. However, I can say from firsthand experience that your elected leadership and the ACCP staff have had a busy year! Finally, thank you for the opportunity to serve all of you as ACCP president. It has been an awesome and humbling experience I will not soon forget.