STEPHEN F. ECKEL, PharmD, MHA, FAPhA, FASHP, FCCP ([email protected]) is the Associate Dean for Global Engagement at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. He is also an Associate Professor in the division of practice advancement and clinical education. In addition, he leads a two-year Masters of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences with a specialization in health-system pharmacy administration. This degree collaborates with twelve hospitals across the country that sponsor the residency and includes an online option for working professionals. At UNC Medical Center, he is Residency Program Director of the two-year program in health-system pharmacy administration. He has worked with almost 250 residents over the years.
Eckel received his Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He completed a pharmacy practice residency at Duke University Medical Center and then joined UNC Hospitals as a clinical pharmacist. Eckel also holds a Master of Healthcare Administration from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.
Eckel has been very active in the North Carolina Association of Pharmacists, serving as Chair of the ASHP state affiliate, a term on the Board, and as President of the merged organization. He is a frequent author in AJHP, past Chair of the ASHP Council of Pharmacy Practice, and past member of the ASHP Board of Directors. In 2015, the ASHP Foundation awarded him the Pharmacy Residency Excellence Preceptor Award. He is a Fellow of ASHP, APhA, and ACCP.
Meet Stephen F. Eckel
The one constant of healthcare is change. While many pharmacists do not like change, it creates opportunities to be accountable for the medication-use process and to increase our involvement in the patient-centric practice of pharmacy. Now, more than ever, health-system pharmacists need to be innovative leaders within their spheres of influence. Employing skills like creativity, innovation, and problem solving can be the differentiator between whether we will create the future or wait for someone outside of the profession to do it.
I have focused my career on providing novel ideas to solve the challenges that face our profession and leveraging change and using creativity to help us meet our professional ideals. I have utilized the tools and direction ASHP provides the pharmacy profession and am committed to ensuring ASHP continues to provide the resources and guidelines needed for success.
I am also passionate and committed that our professional society remains diverse and inclusive for all. I will work with ASHP to continue their focus on implementing the recommendations from the Task Force on Racial Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. We will not advance as an organization or profession until all of us are able to flourish at an individual level.
I am extremely honored to receive this nomination as ASHP has always been my professional home. There are many leaders who have utilized their skills in the past to bring health-system pharmacy to this point, and I am committed to do the same for future generations.