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Leadership Center Kicks Off Inaugural Year, Enrolls First Class

Eighty- five pharmacists have enrolled in the inaugural academic program of ASHP’s new Center for Health-System Pharmacy Leadership. The Center, a collaborative effort between ASHP and the ASHP Research and Education Foundation, will help pharmacy leaders address the increasingly complex challenges of institution-wide medication-use policies and procedures.

The Internet-based Pharmacy Leadership Academy is designed for pharmacists in new leadership positions, such as directors, and those aspiring to similar posts in the future.

Center Director Richard S. Walling, M.H.A., said the Academy’s work has come at a critical time for the pharmacy profession. “The academy arose out of ASHP members’ concern that pharmacists don’t have opportunities to build their leader­ship competencies,” he said, adding that the Academy offers students direct access to exceptional faculty members who are “leaders of pharmacy enterprises. Each of them has greatly impacted the profession, and their collective experiences will provide participants with a fantastic learning laboratory.”

The Academy features nine modules—one for each month of the academic year—that cover topics such as patient safety, quality management, information systems, and human resources management. Students will learn how to lead people for results, work collaboratively with executive health-system leadership, and develop themselves professionally to achieve excellence.

Jennifer Austin, Pharm.D., a pharmacy manager at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, Fla., and student in the inaugural class, said she applied because she was excited by the prospect of working with experienced faculty.

After transitioning from clinical practice to her position as a pharmacy manager, Austin took local college courses, employer-provided training sessions, and continuing education program­ming to receive leadership training. But “I have always wanted a more structured and in-depth pharmacy-focused program,” Austin said, adding that she hopes to broaden her knowledge of pharmacy practice management and prepare herself for addi­tional responsibilities.

While the Academy is geared toward new leaders, the Center’s Pharmacy Leadership Institute will focus on seasoned and experienced health-system pharmacy directors and will be operated by the Boston University School of Business.

For more information on the Center for Health-System Pharmacy Leadership and its Pharmacy Leadership Academy and Pharmacy Leadership Institute, check out www.ashpfoundation.org.