Background
Leadership is a professional obligation of all hospital and health-system pharmacists. As pharmacy transforms itself into a patient centered profession, pharmacists fill more nontraditional patient-care oriented roles. It is important to heighten public awareness regarding the knowledge and expertise of pharmacists as well as foster leadership within the field. Leadership qualities are essential in all practitioners from the front-line practitioners to the executives.
To highlight the importance of leadership development, SSHPs are encouraged to design and implement a leadership development program to fulfill their professional development project requirements.
Objectives
- To foster leadership ideals in pharmacy students early on in their developing careers;
- To educate pharmacy students on the many leadership career opportunities available in hospital and health-system pharmacy (both clinical and management); and
- To prepare the next generation of pharmacists to be active in the development of their profession and to be pioneers in the future of the field.
SSHP Project Ideas
- Collaborate with your state affiliate organization to implement the ASHP Student Leadership Development Workshop at the annual state affiliate conference;
- Implement a Peer Mentoring Program and Event;
- Assign upperclassmen who are to mentor incoming pharmacy students. Provide events and opportunities for developing this relationship;
- Implement a mentorship program to match up local health-system pharmacists with students;
- Start a Leadership Journal Club at your SSHP with local pharmacy leaders (both clinical and management) facilitating the discussion;
- Develop a Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee Competition;
- Create a subcommittee and chair position to plan the event to have teams present to judges of faculty or practitioners with extensive P&T experience. Contact your local and state affiliates for possible contacts;
- Convince the C-Suite: Creating New Clinical Services Competition;
- Create a subcommittee and chair position to plan the event to create cases/situations where the Pharmacy Department has to make its case for resource allocation to develop new services for the department; and
- Have teams present to judges of faculty or practitioners with extensive administrative experience. Contact your local and state societies for possible contacts.
Resources
Center for Health System Pharmacy Leadership
Student Leadership Development Workshop
Leadership Articles and Tools (coming soon)
