Start planning your spring getaway to sunny Orlando, Florida, for the 2009 ACCP/ESCP International Congress on Clinical Pharmacy. From April 24 to 28, clinical pharmacists from around the world will gather to exchange best practices and discuss hot topics in the global health care arena. The Congress is only held once every 5 years—don’t miss this exciting opportunity to network with colleagues from the United States to Greece! Registration opens on the ACCP Web site this month.

Placing Patients First: A Global Perspective on How Clinical Pharmacy Makes Medicines Safer

Congress programming has been developed by the scientific program committee composed of both ACCP and ESCP members and will center on the Congress theme, “Placing Patients First.” Curricular-track programs include Technology and Medication Safety; Complimentary and Alternative Medications; Impact of Pharmacogenomics and Culture on Medication Use and Safety; and Medication Error Assessment and Strategies for Error Prevention.

ACCP’s Practice and Research Networks (PRNs) and ESCP’s Special Interest Groups (SIGs) have collaborated to present several specialty sessions on controversial topics in a variety of therapeutic/practice areas. These sessions include Establishing Transitional Processes of Care Across Inpatient and Outpatient Settings; Infections and Critical Care: Debates on Daily Dilemmas and Decisions; International Pharmacovigilance and the Role of Pharmacists; and many more.

ACCP Academy programming at the Congress will include courses available for credit toward the newest Academy certificate program in research and scholarship development. Included in the offerings will be the prerequisite Research Primer, Statistical Issues, and a research and scholarship elective course. ACCP Academy courses in Leadership and Management and Teaching and Learning also will be held in Orlando. You need not be enrolled in the Academy to participate in these professional development offerings.

In addition to all of the Congress programs and networking events, meeting registrants may attend the ACCP Pharmacotherapy Preparatory Course, as well as the International Pediatric Pharmacy and Clinical Pharmacology Symposium, presented by the Pediatric Pharmacy Advocacy Group (PPAG). With one registration, you gain access to all three meetings! Visit the ACCP Web site www.accp.com/meetings/ic09 to see the complete meeting schedule and to register online. See you in Orlando!