February 2025
Dear Colleagues,
I hope you are all enjoying this season of residency and job interviews. While I know it is a challenging time balancing your daily responsibilities and the complexities of recruitment, I encourage you to take a moment to reflect on the last time you were on the opposite side of the table. For some of you this may have been a mere 12 months ago (or less!) as you finished your formal education and training experiences and started your professional journey. Regardless of the time frame, I believe it is always a good time to take a moment to pause and consider why you joined the pharmacy profession, and more importantly why you have dedicated your career to leadership. For me, I cherish the times when I can brag about the work our team is accomplishing to take better care of our patients. I also cherish the times when our team has come together to care for each other.
Among a review of the headwinds our profession faces, we should include our “why” as we participate in strategic planning —which is what our executive committee has completed over the last four months for the section. The Section of Pharmacy Practice Leaders’ vision is that “All pharmacy leaders are empowered to advance practice and patient care.” As our healthcare environment continues to grow in size and complexity, we as leaders must grow too. The section Executive committee reviewed recent member surveys, emerging priorities from our advisory groups and committees, hot topics in health care leadership, and the things that keep us up at night. We are looking forward to reinvigorating our volunteer group charges next year to align with the future needs of Section members. The charges for each group are structured to align with three broad areas: people and culture, process and sustainability, and pipeline issues and advocacy.
The section is built by members for members and is so fortunate for our terrific volunteers. If you would like to serve, please consider submitting your name for an appointment with one of our groups. Applications are being accepted now through May 1. Apply today.
On behalf of the executive committee, I would like to congratulate Della Bahmandar for being recognized at the Midyear Clinical Meeting & Exhibition as the 2024 Section Distinguished Service Award recipient. Her consistent, thoughtful, and devoted presence in the section models what it means to be engaged and committed to advancing our profession. As a local Kansas Citian, we are lucky to experience her professionalism and innovation at both a national and local level.
Our members are already working to support the development of the 2025 Conference for Pharmacy Leaders and be on the lookout for the May webinar on national trends in prescription drug expenditures and projections for 2025. Additional resources developed and supported by the section include:
- SPPL Succession Planning Toolkit
- ASHP Primer for Pharmacy Leaders: The Lifecycle of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Model
- Effective Succession Planning for Pharmacy Leaders
- Reflections on Health Care and the Chief Pharmacy Officer Role: 2004 to 2024
- Post-Pandemic: Have You Changed How You Lead?
- The First 90 Days
- Leveraging Data to Drive Change for Multi-Hospital Health Systems – A C-Suite Perspective
- Down the Vein - Care Benefits of Home Infusion and Outpatient Infusion Therapy
As a reminder, this year my challenge to each section advisory group member, and to each of you, is to find a venue to share the We're Your Pharmacist campaign in your sphere of influence. This may be a local high school, sports team, or spiritual practice. It may be through social media or a newsletter. Consider it a way to participate in advocacy as your professional obligation this year by talking about your role in the care of patients. Not only are we drawing attention to the very important work each of you do daily, but we also draw future pharmacists to join our workforce.
Thank you for all the work you have already invested in the section over the last few months, I look forward to continuing to work with you for the remainder of my term as chair.
Warmly,
Katherine (Kat) Miller, PharmD, MHA, DPLA, FASHP, FKCHP
Chair, Section of Pharmacy Practice Leaders
