Sandeep Devabhakthuni, PharmD, BCCP ([email protected]) is the associate dean of student affairs and associate professor at University of Maryland School of Pharmacy (UMSOP). He serves as an inpatient clinical pharmacist at University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) since 2011. In 2019, he added an ambulatory care component by assisting in the outpatient heart transplant clinic. Previously, he was the director of postgraduate training for University of Maryland pharmacy residency and fellowship programs from 2016-2023. He co-founded the Applied Therapeutics, Research, and Instruction at University of Maryland (ATRIUM) collaborative, which is dedicated to optimizing management of cardiovascular diseases..
Devabhakthuni earned his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy and completed his PGY1 pharmacy residency at University of Maryland Medical Center and his PGY2 cardiology pharmacy residency at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He has received the Preceptor of the Year and Maryland Society of Health-System Pharmacy (MSHP) Pharmacist of the Year awards. Two UMSOP graduating classes recognized him as Teacher of the Year.
He has served as director-at-large and president of MSHP. His service to ASHP includes being the vice-chair and chair for the Section of Inpatient Care Practitioners (SICP) Educational Steering Committee (ESC) as part of his six-year tenure. Dr. Devabhakthuni routinely reviews ASHP members’ curriculum vitae and posters. He has delivered 12 presentations nationally, including the ASHP National Pharmacy Preceptor Conference, Midyear Clinical Meeting, and webinars. Devabhakthuni has published 35 peer-reviewed articles and three book chapters and co-authored 45 national poster presentations.
I am inspired by ASHP and its members, who continue to work diligently to provide safe and effective medication use in an ever-changing healthcare environment. This section offers members tremendous resources, including up-to-date information and tools to optimize pharmacy workflow, strategies to meet regulation standards, and enhance patient care. One of my favorite responsibilities as the ESC Chair was creating a vision and goals. I am passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and incorporated this into our committee’s activities. It was rewarding to see the positive response from committee members to DEI initiatives and learn about individual efforts in creating inclusive programming.
In the next 3-4 years, I believe the section should work on two highest-priority issues: pharmacist workforce challenges such as staffing shortages and incorporating DEI in the workplace. I would take great pride in serving the section’s executive committee in tackling issues that are important to inpatient practitioners. Burnout in the inpatient setting may partially be due to a lack of community or support system, especially for underrepresented groups. Establishing a mentorship program focused on underrepresented pharmacists and pharmacy technicians and providing resources for inpatient practitioners may help to advance their careers. Also, I would explore creating virtual networking sessions on hot topics regarding workforce and DEI issues to help our members.
Based on my positive experience in ASHP, I am honored and excited about the possibility of helping to shape the vision and strategic goals as the director-at-large of this section and representing your voice.